Easy Weeknight Palak Paneer

This quick and easy recipe is perfect for a weeknight meal and gives you all the flavor of takeout without the takeout. The recipe is incredibly forgiving, very simple to throw together, and makes for a very easy freezer mean, just double the recipe and freeze half for a busy day. My kids absolutely love it. The spice level is perfect for them, I serve it with rice tofu rotlis giving them more paneer than gravy. My husband swears it's better than restaurants so we never order it at resturants anymore. It's become a go-to weeknight dinner meal and we love it.

This dish is also a wonderful way to add extra veggies and fiber to your meal. I sometimes blend in a zucchini and you truly cannot taste the difference. The texture changes just a touch, but if you are helping your child explore new textures, replacing half the spinach with zucchini is a gentle place to start. It also makes for the perfect freezer meal, double the recipe and put half in the freezer for a busy night.

If you enjoy more heat, adjusting the spice level is easy. Simply add extra green chilies in the blended mixture. In the end you get a flavorful meal that everyone can enjoy and I promise it will be on rotation for your weeknight dinners.

• 1 Bag Spinach

• ½ Jalapeno

• 1/2 Cup Cashews

• 1 Whole Star Anise

• 3 Whole Cloves

• 3 Whole Black Peppercorns

• 1/3 Stick Cinnamon

• 1 Medium Onion

• 2 Tomatoes

• 4 Garlic Cloves

• 1 Inch Ginger

• 1 Tbsp Chole Chana Masala

• 1 tsp Amchur Powder

• 1 tsp Chaat Masala

• 2 tsp Dhaana Jeeru

• 1 tsp Garam Masala

• 1 tsp Salt

• 16oz Paneer

Ingredients:

Prep Ingredients

• Finely chop onions

• Grate garlic and ginger (if you are using them)

• Deseed and roughly chop tomatoes (they cook down and basically melt)

• Blend cashews, spinach, and jalapeno (add a 1/4 to 1/2 cup water to make it into a smooth puree)

• Set out whole spices and roughly break up the cinnamon stick and star anise

• Add all the ground spices into a bowl for easy access

• Cut paneer into half inch cubes

Best ways to enjoy it:

• Frozen parathas

• White basmati rice (cook while tomatoes are cooking down)

• Tofu Rotlis

• Naan

Servings/Nutrition:

• Prep Time: 10 minutes

• Cooking Time: 25 minutes

• Total Time: 35 Minutes

• Serves: 6

• Calories: ~340

• Carbohydrates: ~11g

• Protein: ~18g

• Fat: ~27g

Directions:

1. In a deep pot, heat three tablespoons of oil and add in whole spices once the oil is heated. Let these bloom for about one to two minutes, then add your chopped onions and cook until they are translucent, about five minutes. Tip: add a pinch of salt and cover with a lid to speed up the process.

2. Add grated garlic and ginger and cook until fragrant.

3. Add in tomatoes along with the ground spices and cook, stirring occasionally to scrape the bottom of the pot to make sure nothing is getting stuck and burning (burned spices do not taste good). Cook until all the water has evaporated and a thick paste is formed. This takes about ten minutes.

4. Add in the pureed spinach, cashew, and jalapeno mixture and bring it to a simmer until it darkens in color. Adjust salt to taste.

5. To make it a one pot meal you can add in paneer cubes and let them heat through for two to three minutes, or you can air fry the paneer for ten minutes at 320 degrees, mixing them halfway. ***Tip: put foil on the air fry basket or tray for easy cleaning.