Palak Paneer

Apparently, my husband is a big fan of Palak Paneer (Palak translates to spinach and Paneer, a form of cottage cheese), so when he saw it in Anupy Singla’s book The Indian Slow Cooker, he asked me to make it. The recipe is extremely easy, so go ahead and try it. It results in a nice spicy dish, so if you want a toned-down version, you should use half of my quantities of chili powder, chilies, and garam masala. Also, like Ms. Singla says in her book, you do need to cook it for about 2 hours after it’s been blended, so that the spices have a chance to finish cooking.  

Palak Paneer ingredients going into the slow cooker

Palak Paneer

2 lbs fresh spinach, washed and drained

2 onions, chopped into 10-14 pieces

2 tomatoes, chopped into 10-14 pieces

1 4” piece of ginger, chopped up

1 large pod garlic, cleaned

2-3 chilies, stems removed

1 tbsp ground cumin

1 tsp (heaped) chili powder

1 tsp garam masala

Salt to taste

12 oz paneer, cut into pieces

Put all the ingredients into the slow cooker except the paneer. Cook on high for 3 hours, stirring once or twice. Check that the onions are soft, if so, switch off and blend using an immersion blender or food processor, till the vegetables are smooth. Place back into the slow cooker and cook for 2 hours on low. Put in the paneer about 10 minutes before serving. Serve hot with chapatti.