About:

This is actually one of my favorites and something I’ve made for myself for years.  I adore this as the cottage cheese melts down into a nice creamy sauce.  Spinach adds the green that we all so need and the onion just kicks it up a notch and the Indian spices adds nice mild aroma to the dish.

Enjoy this for breakfast or as one pot meal.

Health benefits:

Dark leafy greens like spinach are important for skin and hair, bone health, and provide protein, iron, vitamins and minerals. The possible health benefits of consuming spinach include improving blood glucose control in diabetics, lowering the risk of cancer, lowering blood pressure, improving bone health, lowering the risk of developing asthma and more.

Yields-2 servings
Preparation time-15 minutes
Cooking time-30 minutes

Ingredients:

• Brown basmati rice-1
• Paneer- 250gms
• Oil-1tbsp
• Cloves-3-4
• Cinnamon-1 inch stick
• Star anise-1
• Cardamoms-2
• Bay leaf-1
• Fennel seeds-1tsp
• Kasoori methi/ dried fenugreek leaves-1tsp
• Salt- to taste
• Lemon/lime juice- to taste

For Spinach puree:

• Spinach/Palak-1 bunch
• Coriander/cilantro leaves- a handful
• Green chillies-3
• Garlic-3 cloves
• Ginger-1/2 inch

Garnishing:

• Coriander/pomegranate

Procedure:

Preparing spinach puree:

• Wash and spinach/palak leaves and place it in a food processor/blender along with garlic, ginger, coriander, green chillies and blend to smooth paste by adding some water and set aside.

For toasting paneer:

• Heat a pan/tawa and saute paneer cubes until brown on both sides (I haven’t used any oil while sautéing and used non-stick tawa)
• After sautéing cut into cubes of desired size and set aside.

For the Pulao:

• Rinse and soak the rice for 20-30 minutes. After soaking time drain and set aside.
• Now heat oil in a pan, add in whole spices (clove, cinnamon, bay leaf, cardmom, star anise, fennel seeds, kasoori methi)
• Sautee for few seconds or until fragrant. Add onion and fry until translucent.
• Now add the ground spinach puree and stir, saute for 3-4 minutes.
• Add soaked – drained rice, stir and continue to cook for 1-2 minutes.
• Add 2 cups of water, salt stir and let it come to boil, check for the taste adjust the taste as desire cover and cook for 5-8 minutes.
• Now add sauted paneer cubes, stir gently and continue to cook till the water is absorbed and the rice is cooked.
• Turn off the flame and stir in some lime/lemon juice.
• Garnish with coriander/pomegranate and serve hot with Raita/yogurt dip/any curry of choice.

I served this with Capsicum Raita