Paalak Paneer Paratha is something that I tried cooking for the first time. It turned out very yummy and delicious, crispy from outside and fresh paneer spinach filling from inside.  

Recipe:

Ingredients:

  • Fresh Paneer (Cottage Cheese) – 300 gms. Crush it using your palm and fingers.
  • Cashew Nuts (Kaaju) – 200 gms.  Chop it or crush it into coarse granules.
  • Garam Masala powder – Half tsp.
  • Jaifal (Nutmeg) powder – quarter of tsp.
  • Fresh Green Chilli – 3 pieces. Finely chopped.
  • Fresh Ginger – 2  inch inch size. Finely chopped.
  • Garlic – 8 cloves. Finely chopped.
  • Salt to taste.
  • Black Pepper corns – Half tbs.
  • Lawang (Cloves) – 4 pieces.
  • Jeera seeds – 3 tbs.
  • Lime juice – 1 tbs.
  • Tej Patta (Bay Leaves) – Two.
  • Ghee – as required.
  • Fresh Paalak (Spinach) Leaves – One large bunch.  Clean under water.
  • Cold Water with lots of Ice in it – in a large utensil or bowl.
  • Chana Dal – One cup.  Soaked for 4 to 6 hours in water.
  • Ajwain Seeds – 1 tbs.
  • Whole Wheat Flour – 4 cups.
  • Cooking Oil – as required to roast the parathas on Tawa(Flat Pan).

Method:

  • Take a large pan or kadai.  Add One cup of water and boil it.
  • Add soaked chana dal(removed from soaked water), half of the chopped green chilli, black pepper corn, lawang, bay leaves, salt to taste, half of the chopped garlic, half of the chopped ginger to the hot water in the pan.
  • Cook the chana dal until it becomes soft (should be able to crush it using two fingers).
  • Turn off the flame.  Let this chana dal mixture cool down.
  • Take a Mixer Grinder.  Transfer the cooled chana dal mixture to the grinder. Add very little water and One tbs of Ghee to it.
  • Grind this mixture to a fine paste.  Keep it aside in a seperate bowl.
  • Take a large Kadai or Pan.  Add one tsp of salt and plenty of water.  Boil it until you see bubbles and steam coming out of water.
  • Add clean Paalak (Spinach) leaves to this boiling water.  Saute it for 2 to 3 minutes only.
  • Immediately remove the saute’ed paalak leaves from boiling water and transfer it / dip it into the cold water with ice.  This stops the cooking process of paalak and also helps retain the green colour.
  • Allow the saute’ed paalak leaves to cool down.  
  • Remove the paalak leaves from cold water, and squeze excess water from the leaves.  Do this for all the leaves.
  • Transfer the leaves to a mixer grinder and grind it into a fine paste.  Keep it aside.
  • Take a large frying pan.  Add 2 to 3 tbs of ghee.  Allow it to melt.
  • Add 1 tbs Jeera seeds to the hot ghee and allow it to crackle.
  • Add Paalak leaves fine paste to the hot ghee.  Stir it and cook the Paalak paste for 2 to 3 minutes on high flame.
  • Add the chana dal mixture paste into the Kadai.  Mix it well with Paalak paste and cook it for another 3 to 4 minutes.  Keep stiring this mixture to avoid burning or sticking on the kadai.
  • Remove this cooked mixture of Paalak paste and Chana dal paste in a bowl.  Allow it to cool down.
  • Keep this cooled Paalak and Chana dal paste in to the freeezer for 20 minutes.  This will help the paste to bind nicely.
  • Take a frying pan and add 2 tbs of ghee.  Heat it up.
  • Add remaining half of the green chilli, ginger, garlic, stir for a minute, then add crushed cashew nuts and stir it for 2 to 3 minutes on high flame.
  • Add crushed paneer, garam masala powder, salt to taste, nutmeg powder into the kadai.  Mix them well on high flame and continuously keep stiring for another 3 to 4 minutes.  
  • Turn off the heat and allow this paneer cashew mixture to cool down.
  • Take out the Paalak mixture from freezer and make small balls.  Flatten it gently using your palm into a small cup shape.
  • Add little bit (1 tbs) of Paneer Cashew nut mixture into this cup shapped Paalak.
  • Gently close the cup having paneer cashew nut mixture in it.  Gently press it from all sides and make it into round shaped balls using your palm.
  • Do the above four steps for all the remaining Paalak balls and Paneer mixture.
  • Keep the Paneer filled Paalak balls aside.
  • Dry Roast the Ajwain Seeds and remaining Jeera seeds on a flat Tawa or a Pan for just 2 minutes on medium flame.  Turn off the flame and allow the seeds to cool down.  Coarsly crush these roasted seeds on a mortar and pestle.
  • Take a large mixing ball.  Add whole wheat flour, coarsly crushed jeera and ajwain seeds, 2 tbs of melted ghee, salt to taste.  Mix them well without water.
  • Add little by little water while kneading this wheat dough.  The dough should be soft.  Cover this kneaded dough with moist thin cotton cloth for 30 minutes.
  • Make Orange sized ball of this wheat dough.  Keep it aside.
  • Place this kneaded wheat ball on rolling board(chakla) and roll it using pin(belan) into a small puri size shape.
  • Place the Paalak Paneer ball in the center of rolled wheat dough.  Close it gently from all sides.  It will be a bigger sized wheat dough ball filled with paalak paneer filling.
  • Flatten it.  Apply dry wheat flour on all sides.  Place it on rolling board.  And using pin, gently roll this paalak paneer paratha from all sides and bring it in to a shape of a chappati.  While rolling this dough using a pin, be gentle and careful so that the paalak paneer filling doesn’t come out.
  • Heat up a Tawa or flat pan.
  • Place this rolled paalak paneer paratha on the hot tawa.  Reduce the flame to medium.  Flip it over to other side in minutes.   Apply cooking oil on this paratha on both sides.  Cook this paratha on both sides until it becomes light brown and crisp from outside.  Don’t allow it to burn.  Keep flipping to avoid burning.
  • Serve Paalak Paneer Paratha hot, topped up with dollop of butter.  Enjoy Paalak Paneer Paratha.
  • Happy Eating.