Low Carb Palak Paneer is a delicious Indian vegetarian side dish that is perfect for anyone watching their carb intake, featuring spinach and Indian cottage cheese.
Course Lunch, Main, Main Course
Cuisine Curry, Indian, Vegan Option, Vegetarian
Keyword budget keto, gluten free baking, healthy dinner, indian, Indian food, indian side dish, low carb baking, paneer, vegan, vegetarian
Prep Time 10 minutesminutes
Cook Time 15 minutesminutes
Servings 8serves
Calories 145kcal
Ingredients
500gmsfrozen chopped leaf spinach defrosted-see notes for using fresh baby spinach leaves
1large tomato cut into chunks
1½teaspoonminced ginger
½teaspoonminced red chilito taste
1small green chili
½cupwater
½teaspooncumin powder
½teaspoonturmeric powder
½tablespoonEVOO extra virgin olive oil or oil of choice
1large onion finely chopped
4teaspoonsgarlic minced
1½teaspoonsgaram masala
1teaspoonmonk fruitor to taste/ sweetener of choice
¾teaspoonsalt or to taste
3tablespoonspure/heavy cream or to taste
250gramspaneer cut into cubes
A generous squeeze of lemon juice
1teaspoondried fenugreek leavesfor garnish if you can source
Blitz the spinach, tomato, ginger and green and red chili and water in a blender until smooth.
Heat a heavy frying pan on medium heat. Add the oil, garlic and the onions. Sauté for 5-7 minutes until onion is soft and translucent.
Add the pureed spinach mixture and gently simmer for about 10 minutes. Stir regularly to prevent sticking.
Once the spinach is cooked, add the turmeric, garam masala and turmeric powder. Mix through and cook for 1 minute.
Add sweetener and season with salt. Stir through the cream until well combined.
Stir the paneer through gently. Allow to simmer for a few minutes or until the paneer heats though. Remove from heat and stir through the lemon juice. If you can source fenugreek leaves, sprinkle on top before serving.
Serve hot with Indian curries, naan, roti or cauliflower rice/rice.
Notes
For a completely smooth textured sauce, blitz the onion and garlic with the spinach mixture- I personally like the texture the onion and garlic add to the recipe.If using fresh spinach, add about 300 gms/ oz to a pot boiled water. Allow to sit for about 2 minutes then remove spinach with tongs into a colander. Pour cold water over the spinach and allow to drain before blitzing with the tomato, ginger and chili in step 1.Fresh spinach will give you a brighter texture but I love the fact that you get more fibre by using the frozen chopped spinach as it includes the stalks as well. The color will be duller but the dish is slightly more nutritious.For a vegan dish you can switch the paneer for tofu and use coconut cream to stir in at the end instead of cream.