Paneer - Chole Spinach Curry

This recipe is adapted from the Indian Cooking without fat book by Mridula Baljekar. I had borrowed it from the library and the moment I read the title of this recipe I fell for it - you can't go wrong with this wonderful combination of paneer, chole and spinach - all my favorites. Plus her way of pre-cooking the paneer to help it absorb the curry flavors really intrigued me and I have followed this method ever since with excellent results.

Here's how I make it:

1 cup cubed paneer - drop in boiling water and drain after 1 min.
1 can chole/garbanzo beans/chickpeas - drained and rinsed
1 cup roughly chopped spinach
1 onion - chopped
1/2 tsp ginger paste
1/2 tsp garlic paste
2 tomatoes chopped
Salt & Sugar to taste
Other spices  - 1/4 tsp turmeric pwd., 1 tsp cumin pwd., 1 tsp coriander pwd., 1/2 tsp red chilli pwd, 1/4 tsp garam masala pwd.
1 tbsp oil

Heat the oil. Fry the onions for 5 -10 mins until soft. Add the ginger and garlic paste. Fry 2 mins. Add the tomatoes. Cook on low 5 - 10 mins until very soft. Cool slightly and grind to a puree. Return to the pot. Add the chole, paneer, spinach, salt, sugar and all the other spice pwds. Mix well. Simmer on medium low for 5 - 10 mins.

This goes well with any kind of Indian bread or rice dish.

This curry goes to the Letz Relish Paneer event at Taste Appetite.

This Paneer-Chole-Spinach curry also goes to the Show Me Your curry event at Divya's Dil-Se.