Slow cooker palak paneer
Creamy, garlicky spiced spinach with soft cubes of paneer, left to cook low and slow while you’re out, then served over basmati with a squeeze of lemon.
- 270 min total
- 20 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 4
- About $3.40 a serving
- 740 calories
- Good the next day
- Vegetarian
- Gluten-free
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
- 1 serrano pepper, chopped
- 1 Roma tomato, chopped
- 2 packages frozen chopped spinach, 10 oz each, no need to thaw
- 2 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 14 oz paneer, cut into ¾-inch cubes
- 1½ cups basmati rice
- ½ lemon, cut into wedges
From your pantry
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- 1½ tsp salt, divided
- 2¾ cups water, divided
Each serving has about 740 calories, 33 g protein, 72 g carbs and 37 g fat, and costs about $3.40 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
- No basmati rice? Jasmine rice or long-grain white rice works.
- No lemons? Limes work.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the onion, the garlic, the ginger and the serrano and tomato.
Dice. Dicing means cutting food into small, even cubes, usually a quarter to half an inch across. Pieces the same size cook at the same speed, so nothing burns while the rest catches up.
How you’ll know: Your pieces are little cubes about the size of a chickpea, and they all look close to the same.
Mince. Mincing means chopping something into the tiniest pieces you can, smaller than a grain of rice. Tiny pieces melt into the dish, so you get the flavor without biting into a chunk of garlic.
How you’ll know: Every piece is tiny and about the same size, and the pile starts to look almost like a paste.
Grate. Grating means rubbing food across the holes of a grater to make fine shreds or flakes. It spreads cheese, garlic or ginger evenly through a dish so it melts right in.
How you’ll know: Even shreds fall off the back of the grater, and you stop while the piece is still big enough to hold.
Chop. Chopping means cutting food into bite-size pieces that don’t need to be neat. Keep them roughly the same size so everything cooks evenly.
How you’ll know: Your pieces are about half an inch and roughly alike, even if none of them are pretty.
Dolly’s tip: Take the seeds out of the serrano if you want it mild.Put the frozen spinach, the vegetables, garam masala, cumin, coriander, turmeric, 1 teaspoon salt and ½ cup water in a slow cooker and stir.
Chop. Chopping means cutting food into bite-size pieces that don’t need to be neat. Keep them roughly the same size so everything cooks evenly.
How you’ll know: Your pieces are about half an inch and roughly alike, even if none of them are pretty.
Cover and cook on low for 4 hours, or on high for 2.
Timer: 240 min
Mash with a potato masher, or blend with a stick blender, until as smooth as you like.
Dolly’s tip: Restaurant palak paneer is silky. Mashed is rustic and just as good.Stir in the cream and paneer, cover and cook on high 20 minutes, until the paneer is and soft.
Heat through. Heating through means warming food that’s already cooked until it’s hot all the way to the center. You’re not cooking it more, just making sure no part is still cold.
How you’ll know: It’s steaming, and a piece from the middle is hot, not lukewarm.
Timer: 20 min
Meanwhile, the rice and put it in a with 2¼ cups water and the rest of the salt. over high heat.
Rinse. Rinsing means running cold water over rice or canned beans in a strainer while you swish them around. It washes off loose starch and can liquid, so rice cooks up fluffy and beans taste clean.
How you’ll know: The water running out goes from cloudy to mostly clear; it doesn’t have to be perfect.
Saucepan. A saucepan is a pot with tall, straight sides and one long handle. It’s for things that need depth, like rice, sauces or a few boiled eggs.
How you’ll know: The food fills it about halfway, leaving room to bubble without spilling over.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
High heat
Cover, turn the heat to low and cook 15 minutes.
Low heatTimer: 15 min
Serve the palak paneer over the rice with lemon wedges for squeezing.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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