kale paneer curry/ gravy
Kale has always been something I really liked always & impulsively always end up picking a whole bunch whenever I saw it. However, I realised a big bunch doesn’t get used up in a week & since they usually sell as a big bunch, I stopped buying kale since I felt it was a waste. Off late, many places are selling a much smaller bunch which can be used up in 1 regular batch of cooking. So Sowmya is all happy happy :).
And ooh btw, I hate it when google bursts my bubbles you know. When I had some unused Kale at home and wasn’t in the mood to eat a cold salad, I thought of making it Indian & making a gravy out of it similar to how we use spinach and thought will add paneer as a protein to it. So basically made a kale version of a palak paneer :D. However, I thought I came up with an ingenious idea and the dish came out really really really well and I knew I had to blog this. However, when I quickly looked up on google just to check if any others had a similar idea I realised it was my brain that worked a little too slow on this front :D. There are plenty of people who have realised this wayyyyy before me :). Anyways, no complaints. I am happy I figured it out no matter how late :). This gravy was ridiculously good. I thought there would be a slight undertone of bitterness owing to the nature of kale leaves & I was wrong. Of course, the quantity of spices I used in this were slightly more than that I use for regular spinach.
I remembered I had some blog post where I had outlined some benefits ok kale but did not realise I had put up so many posts of Kale :). I guess I do love kale a lot hehe. Kale Chickpea salad is the post where I have outlined some health benefits of kale. My other kale recipes on my site are sprouts kale dhokla, baked kale chips and kale quinoa salad.
- 1 stacked cup kale
- 1 big onion
- 1 medium tomato
- 1.5 tbsp ginger chopped
- 3 big garlic cloves
- 1 green chilli
- 5 nos almonds
- 2 tsp refined oil
- 1 no bay leaf
- 1 inch cinnamon stick
- 3 nos clove
- 2 nos cardamom pods
- 1 tsp red chilli powder
- 1/2 tsp garam masala
- 1/2 tsp cumin powder
- 1/2 tsp coriander powder
- 1/2 tsp amchur
- 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 cup paneer
- 2 tbsp curd
- 1 tsp kasoori methi/ dried fenugreek leaves
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Wash, clean, de-stem kale leaves & roughly chop them. Set it aside. Also, roughly chop the onions, tomatoes, green chillies, garlic & ginger.
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In a kadai/ pan, add a tsp of oil. Once heated, throw in the ginger, garlic & green chillies. Saute for less than a minute on high heat & throw in the roughly chopped onions.
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Once the onion start to brown, throw in the tomatoes. Also add a bit of salt & some almonds at this stage.
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Close with a lid & let it cook on medium heat.
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After around 5 minutes, you will see the mixture well cooked. Make sure not to burn the mixture at this stage. Adjust the flame accordingly. Also if needed, you can add 1 tsp of water while the mixture is getting cooked.
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Add the chopped up kale leaves at this stage.
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Let the kale leaves cook along with the onion/ tomato mixture. Close with a lid during this stage as well.
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Within a few minutes, you will notice the kale leaves completely wilted/ cooked. Turn off the heat at this stage. Set this mixture aside to cool down.
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Once completely cooled down, transfer to a mixer jar & grind till you have smooth puree. You wouldn't need to add any water. However, if you have difficulties in grinding, add 1 to 2 tsp of water.
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Heat the same kadai/ pan with some oil & add the dry spices - bay leaf, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon stick. Saute for a few seconds.
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Add this ground mixture & saute for a minute on medium heat.
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After a minute or so, add the dry powdered spices - red chilli powder, garam masala, coriander powder, cumin powder, amchur powder and turmeric powder.
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Mix everything well & add half cup of water. Let the mixture cook for a 5-7 minutes.
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Now add 1.5 cups of water, all of the paneer & bring the gravy to a boil. Check & adjust for salt here.
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Meanwhile, in a small bowl stir the curd with a spoon/ fork to ensure there are no lumps & add it to the gravy.
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Mix everything together & let the gravy boil for another 2 minutes.
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Finally top with some crushed kasoori methi & turn off the heat.
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Serve hot alongside some hot rotis/ phulkas.
- You can use cashew or any other nut instead of almonds.
- You can also use fresh cream or milk in the end instead of curd.
- Make sure to add a little extra ginger garlic than your regular palak or any other spinach variety. That's my only piece of advise on this one.
Stepwise pictures
Heat a tsp oil in a kadai/ pan & add roughly chopped green chillies, ginger & garlic. Saute for a minute on medium heat or till the raw smell weans off.
Add roughly chopped onion at this stage & saute till it starts to brown.
Add the roughly chopped tomato at this stage.
Also add a bit of salt & some almonds (for the creamy texture) at this stage. Let the mixture cook for a few minutes. You can cover the pan with a lid at this stage.
After around 5 minutes, you will see the mixture well cooked. Make sure not to burn the mixture at this stage. Adjust the flame accordingly. Also if needed, you can add 1 tsp of water while the mixture is getting cooked.
Add the washed, cleaned & roughly torn/ chopped kale leaves at this stage.
Allow it to cook along with the onion/ tomato base for a few minutes. Add a little bit of salt for the kale. Cover with a lid.
After a few minutes (on medium heat), you will notice the kale leaves fully cooked/ wilted. Turn off the heat at this stage. Allow the mixture to cool down.
Once the kale mixture cools down, grind to a smooth puree in a mixer jar. Set it aside.
In a same kadai/ pan, add a teeny bit of oil & once heated, add the whole spices – bay leaf, cardamom, cloves & cinnamon stick.
After a few seconds, add the ground kale mixture & saute on medium heat.
After a minute or so, add the dry powdered spices – red chilli powder, garam masala, coriander powder, cumin powder, amchur powder & turmeric powder.
Mix everything well & add half cup of water. Let the mixture cook for a 5-7 minutes.
Now add 1.5 cups of water, all of the paneer cubes and bring the mixture to a boil. Check & adjust for salt at this stage.
In a small bowl, stir the curd to ensure there are no lumps & then add it to the gravy. Mix well. Let the whole mixture boil together for 2 minutes. Finally, add some crushed kasoori methi & turn off the heat.
Serve hot alongside some hot rotis/ phulkas.
I tried kale for the first time. Thanks a lot sowmya… It came out very well. All the credit goes to you… I always have a feeling from childhood that green leaves and curd shouldn’t be combined.. Dunno why.. so I just skipped that part.
yayyyy Lakshmi 😀 :D. am sooooooooooo glad you tried Kale and am even more glad with me being the reason behind your trying this. I am extremely touched & thank you so so much. As cliche as this might sound, every time I receive a positive feedback on anything related to my blog, I am genuinely overwhelmed. Loads of love to you and your lil one! And skipping curd is absolutely fine too, especially if you have a specific mindset about it.