Palak Corn Recipe

Method9 steps · about 50 min

1. 1

   Step 1: Choose stovetop or Instant Pot for this base. Heat 1½ tablespoons oil or ghee. Add two cardamoms OR the separate ⅓ teaspoon cardamom powder, onion, four mild green chilies, ginger, garlic and the initial teaspoon salt (1 teaspoon); sauté 4–5 minutes until transparent. Add 18 cashews OR two tablespoons besan roasted separately until aromatic. Add the optional tomato (95 g) only if not choosing the yogurt finish, then the half cup cooking water. STOVETOP: bring to a boil and cook covered over medium heat about 10 minutes until very soft. INSTANT POT: perform the sauté above, then pressure-cook five minutes after adding water. Release gently only as permitted by the cooker instructions and open once pressure has dropped fully. Continue with step 2.

   Stovetop aromatic base simmer · 10 minUses 1½ tablespoon oil ( (or ghee)) · two whole cardamoms OR separate ground-cardamom alternative · 130 g sliced onion (1 medium) · 4 (6 grams) green chilies ( (less spicy kind)) · 1 inch (10 grams) ginger · 4 (10 grams) garlic ( cloves) · 1 teaspoon salt ( (use as per your taste)) · 18 cashews OR separate roasted besan

2. 2

   Step 2: Reserve two of the four cooked green chilies. Keep the other two in the cooked base; use only as much of the reserved pair as wanted when blending.

   Uses same softened onion, nuts or roasted besan and four cooked chilies

3. 3

   Step 3: To the same cooked base add spinach (250 g), optional tender coriander leaves, the first teaspoon garam masala, optional roasted cumin powder (½ teaspoon) and optional coriander powder (1 teaspoon). Taste for separately listed extra salt. Sauté 3–4 minutes until the leaves are fully wilted. Turn off and add the separate half cup blending water.

   Uses same cooked base with only two cooked chilies retained · 250 g baby spinach · ¼ cup (20 grams) coriander leaves ( (optional, mature stalks removed)) · First 1 tsp garam masala · ½ teaspoon roasted cumin powder (avoid raw cumin) · 1 teaspoon coriander powder (optional) · 0.5 cup water · extra salt only to taste cooked curry

4. 4

   Step 4: Blend the wilted spinach mixture to a smooth or coarse puree as preferred. Cool fully before using a stand blender. Taste and blend in as much of the two reserved cooked chilies from step 2 as you want.

   Uses Desired portion of the two reserved cooked chilies · same base with spinach, seasonings and separate blending water

5. 5

   Step 5: Return the puree to the pot and add the frozen corn or fresh corn already boiled tender. Bring to a boil and simmer partially covered 3–4 minutes, taking care as it splutters. Mature spinach may need another 3–4 minutes. Taste and add only the optional remaining half teaspoon garam masala and separate extra salt as needed. Crush in kasuri methi (2 teaspoons) unless the spinach is bitter.

   Simmer Corn Palak · 4 minUses same selected blend, no new spinach or chilies · 1½ cup (200 grams) corn kernels (frozen or if fresh boiled until tender) · Remaining ½ tsp garam masala, only if needed · 2 teaspoons kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves, omit if your palak is bitter) · extra salt only to taste cooked curry

6. 6

   Step 6: Turn off the heat. Choose optional 2–3 tablespoons cream OR 2–3 tablespoons Greek yogurt, or omit both. For yogurt, the tomato must have been omitted: whisk the yogurt with only 2–3 tablespoons of this cooked curry, then return the entire tempered yogurt mixture off the heat. Do not add lemon to the yogurt route. The curry is ready; if skipping tadka and yogurt, serve with a squeeze of lemon.

   Uses same simmered corn and spinach batch; yogurt tempering aliquot returned in full · 2–3 tablespoons cream ONLY chosen cream finish · 2–3 tablespoons Greek yogurt ONLY chosen yogurt finish · lemon only when omitting both yogurt and tadka

7. 7

   Step 7: For optional paneer (100 grams) in the tadka finish, heat the separate one teaspoon ghee and fry the 100 g paneer cubes once until golden, tossing gently. Mix half of these fried cubes into the curry from step 6 and reserve the other half for step 9. If omitting paneer, skip this frying and leave the curry from step 6 ready for the optional tadka.

   Uses same batch ready for optional half of fried paneer · 100 grams paneer ( (optional, diced to ½ inch, fried in a tsp of ghee)) · 1 tsp ghee

8. 8

   Step 8: For the optional tadka, heat the separate 1½ tablespoons ghee in the same or a tempering pan. Add cumin seeds (½ teaspoon) and dried red chilies (2). When they sizzle, add the sliced tadka garlic (3 large).

   Uses 1½ tbsp ghee, for the optional tadka · 2 dried red chilies (broken) · 3 large garlic (cloves sliced) · ½ teaspoon cumin seeds

9. 9

   Step 9: Fry the garlic tadka over low heat until light golden. Turn off and stir in the optional hing and Kashmiri chili powder, then the reserved half of the fried paneer from step 7 if using it. Pour over the curry from step 7, or the curry from step 6 if you omitted paneer. Add the optional extra teaspoon cream only if you chose the cream finish. Serve hot; prepared rice or flatbreads make optional accompaniments.

   Uses same separate tempering fat, garlic and spices · only remaining half of the paneer fried once in step 7 · ONLY when paneer option was omitted, exclusive alternative to step-7 curry · ONLY when paneer option was chosen; remaining half reserved · ¼ teaspoon hing ( (asafoetida, omit if you don't have, use gluten-free if required)) · ½ teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder (optional) · optional one teaspoon cream garnish ONLY cream finish