“Nothing can transport you to happy memories of the past like the aroma of certain foods can!”- Neha Bhide
Neha Bhide, a perfectionist and a passionate cook, is a chemical engineer and a food science graduate. She has worked as a product development scientist and now works for a global food company in New York. Neha believes that cooking is an art – it’s beautiful, meditative, entertaining and has tremendous emotional power. While experimenting in the kitchen, she decided to give gnocchi a fusion twist and make a palak paneer gnocchi. After many failed attempts and playing around with various ingredients, she shares with us the perfected recipe! Be sure to watch our IGTV live for some quick tips on making the gnocchi!
INGREDIENTS (For 2-3 portions)
200g paneer, crumbled/ shredded
140g baby spinach
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
1-2 green chillies
1/2 tsp coriander powder
1/4 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp garam masala
salt, to taste
1/3 cup all purpose flour
cilantro leaves, a handful
2 tbsp butter
1 pinch kasuri methi
1 pinch cumin seeds
1 pinch chilli flakes
1/2 pinch baking soda
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp cream
1 small potato, boiled (use only if needed- based on the dough’s consistency)
DIRECTIONS
Step 1
Wash spinach leaves well (If you’re using baby spinach, the stems don’t need to be removed. If you’re using mature spinach, remove the thick part of the stems). Boil a pot of water and add some salt and spinach leaves to it. Cover and let it simmer for 3-5 minutes – until fully blanched. Then, strain the spinach leaves and squeeze as much water out as possible.
Step 2
Take paneer in a food processor. Then add the blanched spinach, cilantro leaves, green chillies, ginger-garlic paste, coriander powder, cumin powder, garam masala, and baking soda and mix it well. To this green mixture, add all purpose flour- little by little- until the mixture starts coming together to form a cohesive dough. If the dough is too crumbly, add boiled potato (a spoonful at a time), till you attain a consistency where you can make tight balls of the dough.
Step 3
Shape the gnocchi individually in small bite sized pieces in a shape of your preference. At this stage, if you prefer to cook it later, you can line the pieces in a plate and store it in the fridge. Then, heat some water in a large saucepan. Keep it covered and let it gently simmer (don’t let it boil). Slowly drop the gnocchi in the simmering water. Make sure that the water does not have a rolling boil as you want the water to be calm for the gnocchi to cook without disintegrating. Cover and poach in the hot water for 5-7 minutes.
Step 4
In a separate pan, heat some butter and add the cumin seeds, chilli flakes and kasuri methi. Once the gnocchis are cooked entirely, they will start floating in the water (this is when you know they are ready). Transfer them gently to the seasoned butter and toss lightly. Turn off the heat and finish with a touch of olive oil and some cream, to create a light sauce. Serve hot!