My 309th recipe, "Palak Paneer Puff", a super delicious tea time snack. Palak Paneer Puff is nothing but the flavors of the Indian Palak paneer wrapped inside a puff pastry sheet and baked until nicely golden and flaky.
I have to admit that I have a weakness for tea time snacks. I love any dish which is hot and compliments perfectly with a cup of my cardamom chai. A bite of snack and a sip of the tea is what comfort means in my books. I have even skipped dinner many a times, after tucking myself upon goodies during the evening tea time. With such a fondness for tea time snacks, I had not other option, but to follow up my Sweet Poli with yet another snack recipe. However something on the savory side.
Puff has been one of my favorites for a long time. Apart from tasting delicious, puffs are also very easy to make at home. With puff pastry sheets readily available in supermarket these days, it literally takes very little effort to bake one at home. Just make your favorite filling, stuff it inside the store bought pastry sheet and bake per instructions. You should have a piping hot puff ready to be enjoyed.
Among all the different kinds of puff fillings, I especially love the paneer filling from a bakery near to where I grew up. Made with caramelized onion and spices which compliments the paneer nicely, it is surely one of the most delicious things you could eat. I have already tried posting my version of that paneer puff earlier. I had also then posted a version of puff with vegetable fillings. So this time around I wanted to make a puff with a unique filling which is equally flavorful and loved by everyone.
Palak Paneer is one dish which is loved by everyone and one of RK's favorites. I too love palak paneer but not when made with pureed spinach. I love when the spinach is wilted along with the paneer. The softness from the paneer, spiciness from the chilli, color from the spinach, flavor from cumin and spices combines together to form one delicious dish.
I finally decided to make a version of puff which will have the flavors of palak paneer within. I made a filling which has every flavor I love about palak paneer. And just like how I love the spinach is wilted and not pureed. Instead of adding cream, I chose to add some ground cashews for richness. The end result was a super delicious palak paneer puff which is right on the money from texture and flavor perspective. A super delicious palak paneer puff which has all the right flavors to become your next favorite 🙂
Palak Paneer Puff
Palak Paneer Puff
Ingredients
- 300 grams Paneer (¾ pack)
- 6 Puff Pastry sheets
- 2 tsp Olive Oil
- ½ tsp Jeera
- 1 small Green chili (finely crushed)
- 1 clove Garlic (finely chopped)
- 1 medium Onion (finely sliced)
- ½ tsp Salt (adjust per taste)
- ½ tsp Freshly ground black pepper (adjust per taste)
- ¼ tsp Cumin powder
- ⅛ tsp Turmeric powder
- ½ tsp Garam masala
- 6 Oz Spinach (1 packet)
To Grind
- 7 Cashew
- 1 tsp Fennel seeds
Instructions
- Leave the paneer to soak in warm water until needed. Also, leave the puff pastry sheets to thaw.
- Then grind the cashews and fennel seeds and keep aside.
- Heat a pan with the oil and once hot, add the jeera. Once it starts to slightly change color, add the crushed green chili and garlic. Salute until the garlic is slightly golden. Now, add the sliced onion to the pan.
- Saute the onion until they turn translucent. Now add the salt, pepper, cumin, turmeric powders and mix well.
- Now add the spinach leaves to the pan and cook in medium flame. No need to add any additional water.
- Once the spinach is wilted and almost cooked, add the garam masala and the ground cashew/fennel seed mix. Mix well until combined and cook until slightly dry.
- Now, crumble half of the paneer and add to the pan. Mix well. Break the remaining paneer into large pieces and add it to the pan. Mix well. Continue to cook until the mixture turns dry. Leave it to cool to room temperature.
- Pre heat the oven at 375 F. Take the baking sheet, line it with butter paper or grease it with butter/oil. Place the puff pastry over them. Place about two tablespoons of the paneer mixture at the middle.
- Wet the edges with water so that it would stick while folding. Bring opposite edges together as shown in the pic and stick together nicely. Brush the top of the puff with oil.
- Bake them in the pre-heated oven for about 20-25 minutes or until the puff changes to golden brown. Check at regular intervals to avoid burnt puffs. Once done remove them from oven and let them get cooled for 5 minutes.
- Serve hot as a tea time snack with ketchup.
Sharmila says
Hi, I tried these recently and they turned out fabulous. My kids loved it. Thank you for the recipe x
revifood says
Thanks Sharmila for trying, glad to hear that your family loved it
Aditi says
It turned out great. I think cashew and fennel powder is a game changer :).
Thank you, from another tea time snack enthusiast.
revifood says
Thanks Aditi. Glad you liked the twist of adding the cashew and fennel 🙂
Remya Jayaraman says
Looks great! what brand of puff pastry did you use?
revifood says
Thanks Remya 🙂 I usually use the Indo-European Puff Pastry Square Dough.