A delicious fusion of Italian comfort food and Indian flavours. Tender pasta tubes filled with creamy palak paneer, topped with tomato sauce and melted cheese. A festive twist on two favourites.
Prep time: 20 mins | Cook time: 35 mins | Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 8 cannelloni pasta tubes
- 200 g paneer, crumbled
- 200 g spinach (palak), washed
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
- ½ tsp cumin seeds
- ¼ tsp garam masala
- 1 tbsp cream
- 1 cup ready-made pasta sauce or tomato basil sauce
- ½ cup grated mozzarella cheese
- 1 tbsp butter or oil
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Method
- Blanch the spinach in boiling water for 1–2 minutes. Transfer to cold water, drain and blend into a smooth puree.
- Heat butter or oil in a pan. Add cumin seeds and onion. Sauté until soft.
- Add ginger-garlic paste and cook briefly. Stir in the spinach puree, garam masala, salt and pepper.
- Add crumbled paneer and cream. Mix well and cook for 2–3 minutes. Cool slightly.
- Fill the cannelloni tubes with the palak paneer mixture.
- Spread some pasta sauce in a baking dish. Arrange the filled tubes and cover completely with the remaining sauce. Sprinkle mozzarella on top.
- Cover with foil and bake at 180°C for 25 minutes. Uncover and bake for another 10 minutes, or until the pasta is tender and cheese is golden. Follow the pasta pack’s instructions if they differ.
Quick tip: If using oven-ready cannelloni, ensure the pasta is fully covered with sauce. For regular dried cannelloni, check whether pre-boiling is required.