Spinach Surprise

Techniclly the day is not over yet. I'm late in the marathon, posting for Day 6. But...
One recipe that I've wanted to do in a long-long time. At Last!!!

I do not clearly remember where I saw this. It definitely was on TV. Ever since, I'd buy large leaved spinach in the hope of making this dish; but I'd end up making Masiyal. Even now, the bunch was large enough; so I made masiyal one day and reserved the bigger leaves to make this surprise.
We had this for dinner and everyone enjoyed it. I heard Periappa telling my couisin that I'd made a signature dish.

Ingredients:
LARGE Spinach Leaves - 16 - 20 numbers
Butter – 2 Tbsp
Breadcrumbs – 3 Tbsp
Cheese – 4 Tbsp, grated

Filling:

Paneer – 200 grams, grated

Oil - 2 tsp

Onion - 1 small

Green Chilli - 2, minced

Chilli Powder - 1/4 tsp

Salt to taste

White Sauce:

Butter – 2 tbsp
Plain Flour – 2 Tbsp
Milk – 2 cups
Salt and Pepper to taste

Method:
Filling:
Heat oil and saute onions and chilies until pink. Add chilli powder and salt. Saute for a minute and take off heat. Mix in grated paneer. Cool and use.

Melt butter over a medium flame. Add flour and stir-fry until bubbly.
Switch off gas and pour in the milk (all at once). Whisk and cook over a medium flame until it thickens.
Add salt and pepper to taste.

Wash spinach well and keep aside.
Blanch and remove thick stem at the base.
Place filling and wrap tightly around to make small parcels.

Grease a baking tray lightly with butter. Place the parcels close to one another, preferably as a single layer.

Gently top it with a layer of white sauce.
Mix breadcrumbs and grated cheese together. Spread as a thin layer over the white sauce.

Dot with butter and bake in a hot oven until the cheese is grilled (10 to 15 minutes).
Serve hot with garlic bread.

TIP
Chill grated cheese for some time. This will help keep the strands separate and will make it easier to mix with breadcrumbs.

Azeema, Bhagi, Champa, Gayathri Anand, Gayathri Kumar, Harini, Jay, Kamalika, Mina, Padma, PJ, Priya Mahadevan, Priya Suresh, Priya Vasu, Rujuta, Santosh, Saraswathi, Savitha, Shanavi, Smitha, Sowmya, Srivalli, Suma, Usha, Veena

Trotting off to Torview - Green