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Palak Paneer Recipe 

By VC Recipe Diary
Last Updated: July 27, 2023

One of the most well-known Indian dishes, Palak Paneer, is made with flavorful Paneer (Indian cottage cheese) cubes in a silky spinach sauce.

 

I provide two recipes for this healthy dish: homemade and restaurant-style versions using a charcoal smoking technique (reintroduced by popular demand).

 

Both recipes for the emerald-green palak paneer are prepared using fresh spinach leaves (referred to as "palak" in Hindi), aromatics, herbs, and spices.

Homemade Palak Paneer Recipe

One of the most well-known Indian dishes is pak choi with paneer and for a good reason.

 

Paneer is cooked in a mildly spiced fresh spinach sauce to create this mouthwateringly creamy and vibrantly green dish.

 

You must try this delicious and simple vegetarian main dish!

My mother taught me how to make this delectable palak paneer from a family recipe.

 

I'm thrilled to be able to share this recipe with you because she has been preparing it for our family for years.

It is one of the most well-liked and well-known recipes for spinach paneer on the blog, not to mention our absolute favorite at home.

 

This is a meal that I can feel good about eating because it is loaded with beneficial nutrients like calcium, iron, and vitamin C.

I demonstrate how to quickly blanch spinach in this recipe. This has both aesthetic and health benefits, giving the dish a lovely shade of green.

I always suggest blanching spinach before using it in my assortment of palak recipes because, did you know, it's healthier than raw?

Roti, naan, or paratha pair well with this delectable palak paneer dish.

 

You can also serve it with biryani rice, saffron rice, ghee rice, or cumin rice if you don't consume gluten.

The distinction between saag paneer and palak paneer

Although saag paneer and palak paneer are frequently used synonymously, they refer to two distinct dishes.

 

Saag paneer is a dish made with a combination of two to three different types of greens, whereas palak paneer is a traditional Indian dish made with only pureed spinach.

Greens are referred to as "saag" and spinach is referred to as "palak" in Punjabi or Hindi.

 

The term "saag" refers to a variety of leafy greens, such as amaranth leaves, spinach, dill leaves, radish leaves, mustard leaves, fenugreek leaves, and purslane.

Although saag paneer appears to have gained popularity outside of India, it is still very uncommon there.

 

There are four different kinds of palak saag that my mother-in-law makes, but she never makes saag paneer specifically.

The first one uses lentils (Dal Palak), the second white chickpeas, the third potatoes (Aloo Palak), and the fourth paneer, also referred to as palak paneer.

Saag paneer and palak paneer are two distinct dishes, but both are nutritious and delectable vegetarian curries.

Step-by-Step Guide

How to make Palak Paneer Recipe

Recipe 1

Blanch and Purée Spinach

1. Using a colander or strainer, rinse the palak (spinach) leaves (250 grams or 0.55 pounds), very well under running water.

2.

 

Use a pan, microwave, or electric heater to boil 3 cups of water.

 

Stir in 1/4 teaspoon salt to the hot water.

After that, include the spinach leaves in the hot water.

 

Spend about a minute letting the spinach leaves soak in the water.

Make sure to take the pan off the hot burner if you're doing this on a stovetop.

Prepare a bowl of ice water and set it aside while the water is coming to a boil.

 

To get cold water, simply add 8 to 10 ice cubes to 3 cups of water.

3. Strain the spinach leaves after a minute.

4. 

Transfer the palak (spinach) leaves right away to the bowl of ice-cold water.

 

The spinach's vibrant green color is preserved thanks to this technique of "shocking" it.

The cooking process for the spinach leaves can be stopped by letting them soak in cold water for a minute.

5. 

After pressing the spinach to remove any extra moisture, drain the ice-cold water.

 

Put the spinach, 1 to 2 garlic cloves, 1 to 2 green chili peppers, and 1 inch of ginger that has been finely chopped in a blender or grinder jar.

To make the puree, if you'd like, you can use a handheld immersion blender.

6. Make a smooth spinach purée by blitzing the ingredients together. There should be no need to add any water to make the purée. Set the spinach purée aside.

Produce spinach gravy

7. In a pan or kadai (wok), heat 2 tablespoons of oil, ghee, or butter. I used butter for the images that follow. If using, melt the butter over a low flame, being careful not to let it brown.

8. Let the cumin seeds splutter after adding 1/2 teaspoon of them.

9. Add one to two tej pattas (Indian bay leaves), depending on their size.

10. Add 1 small to medium-sized onion, finely chopped to make 1/3 cup.

11. Until the onions are golden, sauté.

12.

 

Then incorporate 1 teaspoon of finely chopped garlic.

 

Garlic should only be sautéed until its raw aroma disappears, not browned.

13. Add 1 small or medium-sized tomato and 13 cups of chopped tomatoes.

14. The tomatoes should soften after being stirred and sautéed.

15. Add 14 teaspoons each of the following: turmeric powder, red chili powder, and a pinch of asafoetida (hing) once the tomatoes have softened and you can see fat evaporating from the sides of the mixture.

If you don't have asafoetida, you can omit it from the recipe.

 

It is available at your neighborhood spice shop or online at Amazon.

16. Mix very well.

17. Add the spinach purée to the pan.

18. Mix well.

19. Add about ½ cup of water or as required. Mix and stir again. 

20.

 

Until the palak puree is cooked, simmer the gravy for at least 6 to 7 minutes.

 

As needed, season with salt.

 

By this time, the gravy will have thickened.

21. 14 to 1/2 teaspoon of garam masala powder is added after stirring.

Put the Palak Paneer together

22. Once more stirred, immediately add the paneer cubes (200–250 grams of cottage cheese) to the gravy.

You can also choose to add the paneer cubes to the palak gravy after lightly pan-frying them in some oil until they are lightly browned.

 

No additional cooking of the paneer is necessary in this situation.

23. After gentle mixing, turn off the heat.

24. 

Add 2 tablespoons of cooking cream, light cream, or low-fat cream last. I used cream under the Amul brand.

 

Adding 1 tablespoon of heavy whipping cream is recommended.

This step also allows you to optionally add 1 teaspoon of crushed dry fenugreek leaves (Kasuri methi).

25. To ensure that the cream is evenly distributed throughout the gravy, gently stir.

26. 

Palak paneer should be served hot with roti, naan, paratha, cumin rice, or ghee rice.

 

When serving, you can add some butter or cream on top.

 

Ginger julienne and a few drops of lime or lemon juice should be drizzled on top. Enjoy!

Palak Paneer in restaurant style

The spinach puree, onions, spices, and paneer used in this recipe are restaurant-style palak paneer.

 

One of the best restaurant-style palak paneer recipes you can make doesn't contain tomatoes.

My father gave me this wonderful recipe after receiving it from a Punjabi friend who ran a well-liked dhaba in the Mumbai suburbs.

My father occasionally brought us dal makhani and palak paneer from my uncle's dhaba, which we always enjoyed as children.

 

Even though this dhaba is no longer open, the memories endure.

I make this palak paneer recipe on days when we want to eat restaurant-style food at home. The homestyle version I mentioned above is very dissimilar to this recipe.

The first distinction is in the amounts of some ingredients used in this recipe for palak paneer a la restaurant. The dish is flavored using a special charcoal smoking method known as "dhungar," which really elevates the recipe.

There is no tangy or sour ingredient that I add to this palak paneer recipe. If you want a bit of tang, feel free to add 1 small to medium tomato after sautéing the ginger-garlic paste. Alternatively, you can add a few drops of lemon juice or dry mango powder.

Serve the spinach paneer hot with tandoori roti, naan, chapati or jeera rice, or biryani rice. It also pairs well with simple steamed rice.

Step-by-Step Guide

How to make Restaurant Style Recipe

Recipe 2

Ingredients You Need

For Spinach Puree

• 250 grams spinach or 8.81 oz
• 3 cups hot boiling water for blanching
• 2 cups water for an ice bath
• 8 to 10 ice cubes

For Pan Frying Paneer

• 250 grams paneer or 8.81 oz
• 3 tablespoons oil

For Spinach Sauce

• 
  
• ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
• 2 small tej patta or 1 medium to large tej patta (Indian bay leaf)
• ⅓ cup tightly packed finely chopped onions – 60 to 70 grams or 1 medium-sized onion
• 1 teaspoon ginger paste (1 inch peeled ginger crushed to a paste in mortar-pestle)
• 1 teaspoon garlic paste (6 to 7 small to medium peeled garlic, crushed to a paste in mortar-pestle)
• 1 to 1.5 teaspoons finely chopped green chilies – swap ½ teaspoon red chili powder or cayenne with green chilies)
• 1 pinch of turmeric powder (ground turmeric)
• ½ teaspoon black pepper – crushed in a mortar-pestle – optional
• 1 teaspoon dry fenugreek leaves (Kasuri methi) – for more hints of bitterness you can add 2 teaspoons of dry fenugreek leaves
• ½ teaspoon garam masala powder
• ¼ cup light cream or low-fat cream or 2 to 3 tablespoons whipping cream
• 1 pinch of sugar
• salt as required

Method

Blanch Spinach

1.
250 grams of spinach leaves should be thoroughly rinsed in running water. Put the items in a colander after rinsing them so that the extra water can drain.


Keep the stems if they are soft.
 
However, if they are fibrous or hard, throw them away.




2. Boil 3 cups of water in a pan.
 
You can also use an electric heater to heat water, which you can then pour into a pan or bowl.




3. 
Include the spinach leaves in the water.
 
After thoroughly combining, submerge the leaves in the water.
 
For three minutes, blanch the spinach leaves in water.




4. In another bowl, add 2 cups of water and 8 to 10 ice cubes while the spinach leaves are still in the blanching process.




5. 
Remove the spinach leaves that have been blanched from the hot water after three minutes and place them in the cold water.
 
Gently stir to ensure that all of the leaves are submerged in the cold water.


After a minute, take them out with tongs or drain the water completely in a colander or strainer.




6. Put the spinach leaves in a jar for a blender or grinder.




7. 
To create a smooth puree, pulse, or blend.
 
While blending or grinding, no water is necessary.
 
The blanched spinach leaves can also be puréed into a slightly coarser puree if you prefer.


The paneer is fried.




8.
Although this step is optional, it is advised because pan-fried paneer cubes taste good when they are lightly golden.
 
A well-seasoned or non-stick pan should be heated with 3 tablespoons of oil.


the 250-gram bag of paneer cubes.




9. When the first side is just beginning to turn golden, flip it over and continue to fry.




10. 
Fry the paneer cubes until they are uniformly light golden.
 
Avoid frying paneer cubes too much or for too long because they will become dense.