Palak Paneer

Palak paneer is an Indian vegetarian main dish made with fresh succulent paneer, in a delicious spinach sauce. You can serve this scrumptious curry with Garlic Naan, Roti, Parathas, Or Jeera Rice

5 from 2 votes

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Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Indian

Diet: Hindu, Vegetarian

Keyword: Indian Curries, Indian Main Dishes, Indian Vegetarian Recipes, North Indian Recipes

Prep Time: 15

Cook Time: 15

Total Time: 30

Servings: Servings

Calories: 385kcal

Author: Aayushi Patel

Equipment

1 Heavy Bottom Pot
1 Blender

Ingredients

250 Grams Paneer
4 Tablespoons Ghee
6-7 Cloves Garlic Thinly Sliced/ Minced
½ inch Ginger Roughly Chopped
1-2 Thai Green Chilies Use as per your spice tolerance
1 Large Yellow Onion Thinly Sliced (It should yield about a little more than 1 Cup of Sliced Onions)
3 Cups Spinach 250 grams
½ Cup Water
1 Tomato Finely chopped or pureed
1 Bay Leaf
1 Cinnamom Stick
2 Green Cardamom Pods
⅛ Teaspoon Turmeric
½ Teaspoon Cumin Powder
½ Teaspoon Coriander Powder
1 Teaspooon Garam Masala You can also use Kitchen King Masala
1 Teaspoon Salt
1 Tablespoon Kasuri Methi
2 Tablespoons Heavy Cream

Make the Garlicky Tempering to Make Lasooni Palak Paneer

2-3 Teaspoons Ghee/Oil
½ Teaspoon Cumin Seeds
3-4 Cloves Garlic Thinly Sliced
¼ Teaspoon Red Chili Powder
1-2 Dried Red Chilies

Get Recipe Ingredients

Instructions

Prepare The Paneer

Cut the paneer into cubes. Now if you are using store bought paneer, soak it in hot water for 5 minutes and then drain the water off.
If you want to fry the paneer, then fry the paneer in some oil, until golden brown from all the sides. Then add the fried paneer to hot water for 5 minutes to make it soft. Drain the water and set it aside.
In a heavy bottom pot, on medium flame, add 2 tablespoons ghee.
Once the ghee is hot, add thinly sliced garlic, roughly chopped ginger, and 1 or 2 green chilies. I add 2 Thai green chilies, but if you don't tolerate spice, just add 1 green chili.
Cook the aromatics until golden, and add the thinly sliced onions. Add a pinch of salt and sauté, cook the onions until golden brown.
Measure 3 tightly packed cups of spinach before chopping. I use baby spinach. If your spinach has hard stems, discard them, and use the tender leaves only. The hard stems can make your curry taste bitter.
Cover and let the spinach cook for 1 minute.
Once the spinach is cooked, cool the onions and spinach mix down.
Once it is cool, add it to the blender jar. Now add half a cup of water and blend it into smooth puree. Keep it aside.
Now in the same heavy bottom pot, add ghee. Once hot, add bay leaf, cinnamon stick, and green cardamom pods. You can also add 2 cloves if you wish to.
Now add finely chopped or pureed tomatoes, and add turmeric, cumin powder, coriander powder, garam masala and salt. Mix it well, and cover. Let it cook until tomatoes are mushy and ghee seperates.
Now to this, add the prepared spinach puree. Mix it well. Let the curry come to a soft boil.
Add the paneer cubes to the curry. Crush 1 tablespoon of kasuri methi between your palms and add it to the curry. Mix it well, and add a little water if required to adjust the consistency of the palak paneer.
Mix it well, and turn off the flame. Add heavy cream!

Add The Tempering

In a small saucepan, add 2 to 3 teaspoons of ghee/oil. Once hot, add cumin seeds and let them splutter. Add 2 dried red chilies.
Once the cumin seeds splutter, add garlic cloves and cook them until golden.
Now add ¼th teaspoon of Kashmiri Red Chili Powder, and turn off the stove.
Add the prepared tempering to the palak paneer

Serving Suggestion

Serve the Palak Paneer hot, with your favorite naan, roti, paratha or jeera rice!

Notes

Use baby spinach or tender spinach leaves to make this curry. Discard any hard mature stems from the spinach, as they can make this palak paneer taste bitter.
Cook the gravy in oil or vegan butter, and add tofu to make it vegan. Finish the curry with a generous drizzle of coconut milk, and coconut cream.
If you want to skip adding heavy cream, add one-third a cup of cashews, along with onions. Once the cashews soften and onions cook, add roughly chopped spinach. The cashews will render a creamy spinach curry.
Adjust the consistency of the palak paneer by adding a little water. Keep the curry thick if you are enjoying it with naans or parathas. You can keep it a little runny if enjoying it with rice.

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