Palak Paneer Palak Paneer Recipe Restaurant Style

Palak Paneer Recipe

Palak paneer is my favourite gravy dish which I love to make every time I see fresh spinach leaves in the vegetable market. During my initial stages of cooking, I always struggle to get bright green colour when cooking palak, but over the years I have learned the secret of getting perfect restaurant style palak paneer without over cooking. This is such a humble dish without any intense spices. The flavours are more mild, rich and you can enjoy the taste of the spinach and paneer without over powering with loads of cream and spices. I prefer using homemade paneer whenever I make any paneer dishes which makes it more delicious. We usually make chapati to serve this with, but you can enjoy it with jeera rice or my plain basmati pulao.

What is Palak Paneer?

If you are new to Indian dish and wondering what is palak paneer. Palak paneer literally translates to Spinach with Cheese. It is an Indian (specifically North Indian) popular curry made with spinach leaves and Indian cottage cheese called as paneer. The dish palak paneer is mild, creamy and rich without heavy spices, so it is loved by many and preferred Indian take-aways across the country. Paneer is also known as Indian cottage cheese. It is firm and does’t melt like regular cheese when heated or added in curries. It is made with milk which is heated, curdled with some kind of coagulant like lemon juice, yogurt or vinegar. The milk curdles are pressed to a firm block and cut into cubes and used in curries. Some of the popular curries are paneer butter masala, palak paneer and paneer pulao.

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About Palak Paneer (Spinach Cheese Curry )

Palak paneer is a popular North Indian, Punjabi delicacy made using palak | spinach leaves and paneer as the star ingredient. It is made with onions, cumin seeds, tomatoes, and minimum spices. The word ‘palak’ means ‘spinach’ and ‘paneer’ means ‘Indian cottage cheese’. This dish is so popular mainly in restaurants across the world. This version of palak paneer is best and I bet you will get the creamy texture without adding any nuts or loads of cream. The recipe for the best restaurant style Palak paneer is as simple and can be made in less than 30 minutes. Traditionally palak paneer is made by blanching spinach leaves in hot water for few seconds and then dunked in ice cold water to retain the bright green colour. I found that, you might lose some nutrients in this blanching process, so I prefer sautéing them with onions and garlic cloves for few minutes before grinding. This way there is no nutrient loss and it stays green and bright. Moreover, spinach puree stays green without any nutrient loss. Sauteing the spinach helps remove the raw smell from it. It is a better way to make Palak puree than blanching. Palak is my preferred green of choice. I use them to make aloo palak, plain palak curry, palak pulao, chana palak and palak paratha. Among all these palak recipes, my favourite is this palak paneer. It is a family favourite too. This can be served with naan, chapati, tandoori roti or jeera rice

Palak paneer Ingredients

Palak - choose fresh spinach (palak) leaves you can find. Sort it out and remove the leaves alone. If there is any tough stalks you can trim them off. But tender stalks can be used in the gravy. You can chop palak leaves roughly before adding, but you can use whole leaves too as they wilt in not time and pureed. Paneer - even though I prefer homemade paneer, you can use store bought brands of paneer as well. Fresh paneer can be added directly in the gravy without frying. If you are using store bought paneer, fry them prior in oil and add to gravies. Onions - I used one large onions for the gravy. Reserve ¼ cup of the onions along with spinach leaves and grind them into a puree. Ginger & Garlic - freshly made ginger and garlic makes all the difference. Grind equal amount of ginger and garlic to make a paste and use along with onions. Tomatoes - you can use pureed tomatoes or finely chopped tomatoes. Make sure to cook them down so it completely disintegrates. Green Chillies - the spicy taste for the palak paneer comes only from green chillies. So you can add as much as you prefer. I chop them finely so it melts in to the curry. Butter & Oil - I use oil for sautéing spinach leaves and butter for making palak paneer gravy.

Spices & Seasonings

Whole spices - I used a combination of shahi jeera, bay leaf, cinnamon and cardamom for tempering. It adds a mild flavour and taste. Spice powders - palak paneer doesn’t have much spice powders added. I don’t use chilli powder or other spice powders when sautéing the onions which will alter the colour of the palak paneer. But I like to add a pinch of garam masala powder, roasted cumin powder and kasuri methi leaves in the end for flavour. Sugar & Salt - make sure you add some sugar in the gravy which balance the taste and the slight bitter flavour of the palak leaves. Cream - I add little cream in the end to help with the rich creamy texture of the palak paneer. Even though Palak paneer is smooth and creamy in texture because of the ground spinach leaves, a little addition of cream enhance the creamy texture. It also provides the restaurant like taste.

Difference between Palak and Saag Paneer

Many people confuse with palak paneer and saag paneer. Even though both the paneer dishes have some similarities like, “made with some kind of spinach leaves “, “looks same and has same texture” and “equally popular across the countries”. They are completely different in taste. Saag paneer is made with onions, ginger, garlic, tomatoes, spice powders and whole spices. The greens used in saag paneer are mustard greens, radish greens, fenugreek leaves, green garlic, spinach and other green leafy vegetables like coriander leaves. The taste of all these greens vary which provides a unique flavour to saag paneer. Also saag paneer has loads of white butter used for the authentic taste. So even though saag paneer and palak paneer looks same. It is completely different in taste and texture. More over saag paneer is popular in Indian restaurants outside India.

Vibrant Green Palak Paneer Tips

The one question which I am asked more often is How do you keep palak green after boiling? So here are my tips and tricks on how to retain green colour of palak after it is cooked. You can use this tips even if you are making palak paneer by blanching spinach leaves.

Blanching & Shocking

This is a technique used in restaurants in making palak paneer. First sort out the greens, remove any tough stalks from the palak leaves. Bring lots of water to a full boil. Dip the spinach leaves in the boiling water and cook without covering the pot. Within few seconds you will see the spinach leaves darken and gets bright green in colour. Immediately remove the spinach using a pair of tongs and shock them in ice cold water. After few seconds, remove the leaves and squeeze the extra water. Now you can grind them to a smooth puree. This way the palak leaves stays bright vibrant green colour.

Don’t Cook Covered

Spinach or palak leaves turn dark when it is cooked in a covered pan. So always cook in an open pot. Even when you saute spinach leaves and when making palak gravy.

Adding Lemon Juice

When grinding palak leaves, use a squeeze of lemon juice. Lemon juice helps retain the bright green colour in palak.

Should You Fry Paneer for Palak Paneer

One of the question which I get often “should I fry paneer or not?. Personally I think homemade fresh paneer needs no frying, you can slice them up and use them directly in curries. Some store bought paneer has weird smell which can be eliminated through frying. In case you want to fry your paneer, this is how you do it.

Cube paneer into small pieces. Heat oil for frying, add paneer cubes and shallow fry them till light golden. Make sure you stir them inbetween for even colour. Strain the fried paneer and immerse them in warm water till use. When adding to gravy, strain the paneer and add to curries.

How to Make Palak Paneer (Stepwise Pictures)

Making Spinach Puree (method 1 - saute & grind)

1)There are 2 ways you can make spinach puree. I prefer sautéing them with onions and garlic cloves for few minutes before grinding. This way there is no nutrient loss and it stays green and bright. Moreover, spinach puree stays green without any nutrient loss. Sauteing the spinach helps remove the raw smell from it. It is a better way to make Palak puree than blanching. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pot. I use this pot for making the palak paneer gravy as well. Add in whole peeled garlic cloves and ¼ cup of the chopped onions. Stir fry the onions for 2 minutes. 2)Now add in the palak leaves. Make sure to remove any tough hard stalks from the palak before adding. You can chop them roughly or add them whole. 3)Keep tossing the spinach leaves in the oil for 1 to 2 minutes. By this time, the palak leaves would have wilted and turned into bright green colour. 4)Let the palak leaves cool for a while. Take them in a blender and grind them into a smooth puree without adding any water. 5)Bright green palak puree is ready. This is the first method of making palak puree.

Making Spinach Puree (method 2- blanch & grind)

6)This is a technique used in restaurants in making palak paneer. First sort out the greens, remove any tough stalks from the palak leaves. Bring lots of water to a full boil. Dip the spinach leaves in the boiling water and cook without covering the pot. Within few seconds you will see the spinach leaves darken and gets bright green in colour. Immediately remove the spinach using a pair of tongs and shock them in ice cold water. After few seconds, remove the leaves and squeeze the extra water. Now you can grind them to a smooth puree. This way the palak leaves stays bright vibrant green colour.

Tempering Spices

7)Melt some butter in the same pot. Butter adds better flavour, but you can use oil or ghee instead of butter. 8)Add in cumin seeds, I used shahi jeera. In goes a bay leaf and a piece of cinnamon stick. 9)Let the spices sizzle in the oil for 1 minute to release its flavour.

Palak Paneer Gravy Base

10)Now to the butter, add in finely chopped onions, 5 chopped green chillies. We don’t use chilli powder in this recipe, so you can use as much green chillies as you prefer. 11)Saute the onions in the butter for 3 to 4 minutes till it has softened. 12)Add in ginger garlic paste and cook for 1 more minute. 13)Now the raw smell from the ginger garlic paste must have gone. 14)Add in finely chopped tomatoes. Instead of chopping tomatoes, you can puree them and add. But I prefer this way. 15)Mix the tomatoes with the onions. 16)Cover and cook on low heat for 4 to 5 minutes until the tomatoes has softened. 17)Now the tomatoes has turned mushy. The masala base is ready.

Adding Palak Puree

18)To the gravy base, add in salt and sugar to taste. 19)Add in palak puree. You can add some water in the blender jar and swirl it to remove any palak bits. Add the water into the gravy as well. 20)Mix the palak puree with the onion tomato masala. At this point never cover the pot and cook. Palak paneer has to be cooked in an open pot. If you cover the pot, palak will turn brown. Simmer the palak in the masala for 2 to 3 minutes. Keep mixing inbetween.

Add paneer into palak gravy

21)Add in paneer cubes. I like to cube mine into small pieces. This is homemade paneer. 22)Mix the paneer into the gravy and simmer for 2 more minutes. 23)Sprinkle the gravy with some roasted cumin powder and a pinch of garam masala powder. 24)Add in kasuri methi leaves. 25)Now add in some cream and turn off the heat. You can finish the gravy with some lemon juice for bright refreshing flavour. 26)Palak paneer is ready to serve. Enjoy with roti or rice.

Expert Tips

Don’t cover the pot when cooking palak, else it may lose its green colour. If you are using store bought paneer, fry them in oil till golden and soak them in warm water until use to retain the freshness and taste. You can skip butter and use oil or ghee instead. Add as much green chillies as you prefer. You can skip cream or even reduce it, if you don’t prefer adding cream. Instead of cream, you can use ¼ cup of milk mixed with 1 tsp of cornstarch to provide the creamy texture. Don’t add too much garam masala powder, it changes the colour of the curry. You can use pureed tomatoes instead of chopped tomatoes.

Storage & Serving

Palak paneer can be served with naan, chapati, tandoori roti or jeera rice. You can even enjoy it with plain cooked rice. Leftover palak paneer can be stored in fridge and reheated the next day when serving. You can freeze palak paneer in individual containers, thaw overnight in fridge and reheat before serving.

1)Difference between palak paneer and saag paneer?

Saag paneer is made with onions, ginger, garlic, tomatoes, spice powders and whole spices. The greens used in saag paneer are mustard greens, radish greens, fenugreek leaves, green garlic, spinach and other green leafy vegetables like coriander leaves. While palak paneer uses fresh palak leaves.

2)Why is my palak paneer bitter?

Using matured spinach leaves gives the bitter taste. Try to find young tender palak leaves which gives a natural sweet flavour to the palak paneer. If you have only large leaves, try blanching them in hot water for few seconds and dunk them in cold water to retain the bright colour. You can puree this into a smooth paste with some lemon juice and add it to the curry.

3)Is palak paneer really healthy?

Palak paneer is made with spinach leaves and paneer. Both are healthy ingredient, if you prefer to make this dish when you are in a weight loss journey. I recommend you to skip butter and cream in the recipe and use oil or ghee instead. This way palak paneer can be made into a healthy low calorie dish.

4)How do you keep palak green after boiling?

To retain green colour in Palak paneer, it should be cooked in an open pot, never cover the pot with lid while cooking spinach. It makes the spinach turn darker in colour.

5)How to Keep Paneer Soft in Palak Paneer?

Take paneer cubes in a bowl, Pour warm water over the paneer and let it sit for 10 minutes. Strain the water from paneer when needed and add it into the curry. This way your paneer stays soft and moist. Usually store bought paneer needs this treatment.

More Paneer Recipes to Try

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