Learn how to make Palak Paneer: this my recipe that’s perfected over the years by adding and subtracting ingredients to suit our palates. This version of Palak Paneer contains no cream.
Today, TH turns 31. I met him when he was 24. Both of us were younger, slimmer, naive, and he really wasn’t TH back then, just this goofy funny guy who made me laugh all the time and ridiculed my Tamil. Most of that has changed now except one thing. TH’s love for Palak Paneer. When he first told me how much he loves Garlic Nan with Palak Paneer, I was surprised because where I come from, most guys don’t really like spinach. TH is neutral towards other spinach dishes but Palak Paneer, he adores. He has tried Palak Paneer in pretty much every city we have traveled to and is still on the quest to find the best Palak Paneer in Singapore.
Since we eat palak paneer so often when we go out for meals, I rarely make it at home. This one time I did make it, I used red amaranth leaves and way too much spices. Since then I’ve realised that Palak needs spices to make it less bland but the spices need to edge it on, not overpower it and become bossy. If you are serving this with nan, the flavours need to be just right so that it complements the nan perfectly.
Anyway, on TH’s birthday this year, I wanted to share his most favourite dish and the recipe I have perfected over 4-5 trials. As mentioned, when I make Palak Paneer, I like to keep the recipe simple and don’t add unnecessary thickening agents or cream.
Browse all paneer recipes here.
Serve Palak Paneer as a Side Dish with:
Tawa Naan
Jeera Rice
Methi Paratha
Simple Vegetable Pulav
Triangular Chapatis
Vegetable Biryani
- 1 cup of cubed paneer (how to make paneer)
- 4-5 cups of palak (or green spinach, packed)
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 tsp of minced garlic
- ½ tsp of minced ginger
- 1 tsp of red chilli powder
- 1 tsp of coriander powder
- ½ tsp of jeera (cumin) powder
- ¼ tsp of turmeric powder
- 1 large pinch of kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves)
- 1 tsp of garam masala
- 2 tsp of ghee (or oil)
- 1 pinch of hing (or asafoetida)
- 1 heaping tsp of tomato paste (or 1 pureed tomato) - optional
- 1 cup of milk (or water)
- 1 tbsp of plain curd (or yogurt) - optional
- How to Make Palak Paneer:
- The first step is to blanch the spinach. Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil and dunk the washed spinach leaves in it. Let it simmer for about 2 mins and then remove. Puree to a smooth paste.
- Drain the water and in the same bowl, heat the ghee or oil. Add the cumin powder and within 5 seconds, add the chopped onions. Saute until golden brown and add the spice powders like coriander powder, turmeric, chilli powder, and hing. Fry for a few seconds, taking care not to burn them spices.
- Next, add the minced ginger and garlic and the tomato paste if using. Mix well and add the pureed spinach.
- Top this off with the milk. Mix well, bring to boil and add the kasuri methi and salt.
- Cook covered for about 6-8 mins until the spinach is completely cooked and spices have blended well into the gravy. Gently add the paneer pieces to the gravy.
- Top off with a tbsp of curd (plain yogurt) if you want the gravy to be thicker. Sprinkle garam masala. Mix well and remove from the stove.
- Serve hot with nan, roti, or pulao
Step by Step Palak Paneer Recipe:
1. The first step is to blanch the spinach. Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil and dunk the washed spinach leaves in it. Let it simmer for about 2 mins and then remove. Puree to a smooth paste.
2. Drain the water and in the same bowl, heat the ghee or oil. Add the cumin powder and within 5 seconds, add the chopped onions. Saute until golden brown and add the spice powders like coriander powder, turmeric, chilli powder, and hing. Fry for a few seconds, taking care not to burn them spices.
3. Next, add the minced ginger and garlic and the tomato paste if using. Mix well and add the pureed spinach.
4. Top this off with the milk. Mix well, bring to boil and add the kasuri methi and salt.
5. Cook covered for about 6-8 mins until the spinach is completely cooked and spices have blended well into the gravy. Gently add the paneer pieces to the gravy.
6. Top off with a tbsp of curd (plain yogurt) if you want the gravy to be thicker. Sprinkle garam masala. Mix well and remove from the stove.
Done! Delicious piping hot Palak Paneer is now ready.
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| Palak Paneer with Easy Vegetable Pulao (click for recipe) |
Notes:
– You can fry the paneer pieces in some oil, dunk it into hot water for a few seconds, squeeze and set aside to be added to the gravy later. This makes the paneer softer. Since I used fresh homemade Paneer, I avoided this step.
– Adjust the quantity of spices to your liking. For me, these quantities work out perfectly.
– You can add a couple of green chillies to the spinach while grinding instead of using red chilli powder. I generally do this but didn’t have any fresh green chillies in hand that day.
For palak paneer recipe in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, Marathi, Kannada etc please use the Google translate button in the sidebar.
Sydney says
April 20, 2019 at 4:51 amThis Palak Paneer is very good. I am so happy to make this at home and it turns out perfect every time. I use whole fresh spices and Organic Chilly. Thanks for this recipe!
Rebecca Clarke says
December 17, 2018 at 6:25 pmHi, is this recipe suitable for freezing? we’re having an Indian themed meal for Christmas this year and I am wanting to prepare the curries before the weekend.
Thanks
Bec
nags says
January 15, 2019 at 10:04 amsure it freezes well. just thaw fully before reheating (due to the paneer)
Joanna Biggs says
February 6, 2018 at 12:43 amDelicious! Just as good as our cook in India used to make 🙂
nags says
February 10, 2018 at 7:47 pmso glad to hear that!
Gordon Hindley says
August 25, 2017 at 12:33 pmIn a word Awesome
Babara says
March 15, 2017 at 6:14 amCan u tell me the quantity of palak in gms or oz.Not sure how much palak to be use in this recipe.
Christine Haines says
March 1, 2017 at 5:08 amI made the recipe according to your directions. The flavor was very bland. However, I tweaked it with additional spices and salt to my husband and my likings and it was great. So I would have to say the base was very good, but each individual will have to adjust spices to their liking.
Danielle says
June 5, 2016 at 3:25 amAbsolutely delicios! Used to go instead of paneer and it came out so phenomenal!!! Thank you for such a good recipe
Danielle says
June 5, 2016 at 3:26 amTofu*
nags says
June 7, 2016 at 1:02 pmoh yum! thanks for letting me know you enjoyed the recipe 🙂
Jaya says
May 3, 2013 at 3:57 pmexcuse me, but why can i not pin your recipes on pinterest? do you think that is a copyright breach? i thought it was a good way to save links while giving proper attribution. comments?
Nagalakshmi V says
May 5, 2013 at 12:18 amhey jaya, i am not sure why you are unable to. i have a pin it button at the bottom of all posts and also on the images for pinning individually. are you not able to see them or use them to pin?
Accidental Cook says
February 13, 2013 at 12:12 amLovely pics and easy recipes. Thank you for doing this. Had a question. Which pan do you use and what are your staple cookwares in the kitchen? I am currently shopping for cookwares – have narrowed it down to stainless steel but trying to decide if the high end brand is worth it or should i go with the popular brand. Any tips will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Nagalakshmi V says
February 13, 2013 at 1:08 amI have a few different ones since I am a bit too obsessed about my cooking pots and pans.
– I have 2 Teflon non-stick pans for recipes that require stir-frying and don't use water
– I have an all-clad steel cooking pot which I LOVE but if you make, say, roasted potatoes in it, it will stick badly. I use it for things like pav bhaji, or kootu which has some water base too
– I use a cast-iron tawa from India for dosa
– Hawkins anodised kadai for deep frying, and same brand+material tawa for rotis. In fact, these two and another cooking pot came as a set which I bought for 1800 rs in India
– My tadka pan is also Hawkins anodised one which is fabulous
I feel this is more of a personal choice and what you prefer is what will work out best for you. A lot of poeple are completely against non-stick so if you are, then you have to choose one or two pans carefully for stir-frying. All-steel cookware is not best suited for that unless you add a lot of oil.
I also would try the Corningware cookware that's all-glass and stove-top safe. Generally glass doesn't get too sticky so maybe you can use it in place of non-stick. I don't own one (yet!) though.
Hope this helps.
Accidental Cook says
February 13, 2013 at 7:26 pmThanks a lot for replying. Big help.
mim says
February 7, 2013 at 2:02 pmthank you for this recipe… we made delicious p.p. for lunch and dinner. my fussy son wanted this everyday. amazing. i feel like a great chef today
Anonymous says
February 1, 2013 at 6:53 pmi make it eaxctly the same way…. step by step lol…once ina while i grind tomatos with the palak
Anonymous says
February 1, 2013 at 2:38 amMy first indian dish!! Delicious and so tweak-able with what I had on hand. It will be even better when I buy real ginger and not that other root that looks exactly like ginger and doesn't smell!
Visha says
January 31, 2013 at 8:48 amI did not have a couple of things at hand, like kasoori methi and paneer. Since I did not want to waste the 2 bunches of spinach lying away, I followed your recipe and ended up with a mouth watering paneer-less palak paneer. Also, this works if you use ginger-garlic paste instead of the two separate and sambar powder instead of the individual masala's.
Adding cumin powder before the onions – is it special for this dish or can this be used in other gravy dishes too?
Thank for such a tasty and delicious recipe 🙂
Nagalakshmi V says
January 31, 2013 at 10:00 amAdding sambar powder to palak paneer is a great South-Indian-friendly idea 😀
I like the flavour of roasted jeera so I add that first. You can do that for any dish. If you notice the pics, I actually added it later with the other masala because I had roasted jeera in hand but in the instructions I wanted folks to roast it first, for a better flavour. It's really up to you.
PS: your blog is very cute.
Visha says
January 31, 2013 at 10:10 amThe lazy me made the south indian version 😉 But it tasted so delicious!!
Thanks 🙂
Sri says
January 30, 2013 at 8:47 pmCan you post the rice receipe from last pic ?
Nagalakshmi V says
January 31, 2013 at 1:54 amIt's a simple vegetable pulav recipe, Sri 🙂 Will post as soon as possible.
mee says
January 30, 2013 at 3:21 pmHello, i love your website – i follow it a lot. is it ok to add milk when we use onions? my husband gets very concerned when I mix onions and milk. is there a trick? to make sure nothing goes wrong?
Nagalakshmi V says
January 31, 2013 at 1:57 amNot sure what exactly the concern is. I have never heard of any issues with mixing onions and milk so don't have any "tips" to avoid "issues" either. If you are concerned, you can substitute water for milk. Does that work?
mee says
February 5, 2013 at 5:16 pmthank you for your response. i am going to make this recipe on Thursday. thank you again!! 🙂
mee says
February 17, 2013 at 7:22 pmI made the palak paneer-was v v nice:)) thank you for the wonderful recipe:)))
mee says
February 17, 2013 at 7:23 pmi made palak paneer – and it was v v good! thank you for the wonderful recipe :)))
Sharmilee! :) says
January 30, 2013 at 2:37 pmThis is on my todo list too…looks very tempting and the rice looks so good, what rice is that? 🙂
Nagalakshmi V says
January 30, 2013 at 2:48 pmjust a simple vegetable pulav 🙂
Dipti Joshi says
January 30, 2013 at 2:30 pmIn my experience, cooking the dish with the lid closed makes the spinach lose its rich green color. Do you have any tips regarding this?
Nagalakshmi V says
January 30, 2013 at 2:48 pmin that case, you can cook it on very low flame without covering. the spinach is half cooked anyway.
anubhavati says
January 30, 2013 at 1:41 pmLooks beautiful Nags. I completely agree on keeping palak simple and plain. My sister makes a version where the ginger is the star of the dish and its very delicately flavoured with the other spices. Altho I am not a great fan of ginger, this version was oh so delish! I love the kadai and the beautiful green of the palak and the paneer floating in it! I made my version with tempeh!!!
Shobha
Priya says
January 30, 2013 at 12:55 pmWat a tempting and breath taking picture, delicious palak paneer.
techie2mom says
January 30, 2013 at 12:11 pmTempting pics….
I make Paalak paneer with almost similar ingredients, but in different quantity…Though never tried adding kasoori methi, will try now…
RAKS KITCHEN says
January 30, 2013 at 10:42 amAwesome combo, the last pic is too much tempting me. Belated wishes to him 🙂
Jeyashrisuresh says
January 30, 2013 at 10:11 amthis is a rare dish which i make in my kitchen but yours look super tempting. will try it out next time for a change. Beautiful clicks .
Vimala says
January 30, 2013 at 5:21 amHow did u puree the spinach? use a blender or just mash it with spoon ?
Nagalakshmi V says
January 30, 2013 at 7:46 amI used my hand blender. Mashing with a spoon may give you very coarse spinach.
Aruna says
January 30, 2013 at 4:57 amwow love this recipe…im going to try palak mutton on same style as it is my husband's favorite…
Aruna says
January 30, 2013 at 4:55 amwow loved this recipe..going to try this with mutton as this is my husbands favourite..
Sarah says
January 30, 2013 at 1:47 amPalak paneer is the thing I ALWAYS get when I go to an Indian restaurant. I think I'm going to have to give it a go.
Sireesha Puppala says
January 29, 2013 at 11:11 pmhhhm…delicious!!loved the last click especially..
divya says
January 29, 2013 at 10:53 pmLooks delicious n awesome. Lovely clicks.
Anu says
January 29, 2013 at 8:16 pmLooks Yummy. Love the font in the first pic. Any haters of palak paneer will change their mind seeing your first pic.Btw, happy birthday to your hubby.
ramya anand says
January 29, 2013 at 5:25 pmLove the pictures esp the last one!!Its raining paneer in blogosphere:-)
Kadhyaa says
January 29, 2013 at 1:40 pmI loved the combo 🙂 nice pics Nags
Veena Theagarajan says
January 29, 2013 at 12:44 pmlooks too good. even after dinner i am hungry now
dassana says
January 29, 2013 at 12:39 pmpalak paneer is looking delicious. i make in a similar way except for adding yogurt. and sometimes i add tofu instead of paneer. your post reminds me that i have a post in drafts from a long time. wishing your hubby a happy birthday.
komala says
January 29, 2013 at 12:25 pmHi Nags,
In the local NTUC, I see diff kinds of spinach. I see red spinach, rounded & "sharp" leaf spinach. Which is it ?
Nagalakshmi V says
January 29, 2013 at 2:11 pmI usually buy the rounded green spinach for normal dishes. However, for Palak Paneer I buy the actual Palak from India that's available in Little India. That gives the best flavour I feel. You can also use the red spinach for making Palak Paneer, it works out fine.
Anonymous says
January 29, 2013 at 10:40 amHi Nags,
I am still trying to perfect my paalak paneer recipe. will try your recipe soon.
I have to tell you the best palak paneer for me is the one i have regularly in Tandoori kitchen (balestier road). Try it sometime.
Vini
Pepper Tadka says
January 29, 2013 at 10:38 amWishing him a happy bday and a wonderful year ahead.
I ve never liked spinach coz I guess I have had too much of it in my childhood.. the backyard was always red with red cheera growing all over. After marriage , it came as a surprise when the husband and in laws treated cheera as a delicacy…
But this dish looks likes one that even me the cheera hater would like.
Divya Kudua says
January 29, 2013 at 9:52 amWishing your 'TH' a very happy birthday.I am not a big fan of Palak paneer too and go for the much-loved PBM whenever we dine out!
Yamini Vijayaraj says
January 29, 2013 at 8:52 amWishing yr husband a very happy birthday..:) this is a much awaited post..I'm drooling1
APARNARAJESHKUMAR says
January 29, 2013 at 8:28 amwishing him a very happy birthday 🙂 wish for all good things in your life !
I loved the font on the photo !:) very nice Curve !