Palak Paneer Recipe

About Palak Paneer

In India, we call spinach ‘palak,’ and paneer is a type of Indian cottage cheese. Palak Paneer is a combination of both these ingredients in a delicious curry. The spinach is blanched and then pureed. It is then cooked in a mildly spicy onion and tomato gravy. Finally, cream is added to mellow the curry even further and to balance the mild bitterness of the spinach.

I come from North India, where this curry is very popular. You can easily find it in most Indian restaurants and dhabas (Indian roadside eateries). Just like Paneer Butter Masala or Shahi Paneer, this curry is also a crowd favorite.

Everyone has a slightly different approach to making it, but I’ve perfected this dish by preparing it several times at home. Here, I’m sharing my tried-and-tested recipe so you can enjoy the same flavor at home too.

How To Make Palak Paneer Recipe – Step By Step

Blanch The Spinach

Step 1: Add 5-6 cups of water to a large pot and bring it to a boil over medium-high heat. Once the water comes to a boil, add ¼ teaspoon of baking soda, 2-3 green chilies, and 200 grams of cleaned spinach leaves to the hot water and boil for 2 minutes. 

Note: If using frozen spinach, use 75-80 grams of it.

Step 2: Meanwhile, fill another large pot with water. Add 10-15 ice cubes to it to make it cold.

Step 3: Now transfer the spinach from the boiling water to the ice-cold water and let it rest for 2 minutes.

Step 4: Now drain the water and keep the spinach aside on your kitchen counter. 

Make The Onion-Tomato Masala

Step 5: Heat 4 tablespoon oil in a large pan over medium-high heat.

Step 6: Once the oil is hot, add 1 teaspoon cumin seeds and 2-3 dried red chilies (broken into small pieces) and let them crackle for 4-5 seconds.

Step 7: Now, add 1 cup of chopped onions and 5-6 cloves of garlic (crushed) and cook until the onions turn light brown. It would take approximately 5-6 minutes to cook, with frequent stirring.

Step 8: Add 1 cup of chopped tomatoes to the pan and cook for 3 minutes. 

Step 9: Add 2 teaspoons of coriander powder to the mixture and cook for an additional 1 minute.

Step 10: Remove the pan from the heat and let the masala cool for approximately 10 minutes to reduce the temperature.

Puree The Ingredients

Step 11: Take the larger jar of your blender and add the blanched spinach, along with the cooled onion-tomato mixture, and ½ cup of water. Blend the contents until they turn into a smooth paste.

Make The Curry

Step 12: Take the same large pan you used earlier and heat 2 tablespoon oil in it over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the spinach masala paste that you prepared in the blender and cook it for 1 minute.

Step 13: Now, add ½ teaspoon of garam masala powder, 200 g of paneer (cut into ½-inch cubes), 1 teaspoon of salt, and ½ cup of water to your pan and mix well. Cook it until the curry comes to a boil.

While it is optional, you can add ¼ cup of fresh cream at this stage if desired.

Add salt to taste and adjust as needed.

Step 14: Switch off the heat. Add 2 teaspoons of lime juice and mix well.

Dhungar (Optional)

This is an optional step, but it brings that same restaurant-like smoky flavor to my recipe. For doing the Dhungar, take a piece of coal and heat it over direct flame until it is red hot. 

Place the coal piece in a small steel bowl and place it on the top of the curry bowl. Now pour 1 teaspoon of ghee on top of the coal and immediately close the lid of the main bowl. You would see that the coal starts to release smoke, which will be absorbed by the curry.

Let it release the smoke for 10-15 minutes.

Now, open the lid of your bowl, remove the coal piece and the small bowl it was placed in, and gently mix the curry.

Tempering (Optional)

Take a small pan from your kitchen and heat 1 tablespoon ghee in it over medium-high heat.

Now add 2 tablespoons of finely chopped garlic and 1 dry red chili (cut into small pieces), and fry them until the garlic turns golden brown.

Pour the prepared tempering over the curry and serve it hot.