Palak Paneer Recipe With detailed Photos and video.

Palak paneer is a healthy and nutritious Indian side dish where the Indian cottage cheese aka paneer is simmered in rich, creamy and mildly spicy spinach sauce. This recipe would have been originated in North India, but now these days, it became one of the fastest moving side dishes in both south Indian and north Indian vegetarian restaurants. Let us discuss today, how to prepare the restaurant style palak paneer at home.

Palak Paneer - About

Palak paneer is a delicious North Indian cuisine made with fresh spinach, paneer, cream and other spices. Palak stands for spinach in Hindi and as we all know, paneer is the Indian cottage cheese. Palak paneer can be defined as a rich side dish where the fresh and soft paneer cubes are simmered in smooth and silky palak sauce. Retaining the color and taste of palak and the softness of paneer is the key in its preparation. Please do go through the tip section before you start cooking.

Palak Paneer Preparation - In Brief

Palak paneer is beautifully creamy side dish in vibrant green color. Traditional palak paneer preparation starts with the blanching and grinding the fresh spinach. This spinach puree is then cooked with onion, tomatoes and spices. When the gravy come to a thick consistency, the paneer is added and steamed. To make the restaurant style rich and creamy gravy, some fresh creams have to be incorporated.

Palak Paneer Versus Sag Paneer

Palak paneer and sag paneer are the two similar and misleading dishes. Both palak paneer and saag paneer uses paneer and green leafy vegetable as its main ingredients.

When we talk about the difference between these two, we have to be familiar with the two words, palak and saag. Palak translates to a single leaf vegetable, the spinach where as the saag include a group of vegetables like amaranth, mint leaves, coriander leaves, mustard greens, etc. Palak paneer sauce uses only palak but to make saag paneer, we need two or more greens. So both are two different dishes and gives a different taste and aroma.

Palak paneer is more popular in India than saag paneer. But you can see saag paneer in a few North Indian restaurant menu. I tasted this dish during our Mangalore life.

Palak Paneer - Experts tips

Try to use fresh spinach for making the palak paneer. Otherwise, it may leave bitterness to the gravy.
Clean the leaves thoroughly and immerse it in water with salt and vinegar. This will help to remove the chemicals / pesticides if any.
To retain the vibrant green color of palak, never overcook the leaves. Also remember to put the leaves in ice cold water immediately after blanching.
Sometimes, a little bit of garam masala is also used to make this dish more flavorful. But I don't personally don't prefer. If you like, please use.
Overcooking will make the paneer rubbery. So just incorporate paneer only at the end of preparation and then steam it for one or two minutes over low or medium flame.

FAQ

1. How healthy is paneer?

Paneer is nothing but the milk solids. It is rich in protein, calcium and other nutrients which milk provide us. It make us feel full for longer as it paneer digested slowly. But if you are lactose intolerant, then better to avoid regular paneer. Instead you can use tofu or soy paneer

2. What we call palak paneer in English?

Palak paneer is the Indian cottage cheese simmered in spinach gravy.

3. What is the difference between saag paneer and palak paneer?

In saag paneer, the gravy is a combination of two to three greens like amaranth, mint, mustard greens etc. But in Palak paneer, only the palak / spinach is used. Both taste different and are two different dishes.

4. Is spinach and palak is same?

Yes, spinach translate to palak in Hindi.

5. Why palak paneer is not healthy?

Palak paneer contains the milk products like cream, paneer and butter. It is a lactose rich product. It may cause discomfort in some people especially in lactose intolerants.

6. Is spinach paneer good for you?

Of course, not only spinach almost all the leafy vegetables are good for health. These are highly rich in vitamins and Minerals.

Palak Paneer Recipe | How To Make Palak Paneer At Home

Paneer in Mild spicy and creamy spinach gravy

Preparation time: 10 minutes | Cooking time: 20 minutes | Total time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

200 gram paneer
One bunch of palak | spinach (225 gm)
3 to 4 green chilies
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
3 tbsp fresh cream
2 teaspoon butter / oil
One generous pinch of kasoori methi (dried fenugreek seeds)
Salt to taste
Water as needed

How to Make palak paneer - Video

Palak Paneer recipe with step by step photos

Wash the palak two to three times in running water. Remove wilted leaves if any. Remove the hard or mature stem also.
Boil water for blanching in a pan over high heat.
Once the water has come to a rolling boil, put the palak. Immerse the leaves fully in water. You can use a spoon or spatula.
Once the palak turn soft, immediately remove the leaves with the help of a cooking tongs or a spoon.
Immediately transfer into cold water. This step not only help to stop cooking, but also help to retain the color of the palak.
After five minutes, drain water and transfer to a mixer jar. Put green chilies to taste and a few cashew nuts for thickness.
Puree it.
Now we can prepare the palak paneer. Heat butter/oil in a kadai.
When the butter melts, put one teaspoon cumin seeds.
Once the cumin seeds turn aromatic, put finely chopped onion. Sauté till soft.
Add finely chopped tomatoes.
Cover with a lid.
Cook till the tomatoes turns soft and mashed.
Pour the prepared puree and one cup water. You can adjust the amount of water depending on how much gravy you want. I always prefer palak paneer in semi-thick consistency.
Add salt to taste, kasoori methi and a pinch of sugar to balance the taste.
Mix well. Let the gravy boil and come to the desired consistency.
Add cubed paneer and fresh cream.
Mix well with soft hands so that the paneer cubes not disturbed.
Cover with the lid and steam it for about two to three minutes. Then switch off the flame.
Serve with roti, nan, phulka or paneer.