Veggie Recipes Of India Palak Paneer

Palak Paneer is one of the most popular Indian dish made with succulent Paneer cubes (Indian cottage cheese) in a smooth spinach sauce. I share two ways to make this healthy dish – a homestyle version and a restaurant style version with a charcoal smoking method

. Both the vibrant green palak paneer recipes are made with fresh spinach leaves (palak in Hindi), aromatics, herbs and spices. Make these super delicious spinach paneer recipes with my easy step-by-step photo guide and video.

Palak Paneer is one of the most popular Indian curries around, and with good reason. This deliciously creamy and vibrantly green dish is made with paneer in a mildly spiced fresh spinach sauce. This is a delightful and easy to make vegetarian main you just have to try!

Easy Palak Paneer Recipe

This delicious palak paneer is a family recipe that my Mom passed down to me. She has been making this recipe for our family for years, and I am so happy to get to share it with you here.

It is one of the most popular and well-liked spinach paneer recipe on the blog, not to mention our favorite at home. Packed with healthy nutrients like calcium, iron and vitamin C, this is a meal that I can feel good about eating.

In this recipe, I show you how to quickly blanch the spinach. This is done so that the dish has a nice green color, as well as for some health benefits.

Easy 15 Minute Instant Pot Palak Paneer Recipe

Did you know that blanched spinach is healthier than raw? For this reason, I always recommend blanching spinach before using them in my collection of Palak Recipes.

This delicious palak paneer goes well with roti, naan, or paratha. If you are gluten-free, you can also serve it with cumin rice or biryani rice, saffron rice or ghee rice.

Saag paneer and palak paneer are terms that are often used interchangeably, but they are actually different dishes. Palak paneer is an authentic Indian dish made with only spinach puree, whereas saag paneer is made with a mixture of 2 to 3 various types of greens.

Palak Paneer Recipe (instant Pot And Stovetop)

In the Punjabi or Hindi language the word ‘saag’ means greens, and ‘palak’ means spinach. Various leafy greens fall under this category of ‘saag’, including: amaranth leaves, spinach, dill leaves, radish leaves, mustard leaves, fenugreek leaves and purslane.

Saag paneer seems to have been popularized outside of India, however it is still very uncommon in India. My mother-in-law never makes

One is made with lentils (Dal Palak), another with white chickpeas, the third with potatoes (Aloo Palak) and the fourth with paneer – popularly known as palak paneer.

Easy Palak Paneer, Indian Spinach Curry With Paneer Cheese

2. Boil 3 cups water in a pan, microwave or electric heater. Add ¼ teaspoon salt to the hot water and stir.

While the water is coming to a boil, make a bowl of ice water and set it aside. Just add 8 to 10 ice cubes to 3 cups of water to get cold water.

4. Immediately transfer the palak (spinach) leaves to the bowl containing ice cold water. This method of “shocking” the spinach helps preserve the vibrant green color of the spinach.

Palak Paneer Recipe (spinach & Paneer Cheese Curry)

5. Drain the ice cold water and press the spinach to remove any excess moisture. Add the spinach in a blender or grinder jar with 1 inch chopped ginger, 1 to 2 garlic cloves and 1 to 2 chili peppers (green chillies).

6. Make a smooth spinach purée by blitzing the ingredients together. There should be no need to add any water to make the purée. Set the spinach purée aside.

12. Then add 1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic. Sauté till the raw aroma of garlic goes away, but stop short of browning the garlic.

Saag Paneer Recipe

15. Once the tomatoes are softened and you see fat releasing from the sides of the mixture, then add ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder, ½ teaspoon red chili powder (or substitute cayenne pepper or paprika) and a pinch of asafoetida (hing).

You can find asafoetida at your local spice store or on amazon, but if you don’t have it, you can skip it.

Also, please note that many commercially available brands of asafoetida are processed with wheat. If you are gluten intolerant, please be sure to purchase gluten free asafoetida.

Easy Healthy Palak Paneer Recipe < The Love Of Spice

20. Simmer the gravy for 6 to 7 minutes or more until the palak puree is cooked. Season with salt as required. The gravy will have thickened by now.

You can also opt to lightly pan-fry the paneer cubes in some oil until they are lightly browned and then add them to the palak gravy. In this case, you don’t need to cook the paneer further

26. Serve palak paneer hot with roti, naan or paratha or cumin rice or ghee rice. You can top it with some butter or cream also while serving.

Punjabi Palak Paneer Recipe

This recipe is a restaurant style version of palak paneer made with spinach puree, onions, spices and paneer. It does not include tomatoes and is one of the best restaurant style palak paneer recipe that you can make.

This delicious recipe was shared by my dad who had got it from one of his Punjabi friend, who owned a popular dhaba in the Mumbai suburbs.

On occasions, my dad would get us palak paneer or Paneer Butter Masalaanddal makhani from uncle’s dhaba and we would always relish it as kids.This dhaba is closed now, but the memories remain.

Vibrant Green Palak Paneer

On some days, when we are in a mood to have restaurant-style food at home, I make this palak paneer recipe. The homestyle version that I have shared above is very different from this recipe.

The first difference is in the proportion of some ingredients included in this restaurant style palak paneer recipe. The second big difference is flavoring the dish with a unique charcoal smoking technique (known as ‘

There is no tangy or sour ingredient that I add in this palak paneer recipe. If you want a bit of tang, feel free to add 1 small to medium tomato after sautéing the ginger-garlic paste. Alternatively, you can add a few drops of lemon juice or dry mango powder.

Best Garlicky Palak Paneer (saag Paneer) Recipe

Serve the spinach paneer hot with tandoori roti, naan, chapati or jeera rice or biryani rice. It also pairs well with as simple steamed rice.

1. Rinse 250 grams spinach leaves very well in running water. Once they are rinsed, place them in a colander, so thatthe excess water drains off.

2. Boil 3 cups water in a pan. You can also boil water in an electric heater and then take it in a pan or bowl.

Palak Paneer (restaurant Style)

3. Add the spinach leaves in the water. Mix to combine and immerser the leaves in the water. Blanch the spinach leaves in water for 3 minutes.

4. When the spinach leaves are blanching, in another bowl, take 2 cups some water and add 8 to 10 ice cubes.

5. After 3 minutes, remove the blanched spinach leaves from the hot water and add them to the cold water. Stir gently so that all the leaves are immersed in the cold water.

Palak Paneer Creamy Indian Spinach Curry

7. Grind or blend to a smooth puree. No need to add any water while grinding orblending. If you prefer you can also blend the blanched spinach leaves to a slightly coarser puree.

10. Fry till the paneer cubes arelightgolden evenly. Avoid frying too much or for a longer time, as then the paneer cubes become dense.

12. To soften the paneer more, keep them immediately in water. Let the paneer to be in the water for 3 to 4 minutes. Then lightly squeeze them and keep aside.

Punjabi Palak Paneer

13. Now in the same oil, in which we had pan-fried paneer, add the following spices – ½ teaspoon cumin seeds and 2 small tej patta or 1 medium to large tej patta (Indian bay leaf).

If the consistency looks very thick to you, then add in a splash of water. Mix and simmer for a few minutes.

25. Stir to combine to an even mix. The cream should be mixed very well with the palak sauce or gravy. Then turn off theheat.

The Best Homemade Palak Paneer Recipe

28. This is an optional step, but I highly recommend it. Burn a small piece of natural charcoal on a stovetop with the help of tongs.

On top of the rack, place the charcoal. Burn the charcoal carefully till its red hot using a pair of heat-proof and fire-proof metal tongs.

Add ½ teaspoon oil on the charcoal. You can also keep 1 clove or ½ teaspoon cumin seeds on the charcoal and then pour the oil. As soon as you pour oil, smoke will emit from the charcoal.

Vegan Indian Palak

30. As soon as the smoke begins to emit, immediately cover the pan tightly with a lid. Keep the pan covered for a minute so that the charcoal’s smoky aroma and flavor gets infused with the dish.

For a slight tang you can add ¼ teaspoon dry mango powder or a few drops of lemon or lime juice and stir before serving.

31. Serve restaurant style palak paneer with tandoori roti, naan, chapati, paratha or cumin rice or saffron rice. The lightly spiced spinach sauce or gravy also pairs well with steamed rice.

Palak (saag) Paneer Recipe

You can top the palak paneer with some butter or cream or grated paneer while serving. Also, you can drizzle