Easy Palak Paneer

Palak paneer also known as saag paneer is a delicious and healthy vegetarian recipe from India made with pureed spinach and Indian cottage cheese. This home-made style palak paneer recipe is a lot more flavorful than the restaurant-style. Serve this delicious vegetarian curry with steamed basmati rice or any Indian bread, it tastes awesome.

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If E. C. Seager had to create an Indian version of Popeye then the Indian Popeye would have been eating Palak Paneer all the time.

Though Indian kids also love Popeye-like all the other children in the world, they don’t need him to encourage them to eat spinach. The reason is that they grow up eating Palak Paneer which is a very tasty spinach recipe from India.

It's also one of the favorite Indian recipes of a lot of my non-Indian friends. After tasting palak paneer for the first time, most of them said that they had never imagined that spinach could taste so good.

Today I am sharing the way it's traditionally cooked in  North Indian homes. The home-cooked palak paneer tastes far better than the restaurant-style.

Jump to:

• What is palak paneer?
• What goes in this dish?
• How to make it?
• What to serve with it?
• Can it be made with frozen spinach?
• How to store?
• Recipe tips & tricks
• How to create a vegan version?
• More easy Paneer recipes
• Step by step photo instructions
• Recipe

What is palak paneer?

Palak Paneer is a dish that is made with pureed palak (spinach) and Paneer (Indian cottage cheese). The dish is flavored with warm Indian spices, onion, ginger, garlic, chilies, and tomato. To make the dish creamy- milk or cream is also added to it.

It's one of the most popular vegetarian recipes from North India. 

Though you can enjoy it throughout the year, it's especially eaten during winters when it tastes even better.

What goes in this dish?

To make this Punjabi style Palak paneer at home, you will be needing the following ingredients:

1. Spinach: Use fresh, tender leaves
2. Paneer (Indian cottage cheese): Fresh/ frozen both are fine
3. Green chilies: Adjust the quantity as per your heat preference.
4. Tomato: Any juicy variety
5. Onion: Generally red onion is used in palak paneer but if that's not available, use whichever variety you have.
6. Ginger: It gives a very nice kick to this spinach paneer curry. You can use it in paste, grated, or chopped form. I love the fine pieces of ginger in palak paneer so prefer using chopped ginger.
7. Garlic: Traditionally a lot of ginger and garlic are added to palak paneer. Not only because they add flavor but also because this dish is a winter recipe and these warm spices are very good for health during the season. If you like garlic add a lot of it but if you don't, adjust the quantity as per your taste.
8. Dried spices: Cumin seeds, coriander powder, red chili powder, turmeric powder, garam masala, kasoori methi (dried fenugreek leaves), and dried whole red chilies.
9. Salt
10. Milk/ cream: Milk or cream is used to add creaminess to the dish. They also balance the heat of spices used.
11. Mustard oil: In North India, mustard oil is a preferred cooking medium, especially for leafy greens. You can use any cooking oil of your choice. However, if you use mustard oil heat it till the smoking point and then switch off the gas. Once the oil reaches room temperature, switch on the gas again, and then add the spices.
12. Ghee: Palak paneer is incomplete without ghee. You can also use butter. It's poured on top once the dish is cooked

How to make it?

The process of making saag paneer is very simple. It involves the following steps:

1. Wash and blanch the spinach for 2-3 minutes in boiling salted water. Take out from the boiling water and transfer to ice-cold water. This will stop the process of overcooking of spinach and also helps in retaining the bright green color of the leaves.
2. Put blanched spinach and chilies in a food processor and make a puree. 
3. Heat oil in a pan. Break red chilies into 2-3 pieces and add to the pan. Saute for a few seconds and then add cumin seeds. Saute until they become fragrant.
4. Next, add garlic, cook until its raw smell goes away. 
5. Add onion and cook until it turns brown.
6. Add coriander powder, turmeric powder, and red chili powder. Saute for a few seconds. Powdered spices burn very easily so, to avoid that either remove the pan from the flame before adding the spices or mix the spices with around 1/2 a tablespoon of water before adding to the pan. The other two dried spice powders-garam masala and kasoori methi will be added at a later stage as we don't want to overcook them. They will lose the flavor and aroma if overcooked
7. Next, add finely chopped tomatoes, ginger, and salt. Cover the pan and cook until the tomatoes turn mushy. Covering the pan will help in fastening the process.
8. When the tomatoes are cooked, add spinach puree and mix. If the puree is too thick, add some water depending upon how thick you want the palak paneer to be. However, keep in mind that we will also be adding milk later which will also make it thinner.
9. Cook the spinach puree with the spices, tomato, and onion mixture for around 2-3 minutes.
10. Add kasoori methi, garam masala, paneer cubes, and milk. Mix everything and cook for 1-2 minutes and then switch off the gas. Don't stop stirring for at least a minute after adding the milk otherwise it may curdle. 
11. Switch off the gas, cover the pan, and let it stay like that for at least 5 minutes. It will help in blending all the flavors.
12. Finally, pour some ghee/ butter on top. Enjoy!

What to serve with it?

Saag paneer goes well with both rice and Indian bread.

You can serve it with some plain steamed basmati rice, jeera rice, or any other rice dish of your choice.

It can also be served with Indian bread like naan, chapati, paratha, or poori. It tastes great with everything.

Can it be made with frozen spinach?

Though traditionally palak paneer is made with fresh paneer only if that's not available to you, frozen spinach can be used.

However, if using frozen spinach, I will suggest tweaking a few steps.

Instead of blanching the frozen spinach, thaw it and then saute with green chilies and garlic for 2-3 minutes. Puree the sauteed spinach and then follow the remaining steps given in the recipe card below.

How to store?

To store, put it in an airtight container and keep it in the fridge. It will be fine for 2-3 days.

For a longer period, freeze it in freezer-safe air-tight containers and put in the freezer. It will be fine for 2-3 months.

Traditionally, in many homes in North India spinach is blanched and pureed in bulk. Because that's the step which takes most of the time. The puree is then stored in the freezer in portion size containers. 

To make instant palak paneer with frozen spinach puree, the base of onion, tomato, and spices is prepared fresh. And then the frozen spinach puree is added to this mixture. No need to even thaw it. Once the spinach starts to simmer garam masala, kasoori methi, milk, and paneer are added. 

You can also try this method.

Recipe tips & tricks

1. Use soft, tender leaves for making palak paneer. If there are any hard stalks remove them.
2. Don't overcook the spinach otherwise, it will turn bitter and lose taste too.
3. If using frozen paneer, soak it in hot water for a few minutes. The paneer will become soft and creamy.
4. You can also fry or bake paneer cubes before adding to the dish.
5. I have made this palak paneer in the traditional way in which a coarse paste of spinach is used.  But, if you prefer smooth palak paneer as they serve in restaurants, make a smooth paste of spinach. Also, use the paste of onion, tomato, garlic, and ginger instead of using them in chopped form. 
6. I love fine pieces of onion, tomato, ginger, and garlic in every bite but if that's not your thing, blend palak paneer with a blender before adding milk and paneer.

How to create a vegan version?

To create a vegan version of this dish- use tofu or potatoes instead of paneer. Also, replace milk with cashew milk or any other plant-based milk.

And, either skip ghee/ butter or add vegan butter.

More easy Paneer recipes

Looking for more easy paneer recipes from India, do check out the following links:

1. Paneer Bhurji
2. Paneer do pyaza
3. Shahi paneer
4. Paneer jalfrezi

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Step by step photo instructions

If you try any of my recipes then please don’t miss to share your feedback and rate the recipe in the comments section below.

You can also follow me on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram.

Recipe