Vibrantly green, deliciously creamy, and the most popular Indian Palak Paneer recipe is made with paneer cubes, i.e., Indian cottage cheese in a rich, fresh spinach sauce. It is one of the most well-liked and popular palak recipes in Indian homes, full of healthy nutrients like iron, calcium, and vitamin C.
Recipe to Make a Delicious Palak Paneer Dish
Blanch & Pulp Spinach
- Utilizing a strainer, wash the spinach leaves thoroughly (0.55 pounds or 250 grams).
- Put 3 cups of water in a pan and bring it to a boil. Add one-fourth teaspoon salt to hot water and stir. After that place the washed leaves in hot water. For about 1 minute let the spinach leaves in water. Whilst the water is coming to a boil, take a bowl of ice water. Just add 7 to 10 ice cubes to 3 cups of normal water to have cold water.
- Strain out the spinach leaves after 1 minute.
- Immediately transfer the leaves to the chilled water.
- After few minutes drain the ice water and then press spinach leaves to get rid of all moisture. Add spinach in a grinder or blender jar with 1 or 2 cloves of garlic, chopped ginger (approximately an inch of ginger), and 1 to 2 green chilies.
- Make a lump-free spinach purée by blitzing those ingredients together.
Making of Palak Gravy
- Put two tablespoons of butter or ghee in a pan and heat it.
- Add cumin seeds (half teaspoon) and allow them to splutter.
- After that add one medium-sized Indian bay leaf (tej patta).
- Add one medium-sized finely chopped onion.
- Sauté until onions become golden.
- Next, add finely chopped garlic (approximately 1 teaspoon). Stir-fry till the raw smell of garlic vanishes, but stop just after browning the garlic.
- Add one medium-sized chopped tomato.
- Stir and fry the tomatoes till they turn soft.
- Wait till the tomatoes are mashed and you notice fat-releasing, later add red chili powder (approximately ½ teaspoon), turmeric powder (approximately ¼ teaspoon), and a bit of hing (asafoetida).
- Mix well.
- Put the cooked spinach in the pan.
- Mix very well.
- Add half a cup of water. Stir well for a few minutes.
- Allow simmering for six to seven minutes or till you get the gravy of desired consistency. Add salt according to taste.
- After thickening, stir it and then add ¼ to ½ teaspoon garam masala powder.
Put Together Paneer
- Again stir it and add the cubes of paneer (200 to 250 grams of cottage cheese) onto the gravy directly. Here you could also opt for lightly pan-fry paneer cubes.
- Mix gently and remove from heat.
- Lastly, add 1 teaspoon crushed dry fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi) and a couple of tablespoons of fresh cream.
- Stir delicately in order to have the cream uniformly assimilated into the gravy.
- Finally, this lip-smacking palak paneer is ready to serve with naan, roti, or paratha or ghee rice, or cumin rice.
You can top it with some cream or butter as well while serving. Spatter a few drops of lemon juice or lime on top. Always try to use tender and fresh spinach leaves. Moreover, blanching the spinach is a must to quash the raw taste.
Blanching also helps to obliterate harmful pesticide and microorganisms residues, as well as makes the spinach’s nutrients more bioactive. Lastly, to make a restaurant flavored palak paneer recipe, you can smoke the dish utilizing charcoal.
