Palak Paneer Recipe, Palak paneer restaurant style

Palak paneer recipe with step by step pictures

Palak paneer recipe is a rich, thick and creamy spinach gravy with soaked soft paneer cubes. I love to make spinach recipes at home because they are very nutritious and healthy yet so delicious.

Spinach is an excellent source of vitamin K, A, manganese, folate, magnesium, iron, copper, vitamin B2, vitamin B6, vitamin E, calcium, potassium, and vitamin C.

It is a very good source of dietary fibre and a good source of omega-3 fatty acids, niacin, pantothenic acid, and selenium. Additionally Spinach is a unique source of methylenedioxyflavonol glucuronide.

There are in numerous health benefits of spinach so it’s a one of the best veggie that you can include in your diet.

Another main ingredient in this recipe is Paneer. It is very healthy and is a great source of protein.  Apart from being rich in protein and calcium, paneer is a great source of conjugated linoleic acid — a fatty acid which helps lose weight by increasing the fat burning process in the body.

This spinach paneer curry is mild in taste and creamy in texture. On my blog there are other spinach recipes present which you view.

• Restaurant style aloo palak recipe
• Palak Saag Recipe , How to make palak saag | Spinach saag
• Spinach Raita Recipe | Spinach Dip

Now coming to the recipe, In this palak paneer recipe, I have not used tomato in this recipe instead I have added lemon juice to get  sourness.

Second thing is that generally I use homemade paneer in all my recipes but somehow I could not manage this time so here is a quick tip if you are using ready made paneer in your recipe, first boil the water and switch off the flame. Now immerse the paneer slab or cubes into water for 5 minutes. This will make paneer soft and spongy. Make sure that you don’t cook paneer in boiling water else you will end up with a very hard paneer.

Never add paneer in starting of preparation of any recipe. It make it hard. Add it when gravy is ready. Add paneer and cook it just for 1 minute and switch off the flame.

Apply these tricks and tips in your cooking method. I hope you could make better and finger licking restaurant style food at home.

Let’s see the recipe !!

If you are looking for north Indian gravies you may like  Mushroom makhani recipe, Mushroom masala recipe, Chole masala, Punjabi chole recipe and Khoya Matar Paneer Recipe

Ingredients

*measurement for cup used, 1 cup = 250 ml

For spinach puree

200 grams fresh baby spinach
1 green chili
½ teaspoon fennel seeds
2 cups of water for boiling spinach
A few ice cubes

For gravy

200 grams paneer
2 tbsp oil
1 medium-sized onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon ginger paste
½ tsp cumin seeds / jeera
A pinch of asafoetida/heeng
½ tsp chopped garlic
¼ tsp  garam masala powder
½ tsp ground coriander
1 bay leaf / tej patta
¼ tsp turmeric powder
½ tsp red chili crushed or powder
4 tsp milk
salt as required
1 ½  tsp kasuri methi leaves (dry fenugreek leaves)

Step by step palak paneer recipe

Step 1. Heat a sauce pan and water. When water starts boiling, add fennel seeds and spinach leaves. Let it boil for 3 minutes on high. Mean while line up a pot with ice water. Switch off the flame. Immediately transfer the spinach to ice water. Let it sit for 10 minutes and then drain. This is called blanching the spinach.

This way you will get rich green colour without any brown tint. You can save the water in which you boiled your spinach for later use.

Step 2. In a mixer jar, add the blanched spinach and green chili. Puree it. Keep it aside. Place a pan over medium heat. Pour olive oil. Once oil get’s heat up, add asafoetida, cumin seeds and bay leaf. Saute for 30 seconds.

Step 3. Add chopped garlic and saute till raw aroma goes. Add in chopped onion, saute for a minute. Add ginger paste and stir for 30 seconds.

Step 4. Add dry spices garam masala, coriander masala, turmeric powder and crushed chilli. Roast for 10 seconds. Make sure that you don’t get spices burned. Add whole milk. Saute the mixture until comes into a paste texture.

Step 5. It should also have started to lose oil at sides.  Add spinach chili puree which we have prepared earlier. Add salt to taste.

Step 6. Cook for 5 minutes. Add lemon juice. This will keep green colour of spinach intact and also flavours palak paneer.

Step 7. Add paneer cubes and mix. Switch off the flame. Add crushed kasoori methi. Delicious palak paneer recipe is ready to serve with chapati or rice.

Recipe card – Palak paneer recipe

4.67 from 3 votes

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Palak Paneer Recipe, Palak paneer restaurant style

Prep Time

15 mins

Cook Time

10 mins

Total Time

25 mins

 

Palak paneer recipe is a rich, thick and creamy spinach gravy with soaked soft paneer cubes.

Course: Mains

Cuisine: Indian

Servings: 3 -4servings

Author: Rachna's Kitchen

Ingredients

• For spinach puree
• 200 grams fresh baby spinach
• 1 green chili
• ½ teaspoon fennel seeds
• 2 cups of water for boiling spinach
• A few ice cubes
• For gravy
• 200 grams paneer
• 2 tbsp oil
• 1 medium-sized onion finely chopped
• A pinch of sugar
• 1 teaspoon ginger paste
• ½ tsp cumin seeds / jeera
• A pinch of asafoetida/heeng
• ½ tsp chopped garlic
• ¼ tsp garam masala powder
• ½ tsp ground coriander
• 1 bay leaf / tej patta
• ¼ tsp turmeric powder
• ½ tsp red chili crushed or powder
• 4 tsp milk
• salt as required
• 1 ½ tsp kasuri methi leaves dry fenugreek leaves

Instructions

1. Heat a sauce pan and water.
2. When water starts boiling, add fennel seeds and spinach leaves.
3. Let it boil for 3 minutes on high. Mean while line up a pot with ice water. Switch off the flame. Immediately transfer the spinach to ice water.
4. Let it sit for 10 minutes and then drain.
5. This is called blanching the spinach.
6. This way you will get rich green colour without any brown tint.
7. You can save the water in which you boiled your spinach for later use.
8. In a mixer jar, add the blanched spinach and green chili.
9. Puree it. Keep it aside.
10. Place a pan over medium heat.
11. Pour olive oil.
12. Once oil get's heat up,add asafoetida,cumin seeds and bay leaf.
13. Saute for 30 seconds.
14. Add chopped garlic and saute till raw aroma goes.

15. Add in chopped onion, saute for a minute. Add a pinch of sugar. It will caramelise onion fast and you will get correct golden onions in few seconds. 

16. Add ginger paste and stir for 30 seconds.
17. Add dry spices garam masala, coriander masala, turmeric powder and crushed chilli.
18. Roast for 10 seconds. Make sure that you don't get spices burned. Add whole milk. Saute the mixture until comes into a paste texture.
19. It should also have started to lose oil at sides.
20. Add spinach chili puree which we have prepared earlier. Add salt to taste.
21. Cook for 5 minutes. Add lemon juice.
22. This will keep green colour of spinach intact and also flavours palak paneer.
23. Add paneer cubes and mix. Switch off the flame.
24. Add crushed kasoori methi. Delicious palak paneer is ready to serve withchapatior rice.

If you are looking for paneer recipes, you might like these

1. Paneer butter masala

2. Kadai paneer recipe

3. Shahi paneer