Description
Palak Paneer is a classic Indian vegetarian dish featuring fresh spinach cooked with aromatic spices and creamy homemade paneer cheese. This flavorful spinach curry is enhanced with fragrant fenugreek, cumin, coriander, and a touch of cream, perfect served over basmati rice or with naan bread.
Ingredients
Scale
Paneer
- 1 batch homemade Paneer (Indian fresh cheese; recipe linked below)
For Cooking
- 30g / 2 tbsp ghee or unsalted butter (for pan frying)
- 30g / 2 tbsp ghee or unsalted butter
Vegetables and Spices
- 1 1/2 onions, finely chopped (brown or yellow)
- 1 tsp fenugreek seeds (whole)
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 3/4 tsp kosher or cooking salt (reduce by 1/4 tsp if using table salt)
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 2 tsp ginger, finely grated (20g)
- 2 tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and diced
- 1 green chili, finely sliced (cayenne)
- 700g / 1.4 lb fresh English spinach leaves, thoroughly washed and roughly chopped (~9 cups very tightly packed)
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/3 cup + 1 tbsp cream (pure, heavy, or thickened)
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
Instructions
- Saute onion & spices: Melt 30g ghee or unsalted butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add finely chopped onions, fenugreek seeds, ground cumin, ground coriander, salt, and black pepper. Cook for about 3 minutes until the onions soften but do not turn golden.
- Add garlic and ginger: Stir in the finely chopped garlic and grated ginger. Cook for an additional 2 minutes to release their flavors.
- Add tomato and chili: Add the peeled, seeded, and diced tomatoes and finely sliced green chili to the pot. Cook on medium heat for about 3 minutes until the tomatoes soften.
- Add spinach: Add roughly one-third of the chopped spinach to the pot, or as much as comfortably fits, stirring until it wilts. Then add more spinach along with 1/4 cup water; cook and stir again until wilted. Repeat until all spinach has been added and wilted into the mixture.
- Cook 10 minutes: Continue cooking the mixture on medium heat, stirring occasionally for about 10 minutes to fully integrate flavors.
- Add cream & lemon juice: Stir in 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon of cream and 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Gently cook and stir for 3 more minutes.
- Puree half the spinach: Remove half of the spinach curry into a tall container and blend it to a smooth puree using a stick blender. Pour the pureed spinach back into the pot and stir to combine evenly.
- Add pan-fried paneer: Gently fold in the golden pan-fried paneer cubes, stirring carefully to distribute without breaking the pieces.
- Serve: Serve hot over basmati rice with fluffy, chewy homemade naan on the side for a complete meal.
- Golden pan-fried paneer preparation: Cut the homemade paneer into 1.25cm (½ inch) thick slices, then cut each slice into approximately 2.5cm x 2cm x 1.25cm pieces. Melt half the ghee or butter in a non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Place half the paneer pieces in the pan and cook for 1 to 1.5 minutes each side until light golden or deep golden for more flavor. Remove on paper towel-lined plate. Repeat with remaining butter and paneer pieces.
Notes
- Use unsalted butter or ghee for authentic flavor and better control of salt levels.
- If using table salt, reduce the quantity slightly to avoid over-salting.
- Removing seeds from tomatoes gives a smoother texture to the curry.
- Adjust green chili quantity to control spiciness according to your taste.
- Pureeing half the spinach ensures a creamy, smooth texture while retaining some leafy bits for mouthfeel.
- Paneer can be homemade or store-bought; homemade provides improved freshness and flavor.
- Pan-frying the paneer until golden enhances its texture and flavor significantly.
- Serve with basmati rice and naan to enjoy a traditional Indian meal experience.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Indian
Keywords: Palak Paneer, Spinach curry, Indian vegetarian dish, Paneer recipe, Indian spinach curry, homemade paneer, Indian main course
