Palak paneer recipe with video & step by step photos – Indian cottage cheese in smooth creamy delicious spinach gravy. Palak paneer is one of the most loved North Indian dishes that’s eaten with roti, paratha, naan, Jeera rice, Ghee rice or even with plain basmati rice. It is very easy to prepare and can be made in so many ways. This is an easy and healthy palak paneer recipe which I finally arrived at after trying so many other recipes.
In this palak paneer recipe, I have not blanched the spinach to prevent loss of nutrients. In most Indian recipes spinach is not blanched and used directly to make dal palak, spinach paratha, palak rice, spinach omelette, aloo palak and many other recipes as some nutrients are lost when blanched.
This palak paneer is the best I have made in the years. Not blanching the spinach and sauteeing it for a short time is what makes this delicious. However this recipe also works with blanched spinach.
Step-by-step photos
Preparation for palak paneer
1. This recipe needs 2 cups tightly packed (100 to 120 grams) palak leaves. Use only young and fresh spinach. Avoid using large stems or stalks of spinach / palak as they make the gravy bitter.
Rinse cleaned palak thoroughly in a large pot filled with water. I also sprinkle vinegar and salt to remove the pesticide residue first. Rinse a few times more. Drain off the water completely. If you are on a low oxalate diet then you can blanch the spinach by following the steps mentioned in the recipe card.
2. Add half tablespoon oil to a pan. then add 1 to 2 chopped green chilies. There is no red chilli powder used in this recipe. So use enough green chilies to give that heat. Adjust accordingly.
3. Add palak and 8 to 10 cashew nuts. Saute on a medium heat until the palak wilt off completely. This takes only 2 to 3 minutes. Do not overcook, spinach takes only 2 to 3 mins to cook.
4.Ensure the raw flavor from the leaves has gone. If there is any stock (moisture) of spinach left, you can use up to blend. You need not evaporate it.
5. Cool it completely. Transfer these to a blender jar. Pour ¼ cup clean water to the blender.
6. Blend this to a smooth puree. It has to be thick and smooth. Keep this aside.
Make gravy
7. Heat the same pan with 1 tablespoon butter and half tablespoon oil . Add 2 cardamom, one inch cinnamon, 2 cloves and 1/8th teaspoon cumin seeds. If you do not have whole spices you may skip them. But we are not going to use much garam masala in powder form so I use them.
8. Add ¾ cup fine chopped onions or boiled onion paste. Fry until the onions turn golden. Then add 1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste. Saute for 1 minute or until the aroma of ginger garlic comes out.
9. Then add deseeded fine chopped half cup tomatoes or tomato puree and half teaspoon salt. Saute them well.
10. When the tomatoes turn fully mushy, add ½ to ¾ teaspoon garam masala. Please use a good flavorful garam masala. Saute until the masala smells good for 2 to 3 mins. (Optional if you don’t like chunky curry, then you may blend this as well with ¾ cup water. More in the recipe card notes)
12. Pour ¾ cup water and cook covered on a medium heat until the onions are completely soft cooked. After cooking, onion tomato masala has to be thick yet should have some water. (check video for consistency) Take half teaspoon kasuri methi in your palm and crush it. Add it here.
How to make palak paneer
14. When the gravy thickens, lower the flame completely. Next add the palak puree. Mix it well and cook until it begins to bubble just for about 2 mins. I do not suggest cooking for long at this stage as it discolors the gravy. If you prefer your curry slightly thin, then you may stir in a few tablespoons of hot water at this stage. Taste test and add salt.
15. Add paneer.
16. Give a good stir. Switch off the stove. If using cream pour it now. You can skip cream is you have used cashews while pureeing the spinach. Honestly this recipe does not need cream & i don’t use on a regular basis. I only used for garnishing in the pictures below.
Serve palak paneer with butter naan, jeera rice, ghee rice, roti or plain paratha.
Tips to make best palak paneer
1. Blanched Vs unblanched spinach: I would recommend blanching, if you have been on a low oxalate diet and do not consume spinach without blanching in any other foods like dal palak or any spinach curries.
To make palak paneer, always spinach is blanched prior to making a puree. But if you are trying to make the best palak paneer, give it a try without blanching.
I am sure you will wonder how good this tastes and completely different from the one made with blanched spinach.
2. Preserving the color of palak: To get the best color, keep garam masala to minimum in this recipe and also prevent overcooking spinach which darkens the dish.
3. Smooth creamy texture: I have used few cashews to give a slightly creamy texture to the palak paneer gravy. However you can just skip them and use about 3 to 4 tbsps cream. You can also use blanched almonds.
4. Paneer: Do choose good quality paneer as it is the key ingredient in this palak paneer recipe. I use this homemade paneer which is soft with a melt-in-the-mouth texture.
If using frozen store bought paneer then soak it in slightly hot water for 15 to 20 mins. Drain and use. This helps to keep it soft.
You can check more palak recipes here which I have shared on the blog.
How to choose palak
- Always choose tender palak that is light to medium green in color. Dark leaves are usually less tasty.
- Do not use the stalks or stems of palak as it makes the palak paneer bitter. It also leads to metallic taste.
- I have not made this recipe with frozen spinach anytime. But a few readers have had positive results even when made with frozen spinach.
More Paneer recipes
Paneer butter masala
Malai kofta
Paneer makhani
Easy paneer bhurji
Shahi paneer
Paneer tikka masala
Recipe
Palak paneer recipe
Ingredients (1 cup = 240ml )
- 1¼ cup paneer (150 grams) Indian cottage cheese
- 2 cups palak (spinach) tightly packed (100 to 120 grams)
- 2 tablespoons oil (or 1 tbsp oil & 1 tbsp butter)
- 2 green chilies (deseeded) (less spicy kind)
- ¾ cup onions (fine chopped) (2 small, 90 grams)
- ½ cup tomatoes (deseeded & chopped) or puree (2 small)
- 1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste (or 1 tsp each fine chopped)
- ¾ teaspoon salt (adjust to taste)
- 8 to 10 cashewnuts or 7 blanched almonds
- ½ to ¾ teaspoon garam masala (adjust to taste)
- ½ teaspoon kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves) (skip if you don't have)
- 3 tablespoons cream (optional)
(optional) Whole spices for palak paneer
- ⅛ teaspoon cumin (jeera) (optional)
- 2 green cardamoms (elaichi) (optional)
- 1 inch cinnamon (dalchini) (optional)
- 2 cloves (laung) (optional)
How to make the recipe
Preparation
- Pluck only the young & tender palak leaves and discard the stems as they may leave a bitter taste.
- Add them to a large pot of water. Rinse them well few times & drain to a colander.
- Allow the water to drain completely otherwise it will let out lot of moisture while cooking.
- Heat half tablespoon oil in a pan. Saute green chilies, cashews and spinach for 3 to 4 mins until the leaves wilt off thoroughly & raw smell of spinach has gone away. [OR another option is to blanch the palak in 4 cups of hot water with ¼ tsp salt for 2 mins. Then immerse in ice cold water. Drain completely.]
- Cool this completely. Blend this along with ¼ cup water to a smooth puree. The puree should be smooth and thick. You may add 1 to 2 tbsps more water to help in blending.
How to make palak paneer
- Heat 1 tablespoon butter and half tablespoon oil to the same pan, Once they melt, add cinnamon, cardamoms, cloves & cumin.
- When the spices begin to sizzle, add onions and fry till they turn transparent to golden.
- Next saute ginger garlic paste for 1 to 2 minutes or until you begin to smell it nice.
- Then add tomatoes with salt. Saute until they break down and turn mushy.
- Add garam masala & saute until the masala smells good. This may take 2 mins. (for a smoother curry refer notes)
- Pour ¾ cup water and cook covered until onions are completely soft. There should be some water left in the pan. (for consistency check video)
- Lower the flame, add kasuri methi and pureed spinach. Mix well and cook until it begins to bubble for about 2 to 3 mins. If the curry is too thick you may add a few tbsps of hot water.
- Avoid overcooking. Add paneer & mix well. Turn off and remove to a serving bowl. Optionally garnish with cream.
- Serve palak paneer with naan, roti or Jeera rice.
Video
NUTRITION (estimation only)
Notes
- This recipe can be doubled.
- For a smoother gravy, after sauteing the onion and tomatoes with garam masala cool it & blend to a smooth puree with ½ to ¾ cup water. Cook this until you see traces of oil. When the gravy thickens add the palak puree.
- Avoid using stalks & stems of spinach as they may lend a bitter taste. Cut off each stem from the leaves.Overcooking palak can leave a bitter taste.
- You can use more spinach if you like.
- Whole spices are optional. But they do add a lot of flavor to the dish. However you can skip them and add more garam masala to suit your taste.
- Optional: If using store bought paneer, then cube them and add to 2 cups hot water. Keep these immersed for 10 mins. Drain and use.
Alternative quantities provided in the recipe card are for 1x only, original recipe.
If you are new to cooking, follow my detailed step by step photo instructions for best results.
Maria says
Oh boy! This is my absolute favorite. I veganized this palak paneer recipe by using extra pressed tofu. For that authentic Indian heat, I tripled the chilies. Blended the onion tomatoes as said in the notes & it turned out wow amazing.
swasthi says
Glad to know Maria
Thanks for the comment.
Natalia says
Thanks for your detailed and delicious recipes. I made the palak paneer today and it turned out excellent. My kids loved it.
I be just started exploring your site during the lockdown, and everything I’ve made has come out very well. Thanks so much!
swasthi says
Welcome Natalia
Glad to know! Thank you
🙂
SAFIYYAH ALLI says
Will this still taste good if I leave the chilies out entirely? I have a medical condition that makes me react badly to even the smallest bit of heat in food.
swasthi says
Hi,
I don’t think chilli imparts any taste to the palak paneer. It is only for heat. Give it a try!
Jen says
Best Palak Paneer I have ever made. Great tips for making sure the dish is not bitter or brown. I used turnip and radish greens from my garden instead of spinach. It would probably be even better with spinach! Thanks for sharing!!
swasthi says
Welcome Jen,
Glad you liked it. Love that you used the other greens. Thank you!
🙂
Karsten says
This turned out really well, thanks for the recipe. When you say “tomato purree (2 small)… which quantity do you have in mind? (It worked with whatever I improvised with, but curious what your intentions were…)
swasthi says
Hi Karsten,
Glad to know! You can use the same amount of chopped tomatoes – half cup as mentioned in the recipe.
🙂
Cathy says
Hi Swashi, I made this tonight and it was fantastic. I saw that you said not to double the recipe, but I did, as 3 servings would not have been enough to have a little leftover😁. After cooking everything and putting it together in one pot, it needed something, which was probably me trying to double the recipe. I now remember I only put enough garam masala for 3 so I added that in and some salt and we loved it! I also was afraid of too much heat, so I only put 1 pepper in the spinach and then had to add hot sauce at the end. My husband puts a little curry in some of his hot sauces, so it worked very well. Also, I did not use American spinach, so our local spinach is a bit different, but it worked great flavor wise.
swasthi says
Hi Cathy,
Glad to know it turned out good. Thank you! Most recipes if doubled need some adjustments which is difficult for beginners & less experienced cooks. Without adjustments the results will not be the same. Hence the advice. Thanks again!
🙂
Sia says
I m a fresher in cooking.i tried ur palak paneer.it was super tasty.thank u for sharing the recipe
swasthi says
Hello Sia,
Glad to know it turned out good!
Thank you!
Veena shetty says
Hi swasthi…
Tried palak paneer recipe …it was excellent …. yummylicious… thankyou for sharing such wonderful recipe…kids enjoyed…I follow most of your recipes they turn out excellent…good work… appreciate your efforts for bringing such excellent recipes😍😍
swasthi says
Hello Veena!
Glad to know your kids enjoyed it. Thank you so much for following the blog
🙂
Teresa Gallegos Brondo says
Made this today. My husband said it tastes exactly like the palak paneer he had in India. It is delicious. I also made one batch of home made paneer, it came out perfect. It did not crumble when added to the spinach gravy. Thank you so much Swasthi, your recipes are very clear, and explained step by step to the last detail.
swasthi says
You are most welcome!
Glad to know it turned out delicious.
Thank you so much!
🙂
Mona says
Had given up on all palak paneer recipes for a longtime now. Had decided that it was my nemesis until I decided to try your recipe. Loved it, the kids loved it and super easy to make. All in all I live after having conquered my nemesis! :)) Excellent recipe as always Sawathi!!! Thank you
swasthi says
Hello Mona
Glad to know all of you loved it. Thank you so much!
🙂
Stutee Mishra says
I have always been a fan of Palak Paneer and I was really excited to try this recipe. I followed without any deviation and it turned out to be perfect. Loved it!
swasthi says
Hello Stutee,
So glad to know you loved it.
Thank you so much!
🙂
Kim says
Greetings, I have been so excited to try this recipe.. but need to be able to print it so I can reference it in the kitchen.. there is simply no way to do so in its current format. I am really sad.. I have all the ingredients.. Im hopeful you can change the format to make it printable.
swasthi says
Hi Kim, Please disable the Adblocker if you have any and refresh the page or check in a different browser to see the print option on the recipe card. Hope this helps.
NS says
Tried this recipe today, and absolutely loved it! I am not a fan of palak, yet I loved it!
Thank you! Hope you post more such recipes in future! Loved all your tips and tricks!
swasthi says
Hi NS,
You are welcome! Glad to know you loved it. Thanks much. Yes sure will keep posting more.
Amruta says
Hi Swasthi
This recipie for palak paneer turned out to be lipsmacking good! I have tried so many other recipies of yours and every single one of them has turned out to be great.
My mom is on cloud9 knowing that her daughter (who never even entered kitchen earlier) is now whipping up such amazing dishes. Can’t thank you enough for this. U have indeed been a savior in these tough covid times.
Love the way you put them along with images for every step. It’s very helpful for beginners like me. Watching videos is cumbersome. Very hard to play-pause-rewind videos as compared to simply scrolling your stepwise list.
Keep up the great work. Love and respect.
swasthi says
Hi Amruta,
Glad to know all the recipes turned out good. You are most welcome! So happy to know about your mom.Thanks much!
🙂
Enrica says
Hi Swasthi,
This recipe looks amazing, am going to try it today. Just wanted to check with you about the onion paste,is it prepared by slightly boiling the onions and then blending them to a paste?
Could I blend the spinach along with the onions and tomatoes later,all together once they are sauteed with the kasuri methi..?
swasthi says
Hi Enrica,
Thank you. Instead of making the onion paste, you can blend the onion tomato masala after sauteing. Back to the pan and cook it well. Then add the palak puree. The color may not be the same but the taste will be very good. I have updated the details in the note. Hope this helps.
ENRICA POLYCARP says
If I have 2 bunches of palak , more than 100 gms say 5 cups, can I use same measure of other ingredients or do I double the ingredients. Sorry am a beginner so want to be sure
Thanks !
swasthi says
Measure 3 cups (tightly packed) palak and use here. Please use the rest for some other recipes like aloo palak or palak rice etc. I wouldn’t suggest doubling the recipe. Not sure how it will turn because it will be a lot of onions if you double. Hope this helps
TheMoonFinder says
Hi I really love your recipes (especially the aloo gobi) and I was thinking about making this recipe. However, I was wondering if the cashews are necessary to add?
swasthi says
Hi,
Thank you! If you do not have cashews you may use blanched almonds or almond flour.
Swetha says
This palak paneer is the simplest, the most ‘easy to make’ with mild flavours. Just something I have always been looking for.
I just go to your step by step pictures every time I make this recipe.
Thank you, Swasthi!
swasthi says
Hi Swetha,
You are welcome! So glad to know you like this palak paneer.
Thank you so much!
Reshmamohan says
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe ..
I tried this recipe and it turned out soooooo good that every one in my house liked it …
Especially my mom liked it ….
My joy knew no bounds..
Thank you once again….❤
swasthi says
Hello Reshma!
You are welcome! So happy to know your family liked your palak paneer. Thanks much for sharing your joy!
🙂
sangam says
Thanks for the recipe, just made it and devoured also…it was so awesome! I like the way you explain step by step with photos! Great work…it’s so helpful during this quarantine time and specially for a person like me as my wife being sick for a long time and not able to cook. My kids always want something different and awesome. My daughter goes thru your recipe and shouts while me and my son are at it in the kitchen 🙂 Thanks once again and God bless you!
swasthi says
Hello Sangam,
You are welcome! Glad your palak paneer turned out good.
Wishing your wife a speedy recovery and good wishes to you all.
Thank you so much!
Phoebe says
This recipe is amazing!!! Thank you very much for sharing.
swasthi says
Hello Phoebe
You are welcome. Thank you so much!
Flavia says
Thank you so much for the tip as always Swasthi🤗..
I tried making the homemade paneer but it hasn’t formed well, it’s separating & not firm.
I used 1 liter homogenized full fat milk. When it boiled, I added 1 tablespoon of homemade curd & stirred, it didn’t curdle. Then I gradually kept increasing the curd. Inspite of adding 4 tablespoon curd, it didn’t curdle well. Then I added 1 tablespoon of vinegar, it curdled little & then I added 1 more tablespoon of vinegar. Finally, it curdled. I did not add cold water or ice cubes but iImmediately, strained it through a cloth, collected the whey & kept it under the taps running water to get rid of vinegar taste..was this correct?. Kept it hung for 30mins. Then spread it on a steel vessel with holes, kept it on another vessel.kept a heavy weight flat base dabba on it for 4hrs. Still it has not formed well.
Please advise, if I did it correctly or any change was required.
Need to use this to make palak paneer today.
Also is it safe to drink the whey with vinegar extracts, as my little one loves drinking it.
Please advise
swasthi says
Hi Flavia,
You went wrong while setting it. You should not spread it. The whole of the paneer inside the cloth – as is will be like a ball shaped. Slightly flatten it and place the weight. If the weight is not heavy enough then it will not set. I usually place a cast iron pan, then a 5 kg rice bag or sometime that is much heavy. There is nothing wrong in adding more vinegar or curd. Processed milk needs a strong acidic ingredient to curdle. It depenmds on the kind of milk you used. Can you mail me the picture? I can see and tell you.
Flavia says
Hi Swasthi,
Thank you so much🤗
I have emailed you the pic of the paneer.
Dipti says
I was about to give up on palak paneer as I tried multiple palak paneer recipes and my husband didn’t like any of them but after trying your recipe, he just couldn’t control himself from eating and praising me :D.. Thank you so much.. :*
swasthi says
Glad to know Dipti
Thanks much for the comment!
🙂