Palak paneer is a Punjabi dish of spinach studded with cubes of fried paneer cheese. This is a hearty and filling vegetarian meal.
This spinach benefits from cooking quickly because long cooking times will make it lose its colour. The technique of blanching with salt, turmeric and sugar will help keep the spinach a vibrant green, as will cooking it in an open pan. This recipe does not use a lot of powdered spice, which also helps keep the spinach green.
You could use paneer from the supermarket, but it would be better to buy fresh paneer from your Indian grocer. Without a doubt, the best approach is to make your own paneer. You might refer to our recipe for paneer. This will add about 45 minutes to the cooking time but can be done in advance. You will be amazed at the difference that making your own paneer will make, and trust me, it is such a simple thing to do.
As presented in this recipe it will serve two as a main meal, served with some chapatis, or will serve four as a side dish.
the recipe
about
equipment
equipment
- large bowl
- large pot
- blender
- kadai
ingredients
ingredients
- 300 g spinach leaves - trimmed
for the spinach
- 4 litres water
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tsp jaggery
for the masala
- 1 tbsp ghee
- 250 g paneer - cut into cubes
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 indian bay leaf
- 1 brown onion - finely chopped
- 1 tsp salt
- 20 g ginger - coarsely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic - finely chopped
- 2 green chillies - coarsely chopped
- 1 tomato - pulp removed and finely chopped
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- ½ tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
- ½ tsp asafoetida powder
- ½ tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp dried fenugreek leaves
- 1 tbsp crème fraiche
for serving
- 1 tbsp crème fraiche
- 20 g ginger - shredded
- 1 lime - cut into wedges
instructions
instructions
- Prepare an ice bath by placing half the water in a large bowl then adding ice cubes.
- Bring the remaining water to a boil in a large pot. Add the salt, turmeric and jaggery. Stir, then add the spinach leaves. Once the pot returns to the boil, use a slotted spoon to immediately remove the spinach and place it into the ice water bath.
- Drain the spinach once it is cold. Taking a handful of the spinach at a time squeeze the liquid from it and place into the blender. Reserve some of the liquid you squeeze out. Puree the spinach, adding a little of the reserved spinach water if needed. Set aside.
to cook
- Heat the ghee in a kadai or wok over medium heat. Add the paneer cubes in batches and cook until lightly golden browned all over. Remove from the kadai and set aside.
- Reduce heat to medium-low. Add the cumin seeds to the hot ghee and once they start to splutter, add the bay leaf and the finely chopped onion. Sprinkle with the salt and cook, stirring often, for ten minutes or until the onions become golden.
- Add the finely chopped ginger and garlic. Cook for three minutes until the raw garlic smell has gone.
- Increase the heat to medium and add the chopped chillies and tomato. Stir and cook for around five minutes, or until the tomatoes soften and you see the ghee releasing from the sides of the mixture,
- Add the turmeric, Kashmiri chilli powder and asafoetida. Stir well.
- Add the spinach puree and half a cup of water. Mix well and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and simmer for five minutes until the spinach is cooked, and the sauce has reduced. Taste and season with salt as required. Add the garam masala and mix well.
- Add the browned paneer cubes, stir gently and simmer on low heat until the paneer cubes become soft and have absorbed some of the sauce. This takes only two minutes at most.
- Add the fenugreek leaves and crème fraiche and stir gently so that the crème fraiche is incorporated into the sauce. Return to a simmer then remove from the heat.
to serve
- Garnish with a dollop of crème fraiche and the shredded ginger. Serve with lime wedges.
notes
notes
- For a milder palak paneer, use only one chilli and remove the white pith and seeds. The pith and the seeds are where the heat comes from.
private notes
This feature is only available to subscribers.
really delicate, but spicy