Punjabi Palak Paneer Recipe (Restaurant style) – a popular Paneer dish from North India. Soft paneer cubes are simmered in smooth, vibrant green, medium spicy spinach gravy. This is the BEST recipe I have ever made.
This Punjabi Palak paneer recipe is:
delicious
hotel style
rich, smooth & creamy
medium spicy
and of course easy to make.
I have added paneer cubes as such. But if you want you can shallow fry in little oil till it gets very light brown.
Green chili is the only ingredient which provides spicy taste and heat to the dish. So use accordingly. if you like spicy add more. If you want mild dish then use less.
This recipe does not require much dry spice powders. So gravy stays bright green in color.
Addition of cashews will give rich and creamy flavor to the gravy. and it is healthier option than adding whole lot of cream. So to cut down the calories, I have added only 2 tablespoons of cream for 4 servings.
During the winter time, I always look for different ways to add greens in our diet. My most favorite green is fenugreek or methi and spinach or palak. So you will find many recipes using both leafy vegetables. My favorite is aloo palak sabzi.
This tastes exactly restaurant style Palak paneer. If you are one of them who thinks that any spinach dish is bland and tasteless, then I bet you haven’t tried this recipe. Try it once, I am sure you will love it.
Check out more restaurant style paneer dishes
Tandoori paneer tikka // Kadai paneer // Malai kofta // Paneer butter masala
How to make Palak Paneer Recipe (Step by Step photos):
1) Take sliced onion, cashews, green chilies and 1 cup of water in sauce pan and bring to a simmer.
2) Let it cook for 15 minutes. or until onions get soft. Almost 80% of water will evaporate. Let it cool a bit.
3) Meanwhile blanch the spinach. Boil 5 cups of water on medium heat, add spinach leaves. Let it cook exactly for 4 minutes.
4) And take spinach leaves out and put them into cold water or rinse under running cold tap water. To keep its bright green color intact, please follow exact time and method.
5) Grind onions first in smooth gravy. remove it to a bowl. and into same blender, puree the spinach without adding any water.
6) Heat the oil in a pan on medium heat. Once hot, add ginger paste, garlic paste. sauté for 30 seconds or till raw smell goes away.
7) Then cook the tomatoes in for 2 minutes. Using back of spatula mash the tomatoes little bit.
8) Add onion paste, cook for 2 minutes. We don’t want to brown the onion paste
9) Mix in spinach puree. Let it come to a boil
10) Add black salt, dried fenugreek leaves, garam masala and salt. Mix well.
11) Add paneer cubes and mix gently. If the gravy is thick you can add water as per your liking consistency. Simmer it for 2 minutes or till the paneer cubes get heated through.
12) Add cream or malai.
13) Stir it and restaurant style palak paneer is ready to serve.
Serving suggestion: Serve palak paneer with naan, paratha, tandoori roti, kulcha. Serve sliced onions, lemon wedges on side. It can be served with plain rice or jeera rice .
Adapted from – “Paneer” cookbook by Tarla Dalal
Punjabi Palak Paneer Recipe (Restaurant style)
Ingredients
For onion paste:
- 1 medium or 1 cup Onion sliced
- ¼ cup Cashew nuts
- 5 Green chilies If you like spicier add more
- 1 cup Water
For spinach paste:
- 1 medium Bunch or 6 cups Spinach (palak)
- about 5 cups Water
Ingredients for palak paneer recipe:
- 7 oz or 200 grams Paneer cut into 1/2 inch cubes
- 1 tablespoon Oil
- 1 teaspoon Ginger paste or freshly grated or crushed
- 1 teaspoon Garlic paste or freshly grated
- ¼ cup Tomato finely chopped
- ¼ teaspoon Black salt (Kala namak)
- 1 teaspoon Kasoori methi (Dried fenugreek leaves)
- 1 teaspoon Garam masala
- Salt to taste
- 2 tablespoons Heavy whipping cream or fresh cream or malai
Instructions
Making onion paste and spinach paste:
- Take all the ingredients mentioned under onion paste in a pan and bring it to a simmer.
- Cook for 15 minutes or until onions get soft. Let it cool a bit.
- Meanwhile blanch the spinach. For that add spinach leaves into boiling water. and cook for exactly 4 minutes. Immediately remove and put the leaves into ice cold water or rinse under running cold water.
- Now onions mixture is cooled, grind into smooth gravy, remove it to a bowl.
- then in the same grinder puree the spinach without adding any water. Keep both aside.
Making Punjabi Palak Paneer Recipe:
- Heat the oil in a pan on medium heat. Once hot saute ginger paste, garlic paste for 30 seconds.
- Cook the tomatoes in for 2 minutes. Using back of spatula mash the tomatoes little bit.
- Add onion paste, cook for 2 minutes.
- Mix in spinach puree. Let it come to a simmer.
- Add black salt, dried fenugreek leaves, garam masala and salt. Mix well.
- Add paneer cubes and mix gently. Simmer it for 2 minutes.
- Lastly add cream. Stir it well and it is ready to serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Ankita
I have tried plenty of recipes from some of the top rated chef’s in India. Nothing beats this one. This is actually restaurant style. No bitterness, not oily., very creamy texture and very fresh. Loved it
Kanan
Happy to know that you liked this recipe.
Thank you for the review.
Navya Ravikumar
Tried out for the breakfast and it was super hit. May be this is 2nd time I have tried n tasted out palak paneer …now ithas become my fav. Because of the blank taste of palak i had not interest in this gravy .but after I read ur recipe …it made me try out m it was delicious.thank u for the recipe dear .❤😘
There’s a request can u post the recipe of kaju Masala restaurant style.
Kanan
Very glad to know you liked this palak paneer recipe
I have already posted kaju masala recipe.
PT
Finally a great palak paneer recipe! Loved it. Why do you cook the onions in the start with water vs sauteing in oil?
Kanan
as explained in the post, we want vibrant green color.
If we saute the onion in the oil, they gets brown and will ruin the green color.
But now we are boiling the onions, hence we get white onion paste, which does not change the green color, just lighten slightly.