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Overhead view of palak paneer in a bowl next to some paneer, fresh ginger root, and fresh spinach leaves.

Palak Paneer

Last Modified: March 31, 2023 // by Tracy Ariza, DDS // March 31, 2021 I may receive a commission if you purchase through links in this post. Learn more here.

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A delicious way to add some healthy leafy greens to your diet, palak paneer is a flavorful Indian dish that combines a creamy, spice-infused spinach puree with fresh paneer. #indiancuisine #thethingswellmake #miy #spinachrecipes #cheeserecipes

A delicious way to add some healthy leafy greens to your diet, palak paneer is a flavorful Indian dish that combines a creamy, spice-infused spinach puree with fresh paneer.

Overhead view of palak paneer in a bowl next to some paneer, fresh ginger root, and fresh spinach leaves.

The other day, a fellow blogger, Ligia from The DaringKitchen, wrote me. She was offering to send me a recipe to publish on my blog. Ligia shares a variety of recipes from different countries and cultures around the world, so, of course, I was curious to see what sort of recipe she would have planned for me!

A couple of days later, she sent me a recipe for palak paneer with photos and a bit of an introduction…

Medical professionals around the globe have been advising us to consume plenty of greens to keep our health in top condition. While it may seem pretty easy to include a few leaves here and there, it really becomes difficult to find recipes where we can enjoy a handsome serving of leafy greens as a meal itself. Usually, soups and salads are our
best bet to serve a large quantity of greens in a meal.

There are many delicious recipes from various parts of the world that we may not be familiar with, which are nutritionally viable to meet our dietary needs. Palak paneer is one such fantastic Indian recipe that is so aromatic yet appealing to the western palate!

Ligia of the Daring Kitchen
Closeup of a bowl of thick palak paneer
Photo of palak paneer courtesy of Ligia from The DaringKitchen

What is palak paneer?

Palak paneer is a vegetarian Indian dish. It has a nice creamy palak (spinach) base with chunks of paneer (an Indian cottage cheese), which beautifully complement each other.

Ingredients

With that introduction, you’ve probably already guessed that the two main ingredients are spinach and paneer. Apart from that, palak paneer also uses fresh onion, ginger, garlic, and a delicious blend of spices.

Overhead view of the ingredients for palak paneer

When I went to try Ligia’s recipe, I was happy to see that I had most of the ingredients on hand. I was only missing the paneer cheese and the coriander. Fortunately, it’s quick and easy to make your own paneer. I suggest making your own as homemade tastes best and is also generally much cheaper. Here in Spain, paneer is impossible to find anyway.

When choosing spinach, young leaves are the best choice. I also prefer using organic mainly because spinach is usually on the EWG Dirty Dozen™ list of fruits and vegetables with the most pesticides. You can use whatever you have, though. I’ve even made it with frozen spinach and it worked just as well!

I haven’t been able to find coriander here, so I used dried oregano the first time I made this instead. You can also replace it with cumin and/or a mix of cumin and oregano. I’ve tried it both ways, and have to say that I love the flavor that the cumin gives the recipe.

If you don’t happen to have garam masala, you can use curry powder instead. A combination of curry and allspice could also work in a pinch.

Depending on how spicy you like your food, you can adjust the amount of cayenne pepper or chili peppers, or not use them at all. I personally liked the spiciness of the cayenne, but I used less than what Ligia called for in her recipe.

Procedure

Cooking palak paneer is a two-part process. You first need to make a creamy spinach puree. Then, you spice it up with a flavorful blend of spices garnished with chunks of soft paneer.

Boil the spinach

Begin by boiling the spinach for just a couple of minutes. Ideally, you just want the spinach to wilt, and don’t want to overcook. This allows us to keep it a bright green color. To halt the cooking process, rinse the cooked spinach in cool water and then drain it fully. (You can also use some ice to further cool it.)

  • Adding the spinach to a pan with water.
  • Boiling the spinach in the pan.
  • Straining the water from the boiled spinach

Prepare the onion mixture

To add flavor to our dish, we’ll be cooking up some onions, garlic, and ginger, and will add them, along with our spice blend, to the spinach.

Begin by finely chopping the onion and cooking it in some olive oil in a pan over low to medium heat until softened.

  • Chopping an onion on a bamboo cutting board
  • peeling a clove of garlic
  • grating fresh ginger root
  • pouring olive oil into a frying pan
  • cooking the chopped onion, minced garlic, and ginger in a frying pan

Ideally, you want to cook the onions until softened before adding in the minced garlic and grated ginger. This allows the flavor of the fresh ginger and garlic to really stand out as they won’t be overcooked. Let’s be honest, though. I’m horrible at following recipes and always find myself doing my own thing. So, when I made this for the video and pictures, I sautéed all three together. It was still delicious. So, if you screw that up as I did, don’t worry too much about it. 😉

I will say that the next time I made this recipe, I added the ginger towards the end of the cooking process and loved the depth of flavor that the mostly raw ginger added. Feel free to experiment with the recipe to find your favorite way to make it.

Purée the spinach

It’s now time to make a smooth purée with the spinach. Most recipes purée the spinach with some water to get a nice, smooth mixture. They then add the spinach purée to the cooked onions and cook everything together to evaporate away any excess water, thickening the sauce.

In my video, you’ll see that I went rogue again. I added the cooked onions to my blender along with the spinach leaves and spices and puréed everything together. By blending everything together, I ended up with a thick, smooth mixture immediately, with no need to add water nor to cook the spinach further to thicken it. That keeps the spinach bright green and results in a very smooth purée.

  • Adding turmeric to a blander jar with the boiled spinach
  • Adding the garam masala to the spinach
  • Pouring the cooked onion mixture into the blender with the spinach and spices
  • Overhead view of the puréed spinach in the blender container.

Perhaps the palak paneer purists (how’s that for alliteration?) will object to my method as maybe the onions are meant to add some texture to the dish. I quite liked the smoothness that resulted from blending everything together, though. If you want more texture, just don’t purée the mixture as thoroughly or follow the recipe as written.

Putting it all together

Once you’ve combined the onion mixture with the spinach and spices, it’s time to add the cream and the paneer.

Here, again, I played with the recipe a bit. I found the spinach mixture to be delicious on its own, so I only drizzled a small amount of cream over it and swirled a little bit into the top layer. You can add as little or as much cream as you want, though, or eliminate it completely. The milky flavor of the cheese may be enough for you!

Ligia suggests using coconut cream. I didn’t have any on hand, so I used what I had. I bet the coconut complements the other flavors well, though, so you may want to try her suggestion!

Once you’ve added as much cream, or coconut cream, as you like, you can cut the paneer into cubes and add it to the spinach purée. Generally, the paneer is added uncooked, but some people like to pan fry it first. I’ve tried both ways by now and liked it both ways. Uncooked, the paneer is creamier and makes for a smoother dish.

  • 2 bowls of the puréed spianch mixture next to the remaining mixture in the blender
  • pouring cream over the bowls of puréed spinach
  • a full paneer cheese next to the two prepared bowls of the spinach mixture
  • a bowl of palak paneer next to some more paneer, fresh spinach leaves, and a fresh ginger root.

Health benefits of spinach

For those who underestimate the nutritional goodness of spinach and believe its expensive counterparts such as kale and other fancy greens are the only ones that can row you through times of sickness…

Spinach is rich in insoluble fiber, carotenoids, vitamin C, vitamin K, iron, folic acid, and calcium. It is also a good source of potassium, magnesium, vitamin E, vitamin B6, and vitamin B9. Besides this, spinach contains vital plant compounds such as lutein, nitrates, zeaxanthin, kaempferol, and quercetin. Phew!!

Quite a nutritional profile, right?

Ligia of the Daring Kitchen

Expert tips

  • To get the smoothest spinach paste for this recipe, use a good quality blender or immersion blender. Ligia covers the latest and most effective immersion blenders in her immersion blender review on The Daring Kitchen. You may want to check it out before you invest in one.
  • To prevent bitterness in the spinach, try using young spinach leaves and/or removing the stems and large leaves.
  • Adding the minced garlic and ginger towards the end of the cooking process will give a more pungent flavor. Cooking the garlic and/or ginger for longer, along with the onions, will result in a milder flavor.
  • Paneer can be used either raw or cooked. I’ve tried it both ways by now and enjoyed it equally both ways.

Video

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Overhead view of palak paneer in a bowl next to some paneer, fresh ginger root, and fresh spinach leaves.

Palak Paneer

A delicious way to add some healthy leafy greens to your diet, palak paneer is a flavorful Indian dish that combines a creamy, spice-infused spinach puree with fresh paneer.
Recipe courtesy of Ligia of The Daring Kitchen.
No ratings yet
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Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Servings: 3 bowls
Calories: 306kcal
Author: Tracy Ariza, DDS

Ingredients

Vegetable puree

  • 1 pound fresh spinach leaves boiled
  • 1 medium onion peeled and finely chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 teaspoon ginger root grated
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil or ghee
  • ¼ cup coconut cream

Seasonings

  • ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
  • ½ teaspoon red chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon coriander powder
  • ¾ teaspoon garam masala
  • Salt to taste

Garnishes

  • 100 g paneer cut into small cubes (how to make paneer)

Instructions

  • Discard the water of the boiled spinach and puree the leaves until smooth and lump-free. Set aside for later use.
  • Heat the oil in a pan and sauté the chopped onion in the oil until it softens.
  • Stir in the ginger and garlic, and cook for 2 minutes.
  • Add the spinach puree and the cream to the pan. Cook it until almost all of the water evaporates and you get a thick mixture.
  • Add turmeric, red chili powder, coriander powder, garam masala, and salt.
  • Stir in paneer cubes and cook it all for a minute.
  • Serve hot and enjoy!

Notes

Tips

  • To get the smoothest spinach paste for this recipe, use a good quality blender or immersion blender.
  • To prevent bitterness in the spinach, use young leaves and/or try removing the stems and large leaves.
  • Adding the minced garlic and ginger towards the end of the cooking process will give a more pungent flavor. Cooking the garlic and/or ginger for longer, along with the onions, will result in a milder flavor.
  • Paneer can be used either raw or cooked. I’ve tried it both ways by now and enjoyed it equally both ways.

Substitutions

  • If you don’t have coriander, try using dried oregano or cumin, or a mix of cumin and oregano.
  • Garam masala can be subbed with curry powder or a combination of curry and allspice.
  • Depending on how spicy you like your food, you can adjust the amount of cayenne pepper or chili peppers, or not use them at all. Fresh chili peppers can also be minced and cooked with the onions.
  • Fresh turmeric root can also be grated and added with the ginger.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Indian
Special Diets Gluten Free, Vegetarian
Keyword Indian cuisine, spinach dishes
Tried this recipe? Tag me today!Mention @thethingswellmake or tag #thethingswellmake!
Serving: 1bowl | Calories: 306kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 26g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Cholesterol: 22mg | Sodium: 137mg | Potassium: 1000mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 14278IU | Vitamin C: 47mg | Calcium: 332mg | Iron: 5mg
Category: Lunch & Dinner

About Tracy Ariza, DDS

Tracy Ariza, B.A., D.D.S., left dentistry and the United States to found Oh, The Things We’ll Make!, writing to you from the Spanish Riviera. She loves making things herself in order to keep control of what goes in them. While far from perfect, she strives each day to live a healthier, more sustainable lifestyle.

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Hello, I’m Tracy!

I love making my own natural products like soaps and lotions and my own pantry items like yogurt and salad dressings.
Why do I do it? Sometimes to save money, sometimes because it's healthier, but I always love having control of the ingredients!​
Oh, the things we'll make!...

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