Palak Paneer

By Farideh Sadeghin

Published May 24, 2024

Palak Paneer
Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
Total Time
45 minutes
Prep Time
15 minutes
Cook Time
30 minutes
Rating
5(201)
Comments
Read comments

A vegetarian dish of fresh, unripened cheese cooked in a thick, creamy spinach purée, paneer palak originated in the northern Indian state of Punjab. Named for its two primary ingredients — spinach and paneer cheese — palak paneer is reminiscent of saag paneer (which typically uses a mixture of greens, including spinach, fenugreek leaves and mustard greens) but instead uses blended spinach as its sole source of greens. A fresh, firm, mild cheese used throughout India, paneer is prized for its texture and its ability to absorb the flavors of its surrounding ingredients, as it holds its shape without melting when heated. If you’re unable to find paneer, you can try firm tofu instead. Here, the paneer is heated in the sauce, however, you could sear the cubes in a pan before adding them to the dish. Serve palak paneer with naan or steamed basmati rice.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings (about 3½ cups)
  • 2garlic cloves, peeled
  • 2green chiles or 1 serrano chile, stemmed
  • 1(1-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
  • 2medium plum tomatoes
  • Ice, as needed
  • 6packed cups/8 ounces fresh baby spinach leaves
  • 2tablespoons ghee
  • ½teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 1small Indian bay leaf
  • 1small yellow onion, diced
  • ½teaspoon garam masala
  • ½teaspoon Kashmiri chile powder
  • 1teaspoon dried fenugreek leaves
  • 8ounces paneer, diced into 1-inch cubes
  • 1tablespoon heavy cream, plus more for serving
  • Salt
  • Naan and cooked basmati rice, for serving
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

347 calories; 22 grams fat; 13 grams saturated fat; 1 gram trans fat; 6 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 23 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 3 grams sugars; 16 grams protein; 546 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Place the garlic, chiles and ginger in a food processor with 3 tablespoons of water. Purée until a paste forms, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Set paste aside until ready to use.

  2. Step 2

    Coarsely grate the tomatoes on a box grater set directly on your cutting board. Discard the skins and set the grated tomatoes aside until ready to use.

  3. Step 3

    Fill a medium bowl with ice and cold water. Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil. Add the spinach and cook until wilted, 1 to 2 minutes. Drain, then transfer the spinach to the bowl of ice water until cold, about 5 minutes. Drain, discarding the water and ice cubes.

  4. Step 4

    Transfer the spinach to a food processor or blender along with ½ cup of water and purée until smooth. Set aside until ready to use.

  5. Step 5

    Heat the ghee in a medium saucepan over medium-high. Add the cumin seeds and cook until they start to pop, about 30 seconds, then add the bay leaf and onion and cook until the onion is soft and golden, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the reserved garlic-ginger paste and cook until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the grated tomatoes and cook until soft, 4 to 5 minutes, then stir in the garam masala and chile powder. Cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.

  6. Step 6

    Stir in the reserved spinach purée, the fenugreek leaves and 1 cup water. Decrease the heat so the mixture is at slow simmer and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

  7. Step 7

    Add the paneer and 1 tablespoon cream and stir until the paneer has warmed through, about 3 minutes. (Take care not to heat the paneer too long in the sauce or it will become chewy.) Season with salt and remove the bay leaf. Transfer to a serving dish and drizzle with more cream. Serve with naan and rice.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
201 user ratings
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Comments

Brian Spolarich

I make paneer regularly. I heat one gallon of whole milk with 1-2 tsp salt on medium heat to just under the boil (205F). One trick to make cleanup easier is to spray your pot with cooking spray before adding the milk. Remove from heat and add 1/4 cups or so of white vinegar. The curds will separate to the top. Use a ladle or scoop to remove the curds and drain into a colander or strainer with a couple of layers of cheesecloth. I would avoid dumping the entire pot into the colander and go slow.

suralottie

I've had it and there is no comparison to good palak paneer

Tati

I think the process for grating tomatoes usually involves cutting it in half and then grating the soft, inside part. Doing it this way means the tomato's skin is left behind and I think this is what the author meant. :-)

David

I used 2x the paneer, soaked 10 min in warm water before cooking. Omitted the chili pepper because my wife doesn't like the heat, but then added red pepper at the table. Used 1 tsp salt. Served over rice.

rachel

some edits to make this easier: I didn’t use a food processor at all. Instead, I cooked the mixed ginger, minced garlic, cumin, and garam masala with oil until fragrant, then added the onion and chile and cooked for another 10 minutes or so, adding a splash of water when things started to stick. I then added chopped tomato and cooked until the tomato was more or less disintegrated. Lastly, added whole, uncooked greens and fenugreek and cooked for maybe 15 more minutes. Then I used my immersion blender to puree everything, tossed in the paneer, and added the cream! Slightly

CC Baker

Wonderful and flexible recipe. I followed the recipe but left mine chunky (didn’t purée the spinach), and it was excellent that way, too.

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