Palak Paneer or Spinach with Homemade Cheese is easily one of the most recognizable and popular Indian dishes. Besides being a staple of Indian restaurants, top Indian chefs such as Sanjeev Kapoor and Tarla Dalal have made it even more popular. Here is our version of this palak paneer recipe. It’s packed with the goodness of spinach and loaded with protein from the paneer, a homemade cheese which doesn’t melt when heated. Try this delicious recipe and you’ll be surprised how easy it is to make!
Scroll to the bottom for video
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients:
Spinach – 1, 16 oz pkt chopped, frozen (about 1/2 kg)
Paneer – 7 oz or 200 g
Oil – 3 tbsp
Onions – 2 med, minced
Ginger – 1″ pc, minced
Garlic – 4 cloves, minced
Water – 1/2 cup
Tomatoes – 2 large or 14 oz can diced (pureed)
Garam Masala – 2 tsp
Cumin Powder – 1 tsp
Coriander Powder – 2 tsp
Red Chili Powder – to taste
Salt – to taste
Turmeric Powder – 1/4 tsp
Heavy Whipping Cream – 8 tbsp or to taste
Milk – to taste (optional)
Method:
1. Cook frozen Spinach with 1/2 cup Water in a microwave safe dish for 7-8 minutes stirring in between.
2. Blend cooked Spinach to desired texture (avoid over-blending).
3. Heat 2 tbsp Oil in a medium non-stick pan on high heat.
4. Once Oil is hot, add in the minced Onions, stir, cover and let it cook for about 5 minutes.
5. Add in the Ginger and Garlic and mix. Cook for another 4-5 minutes.
6. Add in the Tomates, cover and cook till the oil separates from the mixture.
7. Keep stirring frequently as the Masala (Onion, Tomato, Ginger & Garlic mixture) tends to burn very fast.
8. While the Masala is cooking, cube the paneer to desired size…1/2? cubes work well.
9. In a non-stick frying pan, heat the remaining 1 tbsp Oil.
10. Once Oil is hot, add in the paneer cubes and let them cook till they are golden brown on all sides.
11. Remove from the pan into a plate with paper towel to soak the excess oil.
12. In a couple of minutes, pour the Paneer into a bowl of cold water. Let it sit for 5 minutes.
13. Meanwhile, once the Masala is prepared, add in the mashed Spinach.
14. Mix and add the Garam Masala, Cumin Powder, Coriander Powder, Salt, Chili Powder & Turmeric Powder.
15. Mix well and cook for 3-5 minutes.
16. Add in the desired amount of Cream and /or Milk. Mix and cook for another few minutes.
17. Gently squeeze the water out of the Paneer and put the Paneer in the Spinach.
18. Mix gently and serve hot.
19. Enjoy with Naan, Chapati, Paratha or Rice.
Tips:
1. Health tip- some great substitutes for Heavy Whipping Cream are Milk, Soymilk, Lactaid, Half and Half or Evaporated Milk.
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Wow, just made this a few minutes ago and it tastes even better than the kind at my local Indian buffet! I used organic fat-free yogurt and homemade paneer from one of your other recipes and it was fantastic! Keep up the good work!
Do I still follow the same procedure of looking the spinach in a microwave if the spinach is fresh?? I can’t wait to try this recipe.
Thanks in advance.
Yes, you can. It will cook the spinach and it will also make it easier to blend it.
Enjoy!
i tried it it was very worst i never ate this kind of recipy
I used this recipe last week and it came out splended. Simply amazing. I did not have any paneer on hand and was in a bit of a hurry so I used a can of chickpeas which I put in at the same time as the spinach so it was actualy channa palak.
Hi
I am Megha.And I am from australia.I like your website.You both are doing wonderful job.keep up the good work.
I have got one question,I used the frozen spinach for this recipe.The taste was good but it turned out to be more like methi paneer in look.Can you please advise what is the best way to use frozen spinach so that it turn out to be more plummy and thick??
Thanks
You can try using whole spinach leaves rather than the chopped ones and then grind it to your desired texture.
thanks 4 that..I will surely try over the weekend.
Hi hetal and anuja.
I am punjabi.but my partner is gujarati.And he loves khasta kachori.Can you please post the quickest version of kachori,if possible.
And thanks again
Hi..,
Thanks for all your recipes..
its helping me a lot..
Keep up the good work..:)
I love this site. I am thinking about making this dish ahead for a b’day party. Can you please tell me if it would freeze well and how to thaw it…
This would be a great help!!! Thank you!!! Love you guys!!!!
Hi Sivagini,
This is an excellent dish to make ahead and freeze. The tips that we would give would be:
– make the palak part, save and add the paneer for the day of the party (this ensures the paneer will remain intact and will give a fresh flavor to the dish)
– freeze in an airtight freezer-safe container, the night before the party, move the container from freezer to fridge and allow it to thaw in the fridge. Take it out of the fridge a few hours before and make sure it has thawed (if not leave it out on the counter to thaw).
– Reheat on the stove or in the microwave, add in the paneer. Transfer into an oven-safe dish and keep warm in the oven till ready to serve.
Just fyi, we have a great video on how to heat/reheat food for a party:
https://34.233.61.50/wp/DVD.htm
Enjoy your party!
Thank you soooo much. I will follow your instructions. Love your site even more now!!!!!
How do you make paneer? I can’t find a recipe on your website for this.
Hi Charlotte,
Here is the link to the paneer video:
https://34.233.61.50/2008/03/17/homemade-paneer-indian-cheese/
hi anju good name pls send me reciepe of veg manchuriean as my children like it very much bye take care
Hello,
You guys are doing a really great job and your recipes are easy to follow. I tried your Palak Paneer and it was great.
Thanks!
hai anuja and hetal,
the recipe looks grt,would love to try it..but if i am not microwaving the spinach how else can i cook it?and will it be the same as microwaving it..
hi anuja & hetal.i am sweta here. i am from Ahmadabad (Gujarat)in India.right now i am in melbourne.i have seen your recipe too many times and i love to cook so i learnt so many vegetarian dishes from you. thanks for that. but i want to know the navratna korama & khoya kaju’s recipe. i coud’nt find that recipe in your web site.so can you send me that recipe on my e-mail id.i love to watching your show thank you for giving us the awesome recipe.
hi, hetal and anuja, i love to cook and to try out new recipes, was recently searching the net for the recipe for vegetable lasagna and came accross your website.your website is amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.your recipes are all amazing…..this paalak paneer recipe sounds great, will try it your way shortly. And before that im planning to try eggplant rolls. i just love your wesite and your video presentations….Will send you a message again shortly on your great work!
Thank you. I like this recipe of yours.
Hi Geetika,
It is a great dish to serve anyone! Anyone who knows even a little about India/Indians, know about Palak Paneer. Plus spinach is a vegetable that they know hence a safe bet:)
Do you think this will be a good dish to serve the Americans, when they come for lunch
Hi Bharvika,
Soaking the paneer serves 2 purposes – to make it soft and to remove all of the excess oil from the frying. Usually, frying or stir frying forms a coating on the paneer which prevents it from breaking apart in the curry. By soaking it, the hard coating becomes soft — or SHOULD become soft. Not sure what happened to yours.
Regarding storing the panner, you can keep it in the fridge for up to a week. Anything longer, just cube it and freeze it in a freezer ziploc bag. You can even stir-fry it and freeze it. One step saved when you are ready to use it.
Hi Hetal and Anuja,
I tried this recipe and came out really well.
Thanks to u guys.
I had one question though.
I followed the soaking procedure for Panner after stir frying it but it was not that soft.
In fact the stir fired paneer and kept on paper towel was much softer.
Any idea why this happens?
Between where should the store bought paneer be kept in freezer or refrigerator?
Thanks for ur reply in advance.
WOW!!!! what a great website!!!! thank you SO much for taking the time to make the videos, too – they are wonderful! You both are just lovely ladies!
Recently, we found a great local restaurant but would love to make lower fat versions at home – thank you so much!!!!!!!!!!!!
samantha
HI Malavika,
It is absolutely OK to use the paste, just use a little more than what the recipe calls foras fresh is always more potent that the paste.
For Evaporated Milk, use the amount that would like the consistency to be…so pour little at a time and stop when you see fit.
Evaporated Milk comes in regular fat and low-fat, so if you are looking for a super healthy option, try the low-fat version!
Happy Diwali to you and your family!
Hi Anuja and Hetal,
I’m really excited about trying out your palak paneer recipe just in time for Diwali this year – but I had two questions. First, I’m horrible at mincing and chopping garlic and ginger, so I was hoping to just use ginger-garlic paste instead. Is that an OK shortcut to take? And secondly, do you use the same amount of evaporated milk as you do heavy cream?
Thanks!
Hi Vandana,
Thanks! And, yes, you can use the spinach (as long as it is not spoilt). A lot of times when I buy fresh spinach and have not managed to use it all up, and it’s on the brink of getting spoilt, I blanch and freeze it and use it at a later date!
Take care!
Hi Hetal and Anuja,
Luvvvv your recipies. Great works guys!!!! you guys have made cooking very interesting and easy…. I have tried most of your recipies which have turned out to be yummyyyy…
just wanted to ask for palak panner,can we use the spinach, we have already blanched and blended but frozen for 6 days or do we have to use the fresh one ??
Thanks guys
Cheers !!!
Hi Mubeen,
Both Hetal and I use home-made Garam Masala. The one time that I used a store bought one was Kitchen King Brand and it wasn’t too bad. Hopefully you get it in Bahrain.
hi hetal and anuja .u r doing wonderful job i tried two of ur receipes it came dam good,but i want to ask u abt garam masalau add in ur receipes is made by urselfes or readymade bcoz the garam masala (evrest g.masala)which i use change the taste of my dish same hapend with palak paneer so can u suggest the brand u use.i am from bahrain
thank u
Hi Hetal and Anuja
This is the best recipe of Palak Paneer I have ever made and tested….I have got that for lunch today…its going to test more yummy today..
Thanks for sharing this wonderfull , delicious recipe
Cheers
Rupali
Hi Sukhi,
Thanks so much for the wonderful feedback. We will definitely put kheer on our list of videos to do.
Thanks again!
hi heetal n anuja.u guys are great i loved ur site so much.i think now i can cook so delicious food for my husbad .i am a begginer in cooking i am learing alot thanks a lot.i want to lear how to make punjabi rice pudding(kheer).
Hi Deanna,
Thanks for the tip. We have never used Greek-style yogurt in our cooking as we make our own homemade yogurt. Will definitely have to give it a try.
Cheers!
Hello ladies, really enjoy reading your website and watching the videos. Palak paneer is one of my favourite dishes ever and I wanted to share a tip with you. As a healthier alternative to cream, I always use a good dollop of whipped Greek-style yogurt and I find this adds a wonderful creaminess to the dish. Try it and let me know what you think. Good luck and keep up the great work!
Hi Kajal,
We actually cook the frozen spinach in the microwave so it is not uncooked. Hope I understood your question.
Hey anuja and hetal,
you both do a great job by sharing some of the wonderful recipes, I am a big food lover and so is my husband, I love the idea of using frozen palaak but have a question, usually what i do is put palak in hot boiling water for few mintues and then blend it in blender and then make the dish, this way since we use the uncooked spinach, will the dish be as good or will it tast a little different ? it seems very easy this way, so i wud try it too.
Hey Anuja and Hetal, Thanks for this recipe! I’ve been meaning to write about it sooner. This is one of my favorite dishes and now I can finally make it! It’s so yummy. Ram’s thrilled that your site is making me a better Indian chef (haha). Take care girls!
Kate
hi there,
i liked the dish so much.but how to preparee whipping milk?please suggest me.
thanks,
pooja
I will make it this friday and let you guys know. Lets see…how it turns out to be…:) Without this website showmethecurry I would be so……empty.
Hi Snehal,
We are assuming that you are referring to the spinach puree in a can. If so, we would not recommend it. Using fresh or frozen spinach makes the dish a lot better tasting.
Wowwwwwww…Dat looks really Yummm….
Can we use “Spinach Puree in Salt water” available in Market ?
Greetings from Singapore! I love your website, you’ve done a great job promoting homecooked indian cuisine. In fact, you’ve made it look so simple that I’ve finanlly plucked up courage to cook my first indian dish – palak paneer! It turned out great! The only peeve I have is that I may have over-fried my paneer as it was too dry and crumbly. Otherwise, it was really yummy! Will definitely try your other dishes. =)
i’ve made this recipe twice as well! i’m not so fond of paneer, but it tastes great without it, too! 🙂 (i’m just too lazy to buy it premade or make it on my own.)
the best thing about your site is that your videos really show how easy it is to make Indian food. i love it! 🙂 – Kathleen
If your bunch of spinach weighs about 16 ozs or 1lb or 1/2 kg then you can use the same measurements. Remember that a part of that will go away as wasteage (stems).
Hi,
Can I use the same measurements for one bunch of fresh spinach?
Thanks.
Jaya
hi..can u plz most sum more of punjabi subjis
Thanks for the feedback and for the great information.
Lemon juice goes great with everything!
Hi there!
You two are doing a wonderful job! Thanks a lot for all your recipes! I am really impressed by your website.
One thing I wanted to mention about the Palak Paneer recipe is you can add lemon juice to it at the end. Vit C with the Iron in spinach helps absorbing the Iron better and it tastes good as well!
Keep up the good work!
Hi,
I liked your Palak Paneer recipe a lot. You website is really good especially with the video and recipe in text. Your measurements make it so easy to follow. I have a request for ‘Kaju Katli’ recipe. It would be great if you post the video for this sweet recipe.
Hi Sushma,
We have had lots of requests for Gobi Manchurian. We are working on it. Look for it soon.
hi,i liked ur website a lot. the way u explain the recipe is good and moreover the health tips that u give are the highlight as i look more for healthy substitutes. please try to include them in all ur recipes .. plz try to post gobi manchurian, i know u just posted spicy caulifower, if not immediately plz try to post this later, thank u so much 🙂
I tried it today….was really good..
Tried palak paneer, turned out really well.
Well, we soak the paneer, squeeze out the water very gently, and then use the paneer for 2 reasons
– the paneer will be a LOT softer.
– plus the paneer will let go of some of the excess oil.
Give it a try and you will notice the difference.
Hello Anuja and Hetal, The pic is sooooo good 🙂 I wanna take a sppon of that curry from the bowl and have it a parath right now 😉
Well, i wanted to ask you, why did you soak the fried paneer in water before you add it to the curry? .. I love Palak Paneer 🙂
paneer is soaked in water to keep it soft and not get hardened after frying