Palak Paneer Curry – Spinach Paneer Recipe | Healthy Palak Paneer Without Cream | Easy Saag Paneer Recipe

Palak Paneer Curry – Spinach Paneer Recipe | Healthy Palak Paneer Without Cream | Easy Saag Paneer Recipe – Paneer or Indian cottage cheese in smooth creamy delicious spinach gravy infused with spices. It is quick and easy, Keto-friendly, Gluten-free and has an option to make it Vegan!!

Palak Paneer is one of the most popular paneer dishes. This palak paneer recipe has been on my ‘want to share list’ for a while….Finally it’s happening! It’s such a simple recipe but the key is to not have the raw taste of spinach and yet retain that lush green colour. That’s the tricky part and most of them fail to get that right. So, I’m here to exactly walk you through to get that gorgeous looking Palak Paneer.

What is Palak Paneer

Palak is spinach (in hindi) and Paneer is Indian cottage cheese. So, this curry is made with spinach and Indian cottage cheese known as Paneer.

How to Make Palak Paneer

Everyone has their own way of making this dish and honestly, each time I make it in a different way depending on my mood! But, this is my favourite way to make though!

Spinach is first blanched. Every curry starts out with that fragrant combo of onions, garlic, ginger and tomatoes. Spinach is pureed with the onion tomato mixture. The dry spices are then added to the pan and cooked along with with puree until a gravy starts to form. Your kitchen will smell incredible at this point. The base of palak paneer also follows exactly the same formula.

I mostly use my Homemade Paneer for this palak paneer recipe. It’s really works the best. However, if you do use store bought paneer, just remember to soak it in hot water for at least 15 minutes to soften it and then use. A lot of people like pan frying their paneer before adding it to the curry. I am not a fan of that especially for palak paneer. I like that soft, broken panner mixed with palak. So, I like to add raw paneer.

Vegan Palak Paneer

Can you make this recipe vegan? Yes of course! Just replace Paneer with extra-firm tofu. You can use cashew cream or coconut cream in place of heavy cream. The rest of the recipe remains the same, follow the steps as it is.

Other options

You can pan-sear tofu, chicken or fish and add! Or, while making the sauce, you could roast some cauliflower or potato and add to it!!

Easy Steps to Follow for

Palak Paneer Curry – Spinach Paneer Recipe

Let’s make the base for Palak Paneer Curry:

• First, we need to Blanch the spinach. In a pan/pot, heat water and add palak leaves.
• Take out after a minute when spinach starts to wilt and add to ice cold water. This will stop and arrest the cooking further. This is immensely important step to retain its colour and nutrients. Set this aside.
• To a pan, add in some oil. To this add cashew, ginger, garlic pods, green chillies and chopped onion. Sauté until the onions turn translucent.
• Now, add in chopped tomato. To this add a little salt so that they cook faster. Sauté for a minute until they turn soft. Turn off the heat. Allow it to completely cool down and transfer to a blender.
• Now, drain out the spinach and add to the blender. To this add half a cup of water, it helps in grinding finer. Blend to a very smooth paste or you could leave it slightly coarse, which is what I like to do.

Let’s make the tadka for Palak Paneer Curry:

• Add oil/butter/ or ghee to a pan as per your preference. But, today I’m using oil.
• To this add cumin seeds and a few dry red chillies.
• Once these get lightly toasted, add in some turmeric powder, red chilli powder, coriander powder and cumin powder.
• Give it all a nice mix for a few seconds so that they get lightly toasted in oil. Make sure not to burn them.
• Now, it’s time to add the palak puree. Add in some water to adjust the consistency. Give it all a nice mix. Add in required salt to your taste. Spinach are green leafy vegetables that are naturally salted in flavour, so make sure to keep a check while adding salt.
• Once you have added spinach puree, you want to make sure to continuously stir, otherwise it will spill all over the place.
• In a minute or 2 it starts to boil, now add in some powdered garam masala and Kasoori methi(optional). Give it a mix.

Add Paneer to the Palak Gravy:

• It’s time to add in the Paneer cubes. There is no fixed ratio of spinach to paneer as such. So, feel free to use as much or as less to your preference.
• Alternatively, you can also lightly shallow fry paneer in a little oil until light golden brown and then add. But, especially for palak paneer, I like that soft, broken panner mixed with palak. So, I like to add raw paneer.
• Gently fold in the gravy to cover the paneer and turn off the heat. In total, make sure not to cook more that 3 to 4 minutes after adding palak puree so that spinach retains it’s colour.
• At this stage, you can optionally add some cream or butter.
• Adding lemon juice at the end makes sure the iron from spinach is absorbed by the body. You can use it to your preference.
• So vibrant and beautiful, with the best aroma ever! Palak Paneer Curry is ready to be served with Plain Rice, Jeera Rice, Garlic Naan, Roti, Paratha, Puri etc. You can actually serve it with any Indian bread!!

Substitute for cream:

Cream is usually added to cut down on the bitterness of the spinach leaves and also make it rich and creamy. If you are someone who doesn’t want to add cream, you can also use yogurt or milk. There are many substitutes for cream like you can add cashew cream or coconut cream/milk.

But, I figured out a way to actually replace and still not change the overall taste. Take about 2 to 3 paneer cubes, add 2 tablespoons milk and mash well until you get a smooth and silky texture. Trust me, this works so well and also gives the palak paneer a well balanced rounded taste.

What is the difference with Saag Paneer?

In Palak Paneer, only spinach is used in the gravy where as in Saag Paneer, other greens like fenugreek leaves, mustard greens, etc are also used along with spinach. Fried paneer cubes are added to it later.

How to make it without onion and garlic?

Follow exactly the same recipe and skip onion, ginger and garlic. You can add a little asafoetida/hing along with other spice powders and a very simple home-style palak paneer is ready in no time.

Storage Suggestions

You can refrigerate the curry as such for 2-3 days in airtight containers. Or you can just make the gravy and refrigerate it for 2-3 days. Add the paneer cubes once you are ready to serve.

If you plan to freeze this dish, don’t add cream and paneer. Just freeze the gravy in freezer-safe containers. Thaw the gravy for a couple of hours when you are ready to serve. You can then re-heat and add fresh cream and paneer cubes. Cook for a minute and turn off the heat.

Palak Paneer Serving Suggestions

Palak Paneer pairs well with Plain Rice, Jeera Rice, Garlic Naan, Roti, Paratha, Puri etc. You can pretty much serve it with any Indian bread!!

Print Recipe

Palak Paneer Curry - Spinach Paneer Recipe | Healthy Palak Paneer | Easy Saag Paneer Recipe

Paneer or Indian cottage cheese in smooth creamy delicious spinach gravy infused with spices.

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time25 minutes mins

Total Time40 minutes mins

Course: Main Course / Side dish, Side Dish / Curry

Cuisine: Indian (North Indian)

Keyword: Palak Paneer, Spinach Paneer, Saag Paneer, Palak Paneer Without Cream,

Servings: 4

Author: Padma Veeranki

Ingredients

• 300 grams Spinach

For the Paste:

• 1 tbsp Oil
• 4 Cashews
• 1 inch Ginger
• 4 Garlic Cloves
• 2 Green chillies
• 1 Large Onion Roughly Chopped
• 1 Large Tomato Roughly Chopped
• ½ Cup Water To blend

For Tadka:

• 1 tbsp Oil
• 2 Dry Red Chillies
• 1 tsp Cumin seeds
• ½ tsp Turmeric Powder
• 1 tsp Red Chilli Powder
• 1 ½ tsp Coriander Powder
• 1 tsp Cumin Powder
• ½ tsp Garam Masala Powder
• 1 tsp Kasoori Methi Crushed, Optional
• Salt to taste
• 200 grams Paneer Cut into cubes
• Butter/Cream/Cashew Paste Optional

Instructions

Preparing base for Palak Paneer:

• To blanch spinach, heat water in a pot and add palak leaves. Take out after 2 minutes when spinach starts to wilt and add to ice cold water. Set this aside.
• To a pan, add in some oil. To this add cashew, ginger, garlic pods, green chillies and chopped onion. Sauté until the onions turn tanslucent. Now, add in chopped tomato. Add a little salt and sauté for a minute until they turn soft. Turn off the heat. Allow it to completely cool down and transfer to a blender.
• Now, drain out the spinach and add to the blender. To this add half a cup of water. Blend to a very smooth paste.

Tadka for Palak Paneer:

• Add oil/butter or ghee to a pan as per your preference. I’m using oil.
• To this add cumin seeds and a few dry red chillies.
• Once these get lightly toasted, add in some turmeric powder, red chilli powder, coriander powder and cumin powder.
• Give it all a nice mix for a few seconds so that they get lightly toasted in oil. Make sure not to burn them.
• Now, add the palak puree. Add in some water to adjust the consistency. Give it all a nice mix. Add in required salt to your taste.
• In a minute or 2 it starts to boil. Add in some powdered garam masala. Give it a mix.
• Add in the paneer cubes. Alternatively, you can also lightly shallow fry paneer in a little oil until light golden brown and then add.
• Gently fold in the gravy to cover the paneer and turn off the heat.
• At this stage, you can optionally add some cream or butter.
• Palak paneer curry is ready to be served with roti, naan, paratha or jeera rice.

Recipe Video

Notes

• You can use homemade paneer or store-bought paneer for this recipe. Homemade paneer tends to be softer in texture compared to store bough one.
• Adjust spice levels to suit your taste.
• This recipe can be made with any greens of your choice.
• Vegan Version: you can substitute the paneer with pressed extra-firm tofu. Use oil to cook everything, and swap the cream with cashew cream or coconut milk. 
• To make Cashew Cream, blend 1/3 cup of raw cashews with 1 cup of water in a high-powered blender. You will have more than you need for this recipe. Store the rest.
• If spinach is bitter, optionally you can add 1/2 teaspoon of sugar.
• If you like, you can also pan-fry the paneer cubes in a little oil until golden brown before adding them to the curry.
• Adding lemon juice at the end makes sure the iron from spinach is absorbed by the body. You can use it to your preference.

Do check out SPINACH DAL and other VEGETABLE GRAVY RECIPES  from blog!!!

Other Paneer related recipes on blog:

• How to make Paneer at home
• Matar Paneer
• Paneer Butter Masala
• Capsicum Aloo Paneer Tikki
• Tandoori Paneer
• Paneer Capsicum Paratha
• Khoya Paneer Gulab Jamun

Many more to come!!…..STAY TUNED!!

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Happy Cooking 

Cheers!!

Padma.