Learn to make Punjabi palak paneer recipe, restaurant-style! This creamy vegetarian spinach recipe is one of the popular palak recipes made with grilled paneer.
This Indian spinach dish is vegetarian, gluten-free and easy to make in just 30 minutes! Vegan and Keto-friendly options included.
Table of Contents
Where is Palak Paneer Recipe from?
Palak is the Indian name for spinach and paneer is an Indian cottage cheese made from milk. It is similar to tofu.
You get Palak Paneer Dhaba style when a luscious creamy spinach sauce is infused with Indian spices and topped with grilled paneer.
It's an easy authentic Indian recipe, that's perfect for weeknight dinners or family brunches.
Whenever I get spinach, I either make this dish that hails from northern India or make this South Indian dish called Keerai Kootu.
These two are my absolute favorite recipes with spinach!
Instant Pot Chana Palak and Spinach Peanut Chutney are two other vegetarian spinach recipes that I often make at home.
My current obsessions are to make Garlicky Peas Spinach Fenugreek Curry and Dum Aloo because it tastes so good!
Trending now
Difference between Palak Paneer and Saag Paneer?
People often want to know the difference between palak paneer vs saag paneer.
Saag refers to a combination of leafy greens like spinach, fenugreek leaves and, mustard leaves in northern India.
The main difference between the two is that Saag Paneer can be made with any leafy greens or a combination of greens.
But, Palak Paneer is a gravy made with only with spinach. Both taste great though!
Benefits of eating spinach
It's one of the most nutrient-dense leafy green vegetables you can eat. It's also a good source of vitamins and folates.
Most of the carbs in spinach consist of fiber, which is incredibly healthy.
So, spinach is low in carbs but high in insoluble fiber which helps better digestion.
It is always a good idea to include this green leafy vegetable in your daily diet.
You can make many vegan and vegetarian spinach recipes and add to your weekly rotation menu.
Why make Palak Paneer
- Can be made under 30 minutes
- Made in less oil and uses few basic ingredients
- Healthier to other paneer recipes
- Simple to make and appetizing to look
- Very delicious to taste
Ingredients needed
As you can see from the image above, we need a few basic ingredients to make this palak paneer restaurant-style!
- Spinach - We need spinach leaves, not the stems. Baby spinach is also a great option to use.
- Paneer - While you can easily make paneer at home, store-bought paneer works great. Thaw it first if using frozen paneer.
- It's available in Indian grocery stores and on Amazon.
- Whole spices - cinnamon and bay leaf.
- Spice mixes - garam masala and Kasuri methi. They give a nice aroma and flavor to the dish.
- Basic essentials - Onion, garlic, ginger paste and, Jalapeno.
- Cashews
So if you have lots of fresh spinach and want to make something before it goes bad, then give this recipe a try!
How to make it
In order to make restaurant-style palak paneer, we need to first prep in three steps.
- First, we need to blanch the spinach. Boil water, add sugar and then add spinach to it.
- Submerge it in boiling water and turn off the flame. Let it sit for 3 minutes. No need to cover it.
- Strain the water after 3 minutes and immediately give it an ice bath.
- Add ice cubes to a bowl and add the blanched spinach to it. Let it sit for 5 minutes.
- Transfer it to a blender and blitz it to make a smooth creamy puree. Keep it aside for now.
- Simultaneously work on the masala base. In a pan add roughly chopped onion, jalapeno and, cashews along with water.
- Bring it to a boil, reduce the flame and cook for 6-7 minutes.
- Do not strain. Allow it to cool down completely before grinding it to a smooth paste, in a blender. Keep it aside for now.
- If using frozen paneer, thaw it completely and then cut the paneer in any desired shape.
- Heat a grill pan and grill the paneer slices in little oil till it turns light golden on both sides. Set the grilled paneer aside for now.
- Add oil in a pan. Once it's hot enough, add bay leaf, cinnamon, crushed Kasuri methi, minced garlic and ginger paste.
- Fry for 2-3 minutes or till the garlic turns golden.
- Next, add the onion paste and fry it for 2 minutes. Now add the spinach puree, garam masala and, salt.
- Add water if you need to adjust the consistency. Mix it all together and cook till it comes to a boil. Take it off the flame.
Serving suggestions
Add the grilled paneer just before serving. You can also garnish it with some fresh cream, lemon juice and, crushed Kasuri methi.
This palak recipe tastes best with any flatbread or steamed rice.
But for health-conscious people, you can serve this with a bowl of cooked quinoa or cauliflower rice on the side.
Can you make Vegan Palak Paneer?
Yes, in fact, this recipe is almost vegan. Just replace paneer with extra-firm tofu.
Grill it like paneer and then follow the rest of the instructions. That's your vegan recipe for paneer palak!
How to make it Keto
Palak, or spinach, is another one of those superfood low-carb vegetables that when paired with paneer makes this delicious desi combo!
To make this recipe keto, substitute cashews with pecans or macadamia nuts.
Less-Oil, No Onion and garlic recipe
You can make this dish with no onion and garlic. Add fresh paneer in the end instead of grilling it in oil.
That way, you will cut down on the oil needed.
Some useful tips
If using frozen spinach, thaw it and blend it to a smooth puree. You can skip the blanching and ice bath steps.
Adding sugar while blanching the spinach helps retain the green color and helps cut the bitterness.
Shallow-fry tofu or paneer in ghee (if not vegan) for more flavor. You can even add paneer without frying.
Soak paneer cubes in hot water for 1520 minutes and add them to the dish before serving. That way, paneer will remain soft.
You can make the spinach gravy in advance and store it for 2-3 days in the fridge.
Just add fresh or grilled paneer/tofu before serving.
You can add roasted veggies instead of paneer or tofu or even use this spinach puree base as a pasta sauce!
Instead of paneer slices, add paneer crumbles on top and enjoy it as a hearty spinach soup!
It's also perfect for mixed households where some want vegan food and some want meat.
Prepare the sauce and top it with your favorites like roasted veggies or meat! The options are endless.
Some vegetarian spinach recipes
- Spicy Green Peas & Spinach Pastry Puffs
- Lentil & Spinach Vegan Crepes
- Mango Spinach Yogurt Green Smoothie
- Cilantro Spinach Lentil Rice
If you’ve tried this Restaurant Style Palak Paneer or any other recipe on the blog please let me know how it went by commenting below, I love hearing from you!
You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM, and PINTEREST to see more delicious vegetarian and vegan recipes and what I’m getting up to.
Listen to this recipe on our Podcast Channel!
Ease into Indian vegan/vegetarian cooking and work your way up from simple spice mixes to complex curries.
My food blog Cookilicious features a collection of detailed, mouth-watering vegetarian and vegan recipes.
This is our seventh episode, in which I have shared the recipe for Instant Potato Dosa. This is a delicious breakfast dish from Southern India.
Dosa is an Indian crepe that is popularly paired with a condiment called a Chutney. The recipe Ithat I'm going to talk about in today's episode is:
This is the Chutney I recommend pairing this Dosa with. I spoke about it in Episode 6:
You will find more chutney recipes on this page:
The traditional Dosa recipe is here:
These are some more delicious Dosa recipes that you may find interesting:
- Instant Wheat Flour Dosa
- Quinoa Dosa
- Instant Carrot & Oats Dosa/Crepes
- Masala Dosa with Sweet Potato Filling
If you try any of these dishes, then I would love to see photos of your dish - my Instagram handle is @cookilicious.
If you have any questions or feedback, please write to us at contactthechef@cookilicious.com.
If you have been listening to our podcast regularly and like it, then please subscribe so you are aware of new episodes when they come online.
Restaurant Style Palak Paneer
Equipment
Ingredients
To prepare spinach puree
- 10 oz spinach
- 1 tsp sugar
- 4 cups water
- 2 cups ice cubes
To prepare the masala
- 1 onion large, roughly chopped
- 1/4 cup cashews
- 1 Jalapeno
- 1 cup water
To prepare Paneer Palak
- 1/2 tbsp oil
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 tbsp Kasuri methi crushed
- 5 cloves garlic
- 1 tbsp ginger paste
- 1 tsp garam masala
- salt
Instructions
To prepare spinach puree
- First, we need to blanch the spinach. Boil water, add sugar and then add spinach to it. Submerge it in boiling water and turn off the flame. Let it sit for 3 minutes. No need to cover it.
- Strain the water after 3 minutes and immediately give it an ice bath. Add ice cubes to a bowl and add the blanched spinach to it. Let it sit for 5 minutes.
- Transfer it to a blender and blitz it to make a smooth creamy puree. Keep it aside for now.
To prepare the masala
- In a pan add roughly chopped onion, jalapeno and, cashews along with water. Bring it to a boil, reduce the flame and cook for 6-7 minutes.
- Do not strain. Allow it to cool down completely before grinding it to a smooth paste, in a blender. Keep it aside for now.
To grill paneer
- If using frozen paneer, thaw it completely and then cut the paneer in any desired shape.
- Heat a grill pan and grill the paneer slices in little oil till it turns light golden on both sides. Set the grilled paneer aside for now.
To prepare Paneer Palak
- Add oil in a pan. Once it's hot enough, add bay leaf, cinnamon, crushed Kasuri methi, minced garlic and ginger paste. Fry for 2-3 minutes or till the garlic turns golden.
- Next, add the onion paste and fry it for 2 minutes. Now add the spinach puree, garam masala and, salt. Add water if you need to adjust the consistency. Mix it all together and cook till it comes to a boil. Take it off the flame.
- Add the grilled paneer just before serving. This palak recipe tastes best with any flatbread or steamed rice.
Notes
Nutrition
Lovely recipe Priya! I have tried many many of your recipes and they all turn out lovely! My kids used to love only restaurant North Indian dishes. Being a South Indian, I could never capture that. But with your recipes, my kids are enjoying home food 😊 Thank you!!
Thank you so much. Means a lot. Glad you and your kids enjoy my recipes. 🙂
Excellent 👌 super simple recipe & good tips.
Thank you so much.
It is an excellent option for meatless Mondays! I will Google some ingredients I am not familiar with; then I will give it a try. Sounds amazingly delicious!
Yes, do give it a try. 🙂
This is absolutely delicious! I love that it’s such a crowd pleaser for the whole family.
Oh yes it is! Thank you
This looks simply amazing and perfect. Love the nice chunks of paneer.
Thank you so much.
This looks amazing. I love your photos so much. Palak paneer is one of my favorite Indian dishes but I don't get to have it often because there's no Indian restaurant around where I live. I'll have to learn how to make it using your recipe!
Yes, it is one of the simplest Indan dishes to make. Do give it a try. Thanks.
This was my first time making this and it was amazing!! Thank you!
Glad you liked it