Restaurant Style Palak Paneer

Learn to make 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.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Indian

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 20

Servings people

Calories 311.29kcal

Author Priya Lakshminarayan

Equipment

Ingredients

To prepare spinach puree

10 oz spinach
1 teaspoon sugar
4 cups water
2 cups ice cubes

To prepare the masala

1 onion large, roughly chopped
¼ cup cashews
1 Jalapeno
1 cup water

To grill paneer

7 oz paneer
2 tablespoon oil

To prepare Paneer Palak

½ tablespoon oil
2 bay leaves
1 cinnamon stick
2 tablespoon Kasuri methi crushed
5 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon ginger paste
1 teaspoon 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

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.

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!

Nutrition