Palak Paneer, also known as Saag Paneer, is a classic North Indian curry that combines the flavors of spinach, paneer (Indian cottage cheese), and a variety of spices. It is a hearty, creamy, and flavorful dish that is often served with rice, roti, or naan. The vibrant green color of the spinach and the soft, pillowy texture of the paneer create a visually appealing and delicious meal. This article provides a comprehensive guide to cooking the perfect Palak Paneer, including tips for selecting the best ingredients, preparing the spinach and paneer, and creating a flavorful sauce. Whether you are a seasoned cook or a beginner, this article will help you create a delicious and authentic Palak Paneer dish that will impress your family and friends.
Check out the recipes below so you can choose the best recipe for yourself!
PALAK PANEER - INDIAN SPINACH CURRY WITH HOMEMADE FRESH CHEESE
Recipe video above. A dish this iconic demands to be made properly - from scratch, with lots of fresh spinach and homemade paneer (Indian fresh cheese!) This is a magnificent vegetarian curry, packed with an extraordinary amount of nutrition and goodness!
Provided by Nagi
Number Of Ingredients 17
Steps:
- Saute onion & spices: Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion, fenugreek, cumin, coriander, salt and pepper. Cook for 3 minutes until onion is softened but not golden.
- Add garlic and ginger, cook for 2 minutes.
- Add the tomato and chilli, cook for 3 minutes on a medium heat.
- Add spinach: Add about 1/3 of the spinach - or as much as you can handle in the pot (!) - and stir until wilted. Then add more spinach along with the water, cook again until wilted. Repeat until all the spinach is wilted.
- Cook 10 minutes: Cook, stirring every now and then, for 10 minutes still on a medium heat.
- Cream & lemon: Add the cream and lemon juice. Cook, stirring gently, for 3 minutes.
- Puree half spinach: Remove half the spinach into a tall container and blend it to a puree using a stick blender. Pour pureed spinach back into the pot, and stir to combine.
- Add Pan Fried Paneer: Gently stir in golden pan-fried paneer (see below). Stir gently to mix through.
- Serve over basmati rice with fluffy, chewy homemade naan on the side!
Nutrition Facts : Calories 510 kcal, Carbohydrate 27 g, Protein 16 g, Fat 39 g, SaturatedFat 24 g, TransFat 1 g, Cholesterol 127 mg, Sodium 647 mg, Fiber 4 g, Sugar 20 g, ServingSize 1 serving
SPINACH AND CHEESE CURRY (PALAK PANEER)
A classic Indian vegetarian curry that is timeless, easy to prepare and has a rich rustic flavour.
Yield To Serve 4 to 6
Number Of Ingredients 15
Steps:
- If you are using fresh spinach leaves, blanch. To blanch the spinach, bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Drop spinach leaves in the pot and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and drain the water.
- If you are using frozen spinach leaves, steam. To steam the spinach, bring a large pot of water to boil. Put frozen spinach in a colander or steamer and place inside the pot. Cover and steam for 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat.
- In a blender, combine onion, ginger, chili and half of the spinach with 1/2 cup of water. Blend to a smooth paste.
- Heat oil in a deep, heavy bottomed saucepan on medium. Add bay leaf, cinnamon and peppercorns. When the spices start sizzling, add the onion-spinach paste. Sauté and cook for two minutes until the mixture starts becoming richer and darker in colour. Reduce heat to low.
- Blend the remaining spinach with 1/2 cup of water to a smooth paste. Add this to the saucepan. Add cumin, salt and nutmeg. Add the paneer. Cover and cook for 20 minutes, stirring every now and then to make sure the curry doesn't stick. Feel free to add a bit of water if you think the curry is becoming too thick.
- Adjust seasoning, add cream and chaat masala (if using) and cook for 5 more minutes. Remove from heat and serve hot with naan bread or rice.
- My Notes -
- Indian restaurants usually deep fry the paneer cubes before adding to the curry. This tastes sensational and must be tried at least once. If you would like the smokey flavour of the paneer but want a healthier option, grill the paneer on a griddle or hot plate before adding to your curry.
- This dish is also great as a chunky dip served with poppadums at an Indian banquet.
PALAK PANEER (SPINACH CURRY)
Given to me by a co-worker from Bangalore, this is a southern Indian recipe for palak paneer. It was easy to make and very delicious!
Provided by International Recipes
Categories Trusted Brands: Recipes and Tips
Time 35m
Yield 2
Number Of Ingredients 12
Steps:
- Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a skillet over medium heat; cook and stir spinach in hot oil until softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer spinach to a blender or food processor; puree until spinach becomes a coarse paste.
- Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in a saucepan over medium heat; cook cumin in hot oil until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add onion, green chile peppers, and garlic. Cook and stir until onion is tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and cover saucepan. Simmer for 1 minute and add blended spinach paste, water, ground coriander, red chile powder, and salt. Continue to cook until heated through, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Stir paneer into spinach mixture and simmer until hot, 1 to 2 minutes more.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 332.6 calories, Carbohydrate 22.7 g, Cholesterol 16.8 mg, Fat 20.1 g, Fiber 6 g, Protein 18.9 g, SaturatedFat 5.5 g, Sodium 7499.1 mg, Sugar 8.8 g
PALAK PANEER (INDIAN FRESH SPINACH WITH PANEER CHEESE)
Creamy and rich, a delight to eat. A dish I fell in love with at a local restaurant and adapted a recipe to closely resemble theirs.
Provided by PalatablePastime
Categories Spinach
Time 1h
Yield 6 serving(s)
Number Of Ingredients 14
Steps:
- Cut spinach into shreds and cook in 3 tablespoons water until tender; remove from heat.
- Saute onion, cinnamon, cardamom, and ginger in 1-2 tablespoons ghee or oil until onion is translucent.
- Then add garlic and chopped tomatoes, and reduce heat.
- Cook this briefly and slowly blend in yogurt a little at a time to prevent curdling.
- Add coriander, garam masala, paprika, and salt, mixing well.
- Add cooked spinach with liquid, cover and simmer on low heat for approximately 20-30 minutes.
- Remove from heat.
- Take half of spinach mixture and puree in food processor or blender, and return to mixture and stir.
- Slowly stir in heavy cream, and heat through on low heat.
- Add paneer cubes.
- Serve.
PALAK PANEER CURRY
Palak paneer is an Indian curry with soft cubes of cheese simmered in a mildly spiced spinach gravy. All of the spinach benefits in an easy-to-make and absolutely delicious Indian curry. Serve with hot naan or roti.
Provided by Andreia
Categories World Cuisine Recipes Asian Indian
Time 45m
Yield 2
Number Of Ingredients 18
Steps:
- Bring a saucepan of water to a boil. Add spinach and cook for 1 minute. Transfer to a bowl of ice water to keep spinach bright green.
- Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add cumin seeds to hot oil so they sizzle. Add onion, chile, garlic, and ginger. Cook until onion is golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and cook until soft, about 2 minutes more. Remove from heat and allow mixture to cool.
- Transfer tomato mixture to a blender; add blanched spinach. Blend to a thick, smooth paste; thin with a few teaspoons water if needed.
- Heat remaining oil in the skillet over medium heat. Add coriander, cumin, chile powder, and turmeric. Fry until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add spinach paste and cook over medium-high heat for 2 minutes. Add water and cook for 5 minutes more. Season gravy with salt.
- Add paneer to the gravy and mix well to coat. Cook 5 minutes more. Add garam masala and cream. Stir and cook over low heat for 2 minutes. Garnish with chile flakes.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 506.2 calories, Carbohydrate 24.3 g, Cholesterol 30.4 mg, Fat 38.6 g, Fiber 7 g, Protein 21 g, SaturatedFat 7.8 g, Sodium 651.6 mg, Sugar 7.8 g
I LOVE PALAK PANEER (SPINACH AND CHEESE CURRY)
This luscious spinach and cheese dish comes from Northern India, the home of paneer, a fresh cow-milk cheese similar to ricotta. It's sold near the feta and haloumi in supermarkets, either of these two cheeses can replace paneer here, but the results wont be exactly the same. When I made this, I did use a soft feta, which melted into the spinach and gave me the most creamy rich curry you can imagine. I also upped the amount of the garam masala, to give a hotter result, and I sauteed some shrimps in garlic and butter, and served them with the curry, we enjoyed an excellent meal! The recipe is taken from Australian Womens Weekly, New Curries UPDATED to add ( thank you Peggy :) ), that previously step 2 said to add half the spinach at that step, I've changed it to say, add all the spinach.
Provided by Karen Elizabeth
Categories Curries
Time 30m
Yield 4-6 serving(s)
Number Of Ingredients 10
Steps:
- Heat oil in large frying pan; cook spices, onion and garlic, stirring, until onion softens.
- Add lemon juice and spinach: cook, stirring, until wilted.
- Blend or process spinach mixture until smooth, return to pan, stir in cream.
- Add in paneer, cook over low heat, uncovered, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes or until heated through.
- Serve on steamed rice.
Tips:
- Use fresh spinach: Fresh spinach has a more vibrant flavor and retains its nutrients better than frozen spinach.
- Wilt the spinach properly: Wilting the spinach removes excess moisture and helps it cook evenly.
- Don't overcook the spinach: Overcooked spinach becomes mushy and loses its flavor.
- Use a good quality paneer: A good quality paneer should be firm and have a slightly sweet flavor.
- Don't overcrowd the pan: When cooking the paneer, don't overcrowd the pan or it will steam instead of fry.
- Use a flavorful tomato sauce: The tomato sauce is an important part of the dish, so use a flavorful sauce that you enjoy.
- Season to taste: Be sure to season the dish to taste with salt, pepper, and other spices.
- Garnish with cilantro: Cilantro adds a fresh, bright flavor to the dish.
Conclusion:
Palak paneer is a delicious and versatile dish that can be enjoyed by people of all ages. It is a good source of protein, iron, and calcium. The dish is also relatively easy to make, making it a great option for busy weeknight meals. Whether you are a vegetarian or just looking for a healthy and flavorful dish, palak paneer is a great choice.
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