Punjabi Palak Paneer | Cottage Cheese Simmered In Spinach Gravy

One of the most popular Indian dishes is palak paneer – soft cottage cheese cubes in a mild spiced smooth spinach sauce.

It is a smooth creamy dish made with fresh spinach leaves, paneer (cottage cheese), onions, herbs and spices. Palak paneer can be made vegan by substituting paneer with tofu and using cashew cream or coconut cream or skipping cream altogether.

I always recommend blanching spinach before making any dish where the spinach leaves are used in large quantities and where a puree is made from the leaves. Blanching has many benefits and I have shared about these benefits in this post of Palak recipes.

Palak Paneer Vs Saag Paneer

Saag paneer and palak paneer are often considered to be the same. But palak paneer is not saag paneer. Both are different. Palak paneer is made only with spinach puree and saag is mixture or puree of various greens.

In Punjabi or hindi language the word ‘saag’ means greens. Various leafy greens fall under this category of ‘saag’ – example amaranth leaves, spinach, dill leaves, radish leaves, sarson (mustard leaves), fenugreek leaves (methi), chenopodium (bathua), tender leaves of chickpeas (chane ka saag) and purslane (kulfa).

Technically saag paneer is a dish where the saag is made first by combining 2 to 3 types of greens. Then paneer is added to the pureed greens. Whatever be the case, both palak paneer and saag paneer are healthy as well as delicious.

This delicious palak paneer goes well with roti, naan, paratha or tandoori roti and even jeera rice or biryani rice or saffron rice or ghee rice.

Serves - 4

Ingredients:
200 gms paneer, cut in cubes,
400 gms palak,
1 tbsp oil,

2 tbsp butter, 
1 big onion, finely chopped,
2-3 green chillies, crushed,
1 tsp ginger, crushed,

8-9 garlic pods, finely chopped,

1 tsp red chilli powder,

1 tsp cumin powder, 

Salt to taste,

3 tbsp fresh cream, (Amul fresh cream)

For Tempering:
1 tbsp butter,
2 tsp cumin seeds,

2 tsp garlic, finely chopped,
2 whole red chillies,

Method:

1. Bring water to a boil in a big vessel. Keep a big vessel of chilled water ready aside. Add nicely washed palak to the boiling water. Keep stirring it for 1-2 mins and remove it with a strainer and put it into the chilled water.
2. Once cooled down, puree into a fine paste and set it aside.
3. Heat oil & butter. Add the garlic, ginger, green chillies and onion and saute until golden brown.
4. Add the palak puree. 
5. Add red chilli powder, cumin powder and salt to taste and cook for 4-5 mins.
6. Gently mix the paneer pieces into the gravy and let it simmer for 2 mins.
7. Reduce the heat and add the cream and mix well.
8. Remove in the serving bowl.
9. For tempering, heat butter and add the cumin seeds and allow it to splutter. Add the garlic and red chillies and pour this on top of the gravy in the serving bowl.
10. Serve hot.

This delicious palak paneer goes well with roti, naan, paratha or tandoori roti and even jeera rice or biryani rice or saffron rice or ghee rice.

Note:

• Vegans can substitute paneer with tofu in the dish. I have made palak tofu many times and even with tofu, the palak gravy tastes very good.
• To get the perfect green colour of the dish, we must use a fresh bunch of spinach or even better if we can get baby spinach with is tender and lacks bitterness. The big stalky spinach usually tastes bitter.

Did you make this recipe?

Please let me know how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below and share a picture on Instagram with the hashtag #thefitdotme