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Step two: Whip up the tadka, which is a mix of Indian spices and aromatics cooked in hot oil, as well as baby spinach wilted to silky perfection in this version. Before serving, pour the tadka over the dal and serve with rice.
It all starts with the lentils, which soften so much after just 20 to 30 minutes that you can whisk them into a puree. A small amount of turmeric gives the lentils a gorgeous golden color (and antioxidants!) while salt and lemon add flavor.
The four core aromatics of Indian cooking (at least in my definition) impart incredible flavors that will delight your taste buds. Onion, garlic, ginger, and chile peppers lend a baseline of rich, savory, and spicy-ish flavors to this dal palak and plenty of other Indian dishes such as my Chickpea Curry.
Substitute: I use both fresh green chile peppers (serranos or jalapeos) and dried red chile peppers to give the tadka some heat. Fear not though, my Babymouths! You can remove the membranes and seeds from the fresh peppers, omit the dried red chile peppers, or leave out all the peppers (or give them to me because I use them in everything).
Although fresh curry leaves (no relation to curry powder, not even distant cousins) are optional in this dal recipe, their bright, citrusy, earthy, and complex flavor adds SO much to this dish.
Where to buy: Your local Indian grocery store, but if not possible, buy them online. Well-stocked grocery stores will sell cumin seeds and, sometimes, yellow mustard seeds (not commonly used in Indian cooking but an acceptable substitute).
Substitute: Not a spinach stan? Just like in my Saag Aloo recipe, you can substitute the spinach for any leafy greens you like, such as baby kale or other tender greens that will cook quickly.
The beauty of a tadka is that you can get creative. While I stand by my choices of whole spices, fresh curry leaves, and aromatics, go ahead and mix things up (and tell me how it goes for you in the comments!).
Palak Paneer is a popular Indian Vegetarian Dish consisting of paneer (Indian cheese) in a smooth, creamy and delicious spinach gravy. Learn to make the BEST Palak Paneer at home, all without blanching spinach and not over loading your dish with tons of spices. This is simply delicious, rich, absolutely flavorsome & tastes better than in any restaurant. Serve this Palak Paneer with fluffy Basmati Rice, Paratha, roti, Butter naan, Jeera rice, or Ghee rice.
The conventional method of making palak paneer is to blanch the spinach leaves and then puree it. This spinach puree is later cooked with spices, onions and tomatoes until a thick curry like consistency is achieved.
Growing up we never liked Palak Paneer anywhere, even in the best restaurants for the way it tasted and looked. Later I always had a tough time getting even my toddlers to eat it in restaurants. After trying different ways of making Palak Paneer I finally arrived at this version that is always an huge hit with everyone around.
This palak paneer is the best, you are ever going to make. The best results are achieved just by not blanching your spinach and not overcooking it. So to avoid blanching we saute the spinach first and then puree.
Palak paneer is an authentic Indian dish originated in India, while Saag Paneer is what is invented by the chefs in Indian restaurant abroad, outside India. We would usually never find saag paneer on any restaurant menu in India. But we do find it outside.
Since palak means spinach, palak paneer is made with spinach. But saag typically refers to many different greens like mustard greens, radish greens, fenugreek leaves and few others. So usually saag is made with any or all of these. So if you order for a saag paneer in a restaurant, you are more likely to eat any or all of these in it.
There many different ways a saag paneer is made so it tastes totally different in every restaurant. The saag paneer I have eaten is made with spinach, coriander leaves and methi leaves (fenugreek leaves) which is far different from the palak paneer.
1. This recipe needs about 4 cups loosely measured or 2 cups tightly packed (100 to 120 grams) palak leaves. Use only young and fresh spinach. Avoid using large stems or stalks, especially from mature spinach/ palak as they make the gravy bitter. If using baby spinach keep the tender stalks.
Rinse cleaned palak thoroughly in a large pot filled with water. I also spray some vinegar and salt to remove the pesticide residue first. Rinse a few times more. Drain off the water completely. If you are on a low oxalate diet then you can blanch the spinach by following the steps mentioned in the recipe card.
7. Heat the same pan with 1 tablespoon butter and half tablespoon oil . Add 2 whole cardamoms, one inch cinnamon piece, 2 cloves and 1/8th teaspoon cumin seeds. If you do not have whole spices you may skip them. But we are not going to use much garam masala in powder form so I use them.
12. Pour cup water and cook covered on a medium heat until the onions are completely soft cooked. After cooking, onion tomato masala has to be thick yet should have some water. (check video for consistency) Take half teaspoon kasuri methi in your palm and crush it. Add it here.
14. When the gravy thickens, lower the flame completely. Next add the palak puree. Mix it well and cook until it begins to bubble just for about 2 mins. I do not suggest cooking for long at this stage as it discolors the gravy. If you prefer your curry slightly thin, then you may stir in a few tablespoons of hot water at this stage. Taste test and add more salt.
3. Smooth creamy texture: I have used few cashews to give a slightly creamy texture to the palak paneer gravy. However you can just skip them and use about 3 to 4 tbsps cream. You can also use blanched almonds.
4. Paneer: Do choose good quality paneer as it is the key ingredient in this palak paneer recipe. I use this homemade paneer which is soft with a melt-in-the-mouth texture.
Followed your recipe to the tee except skipped the whole spice (cinnamon, cardomom etc) The flavor is perfect,just like my favorite restaurant! THANK YOU so much for the excellent description and measurements by cup made it so easy to follow. You have a new fan follower ?
Thank you Swasthi, i always refer to your recipes for everything. You are truly a MasterChef. And you make it easy for non-cooks. I really love it. Your recipes are my to go place for nearly 3 years now. Thank you
This is one of the milder Indian curries out there, both in heat and spice intensity. The gentle spicing from fenugreek, cumin and coriander plays well with the delicate spinach flavour, without overwhelming it. Meanwhile, the paneer are like little creamy sponges that suck up all those tasty flavours in the sauce!
To achieve the same flavour as per written recipe, use 250g/8oz frozen spinach in place of 700g/1.4lb of fresh spinach leaves. Add thawed frozen spinach in place of fresh spinach, including the excess water leeched by the thawed spinach, and only cook for 3 minutes. Proceed with recipe.
Cream and lemon juice are then added and cooked for 3 minutes. The cream adds a touch of richness, but not too much. Meanwhile the lemon brings a touch of welcome freshness and some backbone tang;
This recipe turned out SO good! Both my husband and my son said that it tastes better than the restaurant we order from. Nagi, thank for such great recipes and the care & time you take to make sure it works for your readers!
Thank you for this delicious recipe. I made the palak paneer for my husband and guests. They loved it. My only complaint is that I had to guess about how much onion and chili to use. It would be helpful if you could give a weight or volume for two important ingredients. I will definitely make this again but hope you can provide specifics about how much of each of these ingredients you use since the size of onions and chilies varies. Thank you again for the excellent recipe
Palak paneer is power food. When translated literally it means spinach (palak) and cheese (paneer) - the two primary components. But there is a lot more to celebrate here. It's the kind of dish that when prepared with care and good ingredients, can shift perspectives. It's delicious, dynamic food to feed and power your body. The opposite of simply eating to fill up. With a spinach and tomato base, and range of spices, you're getting all sorts of nourishing goodness in each bite.
This version of palak paneer is inspired and adapted from one of my favorite new cookbooks Studio Olafur Eliasson: The Kitchen. I made some tweaks based on the spices I had on hand, and it's a great recipe to tackle on a weekend afternoon. It's also a recipe to consider doubling. Leftovers are great throughout the week, and fresh, homemade paneer never goes unappreciated.
One note - a couple of you have had trouble getting the milk to curdle when making fresh paneer. It's an issue I've never run into in the many times I've made paneer (or ricotta) over the years. I suspect it might have something to do with some dairy being ultra-pasteurized, so please avoid that if possible, and you should be fine.
This is how to make ghee. It's wonderful and simple! It's a process I enjoy, and it yields one of my favorite cooking mediums. For those of you who might be unfamiliar, ghee is an unsalted butter that has had the milk solids removed after separating from the butterfat, resulting in beautiful, golden, pure fat with an unusually high smoking point.
This was a lovely Sunday dinner this evening. The paneer was super easy to make, and the whole thing was delicious. Thank you!
For anyone wondering, I used ground spices in equal amounts and it worked out fine.
This looks exactly like the kind of food I crave after a long day at work. Probably goes really well with naan.
Looks like making paneer is very similar to making ricotta. Is there a major difference there?