Easy Palak Paneer Recipe – How to make Palak Paneer by Amritsr Restaurant

Palak Paneer Recipe

Palak Paneer is a popular North Indian dish that’s cooked with spinach, Indian cottage cheese (paneer), and spices in a flavourful, creamy curry. Paneer and palak recipe is simple to prepare by following the easy palak paneer recipe steps shared by the chef of Amritsr Restaurant.

Palak Paneer is a staple in the regions of North India. It is one of the most popular dishes prepared in Indian homes, as well as available in many Indian Dhabas and restaurants. If you wish to enjoy the authentic taste of Indian palak paneer recipe, only Amritsr Restaurant will offer you the real taste of India.

At the restaurant, we prepare the original Punjabi palak paneer recipe using the same Indian spices, herbs and other ingredients. That’s what makes us proud of serving the best palak paneer recipe that would remind anybody of the true flavours of India. 

Before jumping to the main recipe let’s answer some questions related to palak paneer which you may have.

What is Palak Paneer?

Palak paneer ki recipe is the Indian curry made with Indian cottage cheese (Paneer in Hindi) and spinach (Palak in Hindi). To prepare this recipe, spinach is blanched first and then pureed.

It is further cooked with spices and left on low heat for simmering with paneer. Even cream, milk, or yogurt is added to palak paneer to enhance its taste.

What is the Difference between Saag Paneer and Palak Paneer?

Both palak and Saag paneer are healthy green Indian recipes, including green leafy vegetables, garlic, ginger, onion, turmeric, chillies, etc. These vegetarian Indian recipes are healthy and free of gluten. One can make both palak paneer and saag paneer in so many different ways.

Difference between Saag Paneer and Palak Paneer

Sometimes both these dishes are confused with each other. But both these recipes contain different dairy ingredients and spices. Palak (Hindi word for spinach) is a type of saag (the word is for green leafy vegetables in Hindi).

On the other hand, saag is referred to all leafy greens but more specifically to the mustard greens, turnip leaves, Kale leaves, radish leaves and fenugreek leaves.

Both the dishes are green and include paneer, so they are often mistaken with each other. But you’ll know the difference when you taste the recipe, as both these dishes taste slightly different.

Is Palak Paneer good for health?

Yes, the palak paneer recipe is very healthy. To understand that, let’s have a look at the ingredients used to make palak paneer. Paneer includes high protein and calcium that are important for maintaining a healthy weight.

Since paneer has low carbs and more proteins, it takes time to digest slowly and hence, considered good for diabetes patients. Paneer is loaded with some healthy fats; therefore, it’s considered excellent for weight loss as well.

However, if you’re obese or diabetic, it’s advised to consume palak paneer in limited proportion. It’s best to seek the advice of your doctor to ensure what foods to consume according to your health condition.

How to retain the green colour of Palak leaves?

To retain the natural green colour of the leaves, it’s best to put the boiled leaves in ice-cold water and leave it for one minute. Moreover, while finishing off the recipe, also add some cream into the mixture to enhance its green colour even more.

How can I make paneer soft in Palak Paneer?

To make paneer soft in palak paneer, you simply have to warm up water in a bowl in a microwave oven or put it on a stove. Now, cut paneer into small cubes and immerse them into the warm water for a few minutes.

Paneer cubes must be immersed in warm water. Keep the paneer cubes in warm water for up to 5 minutes to let it soften. You can use this softened paneer in palak pure to make it soft and chewy.

Why is my Palak Paneer Bitter?

Spinach has a very peculiar bitter taste. This taste often comes due to the presence of oxalic acid found in spinach. For cutting down the bitterness of the spinach leaves, you may add fresh cream into this recipe. You may even add a pinch of sugar into the recipe to make it even more delish.

Another reason why spinach becomes bitter and slimy is that you probably are cooking it for a longer period. For, overcooked leaves create stronger and bitter flavour compared to the freshly cooked leaves.

What do you eat Palak Paneer with?

Palak paneer is served hot with naan, roti, parantha or boiled rice. For a more traditional approach, it can also be served with Makki di Roti and a glass of salted or sweet lassi.

How many calories does palak paneer have?

Palak Paneer Calories

One serving of a simple palak paneer recipe has around 470 calories. Out of these proteins comprise of 64 calories and carbohydrates account for 84 calories. Plus, the remaining calories are 323, which are from fat.

All the ingredients used in the Palak paneer recipe are healthy, fresh and nutritious. So, it’s considered good for health, as it provides much-needed nutrition to your body.

Ingredients to make Palak Paneer

  • Palak (pureed)
  • Paneer cubes
  • Ice cold water
  • Two finely chopped tomatoes
  • Two finely chopped onions
  • 1 tbsp ginger (finely chopped)
  • 1 tbsp garlic (finely chopped)
  • Green chillies
  • 2 tablespoons desi ghee
  • 1 tablespoon red chilli (degi mirch)
  • 1/2 tablespoon turmeric
  • Salt to taste
  • 1/2 tablespoon garam masala
  • 1/2 tablespoon Kasuri methi
  • 1/2 tablespoon coriander powder
  • Some butter

Here’s the Palak Paneer Recipe Step by Step

For making palak paneer in restaurant-style, follow the given steps with the step by step photos:-

Step 1: Boil palak for few minutes

Boil palak for few minutes

First, boil palak for a few minutes. Don’t over boil it to prevent its leaves from turning black. Just boil it for a few minutes to retain the green colour of the leaves.

Step 2: Strain palak leaves

Strain palak leaves

Once it’s properly boiled, it’s time to strain it. Now take the strained leaves of palak in a bowl and add some ice cold water to it. This is how to make palak paneer green, as it helps in preserving the green colour of the palak leaves.

You may even add a few ice cubes to normal water to make it cold. After that, allow the spinach leaves to get cold in water for another 1 minute.

Step 3: Make palak puree

Make palak puree

Drain the ice-cold water and put spinach into a mixer to make palak puree. There is no need to add extra cup water to make palak puree. Once the puree is made, keep it aside.

Step 4: Prepare masala for the recipe

Prepare masala for the recipe

Take a pan and put 2 tbsp desi ghee into it and heat. Make sure ghee is allowed to melt in low flame to ensure it doesn’t turn brown. Now add chopped garlic and ginger and saute them for a while.

Now, add onions and let them turn a little brown. Once the onions are brown, put green chilli and finely chopped tomato into the pan. After that, add 1 tablespoon degi mirch (red chilli), half tablespoon turmeric and some salt to soften tomatoes.

Step 5: Add palak puree and cook well

Add palak puree and cook well

Now, add the palak puree to the masala and stir well. Keep simmering the palak gravy until the water evaporates and palak is properly cooked. Now add some milk to the palak puree.

Milk is added to tone down the bitterness of green palak leaves. Now keep stirring it until the milk absorbs into the palak puree. Also, season it with salt, degi mirch, kitchen king, garam masala, kasuri methi and dhaniya powder. Finally, add some butter to the mixture to enhance its taste.

Step 6: Add paneer cubes to cooked palak masala

Add paneer cubes to cooked palak masala

Now, add about 150 gms of palak cubes to the palak. Stir gently again to let paneer absorb the masala while maintaining the uniform consistency of the gravy. Lastly, add some cream to the mixture to enhance its taste while giving a good texture to the dish.

Step 7: Serve and enjoy

Serve and enjoy Palak Paneer

Now take out the dish into a bowl. Garnish it with vertically cut ginger and some cream. Serve it piping hot with some roti, parantha, naan or jeera rice.

You may also top it up with some butter while serving. Besides, you can add some lemon juice to give amazing sour flavour to the simple palak paneer recipe.

Just in case if you are wondering, Below is our complete video for Palak Paneer Recipe:-

Conclusion

Paneer cubes cooked in warm pureed palak curry make the delicious dish called Palak Paneer. This popular North Indian dish can be enjoyed even in Dubai at Amritsr restaurant with rice, parantha, naan or simple roti.

The restaurant’s chef also shares easy palak paneer restaurant-style recipe with people to enjoy it at home. For those who cannot cook, the restaurant also offers 24/7 food delivery service to let customers enjoy home-cooked food in the comfort of their home.