Indian & South Asian · Lunch · Dinner
Palak Paneer
पालक पनीर
Soft cubes of paneer in a vivid, gently spiced spinach sauce. Low-fat yogurt stands in for cream, and a single spoon of oil keeps this North Indian favourite light.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 30 min
- Total
- 50 min
- Serves
- 4
Calories come from: Carbs 36% · Fat 43% · Protein 21%
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Ingredients
For 4 servings- 500 g (about 2 large bunches)fresh spinach
- 250 g blockpaneer
- 1 medium150 gonion, finely chopped
- 1 medium120 gtomato, chopped
- 4 cloves12 ggarlic, minced
- 2.5 cm piece10 gfresh ginger, grated
- 15 ggreen chilli
- 1 tbsp14 gcanola oil
- 1 tspcumin seeds
- 1 tspground coriander
- 1/2 tspground turmeric
- 1/2 tspKashmiri chilli powder
- 1 tspgaram masala
- 3/4 tsp5 gsalt
- 1/4 cup60 gplain low-fat yogurt
- 1/2 cup, divided120 gwater
- 1 tspdried fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi) (optional)
- 1 tsp5 glemon juice (optional)
Steps
- 1
Wash the spinach well in several changes of water and drain.
- 2
Put the spinach and 60 ml (1/4 cup) of the water in a large pan, cover and wilt over medium heat for 3–4 minutes, stirring once.
- 3
Let the spinach cool for 5 minutes.
- 4
Blend the spinach with its cooking liquid and the green chilli until smooth; set aside.
- 5
Cut the paneer into 2 cm cubes.
- 6
Heat the oil in the same pan over medium heat and add the cumin seeds; let them sizzle for 30 seconds.
- 7
Add the onion and cook for 6–7 minutes, stirring, until golden.
- 8
Stir in the garlic and ginger and cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
- 9
Add the tomato, turmeric, coriander, chilli powder and salt; cook for 5 minutes until the tomato breaks down.
- 10
Pour in the spinach purée and the remaining 60 ml (1/4 cup) water and simmer gently for 5 minutes.
- 11
Take the pan off the heat for a minute, then stir in the whisked yogurt so it does not split.
- 12
Return to low heat, add the paneer, garam masala and crushed fenugreek leaves if using, and warm for 3–4 minutes without boiling.
- 13
Stir in the lemon juice if using, taste for salt and serve hot.
Swaps, storage and make-ahead
Swaps
- For a vegan version, use extra-firm tofu instead of paneer and an unsweetened plain plant-based yogurt such as soy or coconut in place of the low-fat yogurt.
- For a dairy-free version, replace the paneer with pressed firm tofu and the yogurt with a dairy-free plain yogurt or a few spoons of blended soaked cashews.
- Use 450 g of frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed lightly, instead of fresh to save washing time; skip the wilting step and just blend it with the water and chilli.
- Any neutral oil such as sunflower or vegetable oil works in place of canola oil.
Storage
Cool and refrigerate leftovers in a covered container within 2 hours and eat within 3 to 4 days, reheating gently until steaming hot all the way through. The sauce can be frozen for up to 2 to 3 months, but freezing makes paneer crumbly and yogurt may split, so it is best to freeze the spinach base before adding paneer and yogurt.
Make ahead
Wilt and blend the spinach purée up to 2 days ahead and keep it covered in the fridge. You can cube the paneer a day ahead too, then cook the onion base and finish the dish just before serving.
Nutrition values are for the recipe as written.
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Allergens and nutrition
Contains: Milk
Check the labels of packaged ingredients for allergens and suitability for your diet.
Full nutrition
| Per serving (314 g) | Per 100 g | |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 291 kcal | 93 kcal |
| Protein | 15.5 g | 4.9 g |
| Carbohydrates | 27.1 g | 8.6 g |
| of which sugars | 18.7 g | 6 g |
| Fiber | 4.5 g | 1.4 g |
| Fat | 14.3 g | 4.6 g |
| of which saturated | 6.2 g | 2 g |
| Sodium | 669 mg | 213 mg |
Nutrition is calculated from USDA FoodData Central data and may differ from what you cook.
