Quick Palak Paneer (Cottage Cheese in Spinach Gravy) is a beloved dish for many, especially kids, who often enjoy the soft paneer. The spinach gravy, infused with subtle spices, and the rich and creamy paneer create a perfect harmony of flavors. It’s also a fantastic way to sneak in some spinach, making it delicious and nutritious!
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Why you'll love this dish?
- It’s incredibly quick and easy to make. I’m always on the lookout for quick and simple dishes, whether it’s quinoa pulao, peda with ricotta cheese, moth dal recipe, or tilapia fry, all of which help me get out of the kitchen in a flash!
- Needs very few ingredients, and they are always in your pantry.
- A delicious side dish that can go with any main dish like naan, roti, or rice like ghee rice (neychoru) or Vegetable biryani using layered veg biryani recipe or Mint pulav.
- You can skip the cream or butter in this recipe to keep it light while still tasting great. However, if you prefer a richer version, adding them will make it creamy and indulgent, much like Vegetable malai kofta, Dal Makhani using an easy dal makhani recipe, or Tikka masala paneer.
Ingredients needed
- Spinach - Organic baby spinach is easily available in the supermarket and can be used.
- Tomato to give a little sourness; add more if you like a tangier taste in the gravy.
- Onion, garlic, ginger, and green chillies are chopped into big pieces and boiled until cooked.
- Cumin and asafoetida are added to the tempering and help aid digestion.
- Ghee(clarified butter) or oil, salt
- Spices - turmeric powder, Kashmiri chili powder(optional), homemade easy garam masala, amchur(dry mango powder)
How to make Quick Palak Paneer?
Boil veggies to make gravy
To make Palak Paneer, start by adding about a cup of water to a pan and bringing it to a boil. Then, add tomatoes, onions, green chilies, garlic, and ginger. Cover the pan and let it boil for 10 to 15 minutes or until the vegetables are well-cooked. Next, add the spinach and cook for a few more minutes. Once done, let it cool, then blend everything into a smooth paste.
Add seasonings to gravy
Next, in a deep-bottomed pan, heat oil or ghee and add the cumin seeds. Add a pinch of asafoetida, reduce the flame, and add all the spice powders. Next add the ground spinach paste and cook for a few minutes. Lastly, add salt and water to adjust and get the desired consistency.
Finally, add the cubed paneer (farmers' cheese or cottage cheese) and simmer till the cheese is mildly soft. Switch off the flame. If you are using fresh cream, you can add it in the end to get a rich flavor. This is optional. Serve with rice or wheat bread.
- Step 1: In a pan, boil water and cook the ginger, tomatoes, onions, and green chilies until well cooked.
- Step 2: Add spinach and let it cook for 3 to 4 minutes as it cooks quickly.
- Step 3: Cool the veggies in the pan and transfer to a blender.
- Step 4: Grind the veggies into a nice bright green paste.
- Step 5: Soak the paneer cubes in hot to warm water and drain them out; this helps make the paneer soft.
- Step 6: In a pan, add oil, cumin seeds, and all the spices as mentioned in the recipe and sautee on low flame.
- Step 7: Add the spinach gravy and paneer cubes and mix gently. Add salt to taste.
- Step 8: Adjust the consistency of the gravy as required.Add fresh cream if using and garnish with chopped coriander leaves.
If you love paneer and are looking for more recipes to cook paneer, check out the easy Shahi paneer recipe, the best paneer tikka masala recipe, and easy malai kofta with paneer or paneer tikka grilled. They are all exceptional.
Recipe FAQs
Palak paneer goe best with rotis, parathas and wheat bread. It also is a great accompaniment to neyychor(ghee rice) and plain Basmati rice. Some other dishes that can be served along are grilled chicken using the Chicken Tandoori recipe, Chicken Tikka Masala homemade, or Makhani dal.
Adding tomatoes and dry mango powder usually takes care of the bitterness, but you can also squeeze some lime juice and add a teaspoon of sugar to balance the flavors.
It is best consumed fresh for a great taste and flavor. If stored in an air-tight container and refrigerated, it will stay fresh for 2 to 3 days.
Related Recipes
If you tried this Quick Palak Paneer Recipe or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and a 📝 comment below. I love hearing from you!
Quick Palak Paneer
Ingredients
- 2 bunches spinach
- 1 big tomato
- ½ onion diced
- 2 pods garlic
- 1 inch ginger
- 2-3 green chillies (add more to increase spice level
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 pinch asafoetida
- 3-4 tsp oil or ghee(clarified butter)
- salt
- ½ tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp kashmiri chilly powder optional (as we already have green chilies for the spice)
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- ¼ tsp garam masala
- ¼ tsp amchur powder optional dry mango powder
- 2 tsp fresh cream (optional)
Instructions
- Take a pan, add about a cup of water
- Add the tomatoes, onions, green chillies, garlic and ginger to it .Boil it with the lid closed for about 10 to 15 mins or until the contents are cooked well.
- Add spinach and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, do not cook more else you will lose the green color of the gravy.
- Cool it and grind it to a smooth paste in a blender.
- Next in a deep bottomed pan , heat oil or ghee and add the cumin seeds.
- Add a pinch of asafoetida, reduce the flame and add all the spice powders
- To this add the spinach paste and cook for about 3 to 4 mins
- Add salt. Add water to adjust and get the desired consistency
- Finally , add the cubed paneer (farmers cheese) and simmer till the cheese is mildly soft .Switch off the flame. That is it!!
- If you are using fresh cream you can add it in the end to get a rich flavor.This is optional.
- Serve with rice or wheat bread. Enjoy 🙂
Notes
- To preserve the vibrant green color of the gravy, add the spinach at the end, once all the other vegetables are fully cooked.
- About 2 to 3 minutes of blanching is good enough; you can also add cold water to stop the cooking process.
- Adding the paneer cubes to hot or warm water ensures the paneer does not turn hard and is very soft.
- Adjust the tomatoes to how tangy you want the gravy to be. The dry mango powder also adds some tanginess.
- You can add both green chilies and red chili powder or choose one of them, it's each ones preference.
- Add fresh cream in the very end if adding to get a rich gravy.
I need to make this recipe for my dad. It looks delicious and easy to make!
Sounds delicious! We are going to try this next weekend!
This worked exactly as written, thanks!
SO delicious! Easy to make and the addition of spinach is lovely!!!
Sounds delicious!
Thank you so much!
one of my favs! 🙂
Mine too 🙂 Thanks !
Well explained.
Palak paneer is one of my favourite curries.. I used to make paneer dishes with tofu when I was vegan, but after trying the real I know there's no comparison. Your version looks like a very good recipe!
Sorry for the late reply, somehow your message went to my spam folder. Thank you for the comment, you are absolutely right, the Paneer has a totally different taste and texture!