Palak Paneer or Spinach with Homemade Cheese is easily one of the most recognizable and popular Indian dishes. It’s packed with the goodness of spinach and loaded with protein from the paneer, a homemade cheese which doesn’t melt when heated. Try this delicious recipe and you’ll be surprised how easy it is to make!
Spinach - 1, 16oz pkt chopped, frozen (about 1/2 kg)
Paneer - 7 oz or 200 g
Oil - 3 tbsp
Onions - 2 med, minced
Ginger - 1″ pc, minced
Garlic - 4 cloves, minced
Water - 1/2 cup
Tomatoes - 2 large or 1, 14oz can diced (pureed)
Garam Masala - 2 tsp
Cumin Powder - 1 tsp
Coriander Powder - 2 tsp
Red Chili Powder - to taste
Salt - to taste
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
Heavy Whipping Cream - 8 tbsp or to taste
Milk - to taste (optional)
Method:
- Cook frozen Spinach with 1/2 cup Water in a microwave safe dish for 7-8 minutes stirring in between.
- Blend cooked Spinach to desired texture (avoid over-blending).
- Heat 2 tbsp Oil in a medium non-stick pan on high heat.
- Once Oil is hot, add in the minced Onions, stir, cover and let it cook for about 5 minutes.
- Add in the Ginger and Garlic and mix. Cook for another 4-5 minutes.
- Add in the Tomates, cover and cook till the oil seperates from the mixture.
- Keep stirring frequently as the Masala (Onion, Tomato, Ginger & Garlic mixture) tends to burn very fast.
- While the Masala is cooking, cube the paneer to desired size…1/2″ cubes work well.
- In a non-stick frying pan, heat the remaining 1 tbsp Oil.
- Once Oil is hot, add in the paneer cubes and let them cook till they are golden brown on all sides.
- Remove from the pan into a plate with paper towel to soak the excess oil.
- In a couple of minutes, pour the Paneer into a bowl of cold water. Let it sit for 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, once the Masala is prepared, add in the mashed Spinach.
- Mix and add the Garam Masala, Cumin Powder, Coriander Powder, Salt, Chili Powder & Turmeric Powder.
- Mix well and cook for 3-5 minutes.
- Add in the desired amount of Cream and /or Milk. Mix and cook for another few minutes.
- Gently squeeze the water out of the Paneer and put the Paneer in the Spinach.
- Mix gently and serve hot.
- Serves 4 . Enjoy with Naan, Chapati, Paratha or Rice.
Tips:
- Health tip- some great substitutes for Heavy Whipping Cream are Milk, Soymilk, Lactaid, Half and Half or Evaporated Milk.
Watch and learn…
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(5 votes, average: 4.6 out of 5)
September 22nd, 2007 at 1:41 am
Hello Anuja and Hetal, The pic is sooooo good
I wanna take a sppon of that curry from the bowl and have it a parath right now 

Well, i wanted to ask you, why did you soak the fried paneer in water before you add it to the curry? .. I love Palak Paneer
September 22nd, 2007 at 1:27 pm
Well, we soak the paneer, squeeze out the water very gently, and then use the paneer for 2 reasons
- the paneer will be a LOT softer.
- plus the paneer will let go of some of the excess oil.
Give it a try and you will notice the difference.
October 3rd, 2007 at 2:29 am
Tried palak paneer, turned out really well.
October 10th, 2007 at 4:20 am
I tried it today….was really good..
November 23rd, 2007 at 3:01 am
hi,i liked ur website a lot. the way u explain the recipe is good and moreover the health tips that u give are the highlight as i look more for healthy substitutes. please try to include them in all ur recipes .. plz try to post gobi manchurian, i know u just posted spicy caulifower, if not immediately plz try to post this later, thank u so much
November 27th, 2007 at 3:47 pm
Hi Sushma,
We have had lots of requests for Gobi Manchurian. We are working on it. Look for it soon.
December 10th, 2007 at 7:15 pm
Hi,
I liked your Palak Paneer recipe a lot. You website is really good especially with the video and recipe in text. Your measurements make it so easy to follow. I have a request for ‘Kaju Katli’ recipe. It would be great if you post the video for this sweet recipe.
January 12th, 2008 at 10:36 pm
Hi there!
You two are doing a wonderful job! Thanks a lot for all your recipes! I am really impressed by your website.
One thing I wanted to mention about the Palak Paneer recipe is you can add lemon juice to it at the end. Vit C with the Iron in spinach helps absorbing the Iron better and it tastes good as well!
Keep up the good work!
January 12th, 2008 at 11:59 pm
Thanks for the feedback and for the great information.
Lemon juice goes great with everything!
January 31st, 2008 at 9:06 pm
Hi,
Can I use the same measurements for one bunch of fresh spinach?
Thanks.
Jaya
February 1st, 2008 at 12:25 am
If your bunch of spinach weighs about 16 ozs or 1lb or 1/2 kg then you can use the same measurements. Remember that a part of that will go away as wasteage (stems).
February 17th, 2008 at 1:34 am
i’ve made this recipe twice as well! i’m not so fond of paneer, but it tastes great without it, too!
(i’m just too lazy to buy it premade or make it on my own.)
the best thing about your site is that your videos really show how easy it is to make Indian food. i love it!
- Kathleen
February 25th, 2008 at 2:56 pm
Greetings from Singapore! I love your website, you’ve done a great job promoting homecooked indian cuisine. In fact, you’ve made it look so simple that I’ve finanlly plucked up courage to cook my first indian dish - palak paneer! It turned out great! The only peeve I have is that I may have over-fried my paneer as it was too dry and crumbly. Otherwise, it was really yummy! Will definitely try your other dishes. =)
February 26th, 2008 at 9:59 am
Wowwwwwww…Dat looks really Yummm….
Can we use “Spinach Puree in Salt water” available in Market ?
February 26th, 2008 at 3:14 pm
Hi Snehal,
We are assuming that you are referring to the spinach puree in a can. If so, we would not recommend it. Using fresh or frozen spinach makes the dish a lot better tasting.
February 28th, 2008 at 12:06 am
I will make it this friday and let you guys know. Lets see…how it turns out to be…:) Without this website showmethecurry I would be so……empty.
March 5th, 2008 at 6:49 pm
hi there,
i liked the dish so much.but how to preparee whipping milk?please suggest me.
thanks,
pooja
March 13th, 2008 at 10:24 pm
Hey Anuja and Hetal, Thanks for this recipe! I’ve been meaning to write about it sooner. This is one of my favorite dishes and now I can finally make it! It’s so yummy. Ram’s thrilled that your site is making me a better Indian chef (haha). Take care girls!
Kate
April 11th, 2008 at 7:32 pm
Hey anuja and hetal,
you both do a great job by sharing some of the wonderful recipes, I am a big food lover and so is my husband, I love the idea of using frozen palaak but have a question, usually what i do is put palak in hot boiling water for few mintues and then blend it in blender and then make the dish, this way since we use the uncooked spinach, will the dish be as good or will it tast a little different ? it seems very easy this way, so i wud try it too.
April 11th, 2008 at 9:27 pm
Hi Kajal,
We actually cook the frozen spinach in the microwave so it is not uncooked. Hope I understood your question.
May 18th, 2008 at 8:10 pm
Hello ladies, really enjoy reading your website and watching the videos. Palak paneer is one of my favourite dishes ever and I wanted to share a tip with you. As a healthier alternative to cream, I always use a good dollop of whipped Greek-style yogurt and I find this adds a wonderful creaminess to the dish. Try it and let me know what you think. Good luck and keep up the great work!
May 19th, 2008 at 4:06 am
Hi Deanna,
Thanks for the tip. We have never used Greek-style yogurt in our cooking as we make our own homemade yogurt. Will definitely have to give it a try.
Cheers!
June 7th, 2008 at 11:12 pm
hi heetal n anuja.u guys are great i loved ur site so much.i think now i can cook so delicious food for my husbad .i am a begginer in cooking i am learing alot thanks a lot.i want to lear how to make punjabi rice pudding(kheer).
June 8th, 2008 at 5:34 pm
Hi Sukhi,
Thanks so much for the wonderful feedback. We will definitely put kheer on our list of videos to do.
Thanks again!
June 18th, 2008 at 12:32 am
Hi Hetal and Anuja
This is the best recipe of Palak Paneer I have ever made and tested….I have got that for lunch today…its going to test more yummy today..
Thanks for sharing this wonderfull , delicious recipe
Cheers
Rupali
August 26th, 2008 at 5:31 pm
hi hetal and anuja .u r doing wonderful job i tried two of ur receipes it came dam good,but i want to ask u abt garam masalau add in ur receipes is made by urselfes or readymade bcoz the garam masala (evrest g.masala)which i use change the taste of my dish same hapend with palak paneer so can u suggest the brand u use.i am from bahrain
thank u
August 27th, 2008 at 4:52 pm
Hi Mubeen,
Both Hetal and I use home-made Garam Masala. The one time that I used a store bought one was Kitchen King Brand and it wasn’t too bad. Hopefully you get it in Bahrain.