Palak paneer is the vegetarian dish we most want to get right: spinach that stays bright and green, paneer that holds its shape, and a gravy that tastes of the greens rather than hiding them. It is the anchor of a larger paneer canon, and we have gathered the others — butter masala, matar, tikka — just below, so you can cook your way through the lot.
At a glance
- Prep
- 15 mins
- Cook
- 25 mins
- Total
- 40 mins
- Serves
- 4
Palak Paneer — Ingredients
- 400g paneer, cut into 2cm cubes
- 500g fresh spinach (palak), or 300g frozen
- 2 tbsp ghee or neutral oil, plus a little for the paneer
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- A pinch of asafoetida (hing), optional
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
- 2 green chillies, chopped
- 2 tomatoes, chopped
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 2 tbsp cream, plus extra to finish
- Salt
- A squeeze of lemon
Palak Paneer — Method
- Blanch the spinach: drop it into boiling salted water for 2 minutes, then straight into iced water to keep it bright. Drain well and blend to a smooth purée with a splash of water.
- Optional but worth it: warm a little ghee in a pan and fry the paneer cubes until golden at the edges, 2-3 minutes. Lift out and set aside.
- Heat the 2 tbsp ghee in a wide pan. Crackle the cumin seeds (and hing, if using), then add the onion and cook until soft and translucent, 5-6 minutes.
- Add the ginger-garlic paste and green chillies and cook for 1 minute, then the tomatoes, turmeric and ground coriander. Cook until the tomatoes break down and the masala releases its oil, 6-8 minutes.
- Stir in the spinach purée and a little water, season with salt, and simmer gently for 5 minutes.
- Fold in the paneer and garam masala, and simmer for 3-5 minutes more so the paneer drinks the gravy.
- Finish with the cream and a squeeze of lemon. Serve with roti, naan or jeera rice.
More paneer
Paneer Butter Masala
Paneer in the same tomato-butter-cream gravy as murgh makhani. Use our butter chicken recipe and simply swap the chicken for paneer.
Matar Paneer
Paneer and green peas in a spiced tomato-onion gravy. Add a cup of peas to the pan along with the tomatoes.
Paneer Tikka
Paneer marinated in yogurt and spice, threaded with peppers and onion, and grilled or broiled until charred at the edges.
Paneer is a fresh, non-melting acid-set cheese made by curdling hot milk with lemon or vinegar and pressing the curds. It is a cornerstone of South Asian vegetarian cooking, prized because it holds its shape in a simmering gravy.
Sources
Cook alongside
Paneer anchors a vegetarian table — these are the dishes we set down beside it.
From the channel
Cook to our latest
The newest long-form set from the channel, for the hour the pot is on and the room is settling.
Brass, marigold, warm light — we set the table the way we set the room, so the meal and the music meet in the same mood. Our Indian home decor is the rest of the room.
Music to cook to
Paneer is gentle, green, and quick to the table. We cook it to our slow evening sitar — steady enough to keep the pan moving, soft enough to leave the room feeling unhurried.