Palak Paneer is a smooth, creamy, and healthy Indian curry dish. It is usually made with fresh spinach, paneer (Indian cottage cheese), basic Indian whole spices, powders, herbs and with or without cream. This Spinach Paneer curry is one of the best side dishes that are popular across the globe. And it tastes great with roti, chapati, naan, rice, or pulao for lunch and dinner. The best part is it tastes similar to your favorite Indian restaurants around.
Now transfer the spinach mixture into a jar and blend until it turns into a smooth paste. Reserve this spinach paste for later use
To make Palak Paneer
In a pan with medium heat, add butter and allow it to melt. Then add the bay leaves, cinnamon sticks, cloves, cardamom, and cumin seeds. Saute until everything turns aromatic
Add the onions and saute until it turns soft and caramelized
Now add the ginger-garlic paste, Kashmiri chili powder, turmeric powder, garam masala, coriander powder, salt, and saute until everything turns fragrant
Add the tomatoes and saute until it turns soft and mushy
Now add the reserved palak paste and give it a good mix
Add 2 cups of water and give it a mix. (Note I have poured 1 cup of water into a blender jar to reuse the leftover paste and 1 cup of plain water)
Close the pan with its lid and cook the palak mixture for 5 to 7 minutes
Open the lid and simmer the heat. Now add the paneer cubes to palak curry and give it a good mix
Let the Palak Paneer simmer for 2 to 3 minutes and finally garnish with some crushed kasoori methi
To Serve
Top the Palak Paneer with 2 tsp of heavy cream and serve it with naan, paratha, chapati, roti, matar pulao, or plain basmati rice
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Notes
Choose tender Spinach - Always make sure to choose tender and young spinach leaves without stems to achieve a bitter-less and tasty curry
For thick curry - I have sauteed spinach with cashew nuts that deliver a thick and rich curry. However, you can also skip the cashews and substitute them with heavy cream for similar results. In that case, I recommend blanching the spinach and pureeing them in a blender for the paste preparation. The rest of the process remains the same and add the heavy cream before adding the paneer cubes
For soft Paneer - Even though you can make your homemade paneer, I never had an issue with store-bought paneer. Soaking the cubed paneer in warm water for at least 10 to 15 minutes makes them soft and helps to avoid turning rubbery