Palak Paneer Recipe (Restaurant Style) – Creamy, Green & Ready in 40 Minutes

Palak paneer is soft paneer cubes cooked in a smooth, dark green, spiced spinach gravy.

This restaurant-style variant gives you the same rich, creamy, flavoured curry at home in less than an hour. There’s no need to blanch the spinach or overload the spinach gravy with heavy masalas.

This is one of the best-selling dishes at any North Indian restaurant. If this dish is made well, its gravy is smooth and dark green, the paneer is soft, and the entire dish smells so comforting and fragrant.

A very common reason people avoid making it at home is that they either overcook the spinach (which turns bitter) or undercook the onion-tomato masala base. If you get these 2 things right, this will be your go-to recipe for any occasion.

Why You Will Love This Recipe

• This recipe will give you a rich green spinach gravy with soft paneer, just like the restaurant.
• This recipe doesn’t need blanching. Sautéing the spinach gives better colour.
• It also uses cashews to give a creamy texture without adding heavy cream.
• This dish will be ready in 40 minutes using daily-use masalas.
• You can customize the richness to suit your needs.
• This dish pairs beautifully with roti, naan, paratha, or plain rice.

Ingredients

This recipe serves 3-4 people.

For the spinach puree:

• 3.5-4 cups fresh spinach (palak)
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1-2 green chillies 
• 8-10 cashew nuts

For the gravy:

• 1 tbsp butter + 1 tbsp oil
• 2 green cardamom pods
• 1 inch cinnamon
• 2 cloves
• 0.25 tsp cumin seeds
• 0.75 cup finely chopped onion
• 0.5 tsp ginger-garlic paste
• 0.5 cup finely chopped tomato
• 0.25 tsp turmeric powder
• 0.5 tsp coriander-cumin powder
• 0.5-1 tsp secret garam masala
• Salt, to taste
• 0.5 tsp kasuri methi
• 0.74 cup water
• 2-3 tbsp fresh cream or malai 

For the paneer:

• 250g paneer cubes
• 1 tsp oil or butter

Step-By-Step Palak Paneer Recipe

Step 1: Sauté and blend the spinach first

First, rinse the spinach leaves properly in water at least twice, then drain completely. Later, take about 1 tbsp of oil in a pan and heat it on medium flame. Add the chopped green chillies along with some whole cashews. 

Sauté them for a minute, then add spinach leaves. Cook everything over medium heat for 2-3 minutes; keep tossing the leaves until they are fully softened and the raw smell turns into a cooked, fragrant one. Don't overcook it once you reach this stage.

Remove the pan from the heat and let the cooked spinach cool completely. Transfer the cooled ingredients to a blender along with 0.25 cup of water, then blend until smooth and thick. Keep the puree aside.

Pro Tip: The only rule you’ve to keep in mind is not to overcook the spinach at any stage, if you want bright green palak paneer. 

Step 2: Pan-fry the paneer

Add 1 tsp of oil or butter to a pan and heat over medium-high flame. Add the medium-sized paneer cubes and fry them on all sides for 1-2 minutes until they turn lightly golden on the outside. Keep them aside. 

This step gives your paneer a slightly firmer surface, helping it from turning soft and mushy.

Step 3: Temper whole spices and cook the onions

Take the butter and oil together in a heavy-bottomed pan on medium flame. Add the whole spices, such as green cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, and cumin seeds. 

Let these spices crackle for 20-30 seconds until fragrant. Then add the finely chopped onion and cook with the whole spices over medium heat for 8-10 minutes, until deep golden. 

Add the ginger-garlic paste and cook for a couple more minutes, until the raw smell is removed.

Step 4: Add finely chopped tomatoes and masalas

Once the chopped onions are properly caramelized, then add the finely chopped tomatoes along with salt to taste. Cook this masala base over medium heat until the tomatoes turn soft and pulpy, and the oil separates along the edges.

Lower the heat. Add the spices such as turmeric powder, coriander-cumin powder, and secret garam masala. Cook all these spices in the masala base for 1-2 minutes, until the raw smell disappears and everything smells warm and fragrant.

Step 5: Add water and let the gravy thicken

Now, add half a cup of water to this base mixture. Mix all the ingredients well. Let it boil for 1 to 2 minutes, then cover and cook for another 5 to 6 minutes. Now that the sauce is thickened, crush kasuri methi leaves and add them to the cooked gravy.

Step 6: Add the spinach puree

Lower the heat completely. Add in the spinach puree and mix it well with the masala base. Cook it for only 2-3 minutes, until the gravy starts to bubble gently. Don’t overcook. If the gravy looks very thick, add a few tbsps of hot water.

Important: The spinach puree is already cooked. Adding it to the hot gravy and cooking for just 2-3 minutes is enough to bring everything together. Longer cooking kills the colour and can introduce bitterness.

Step 7: Add the roasted paneer cubes and cream

Finally, add the earlier roasted paneer cubes. Stir everything gently. Add some fresh cream or malai and mix everything gently. Cook over low heat for just 1-2 more minutes. Turn off the heat immediately. Taste and adjust the salt or spices as per your preferences.

Step 8: Garnish and serve

After adjusting the spices, transfer the hot palak paneer curry to a serving bowl. Garnish with some cream or malai and a few small cubes of paneer on the top of the bowl. Serve this curry hot, with roti, naan, or plain rice on the side.

Method Variations

Palak Paneer without Using Cream (Lighter Version)

The cashews that are blended into the spinach puree already add enough creaminess. You can skip the cream entirely if you want a lighter variant.

Vegan Variant (Palak Tofu)

If you’re avoiding dairy, you can replace the paneer with hard tofu. Press, dry, and cut the tofu into cubes. You can use any oil you prefer instead of butter throughout the recipe. Use coconut cream instead of dairy.

No Onion No Garlic (Jain Variant)

Don’t add the onions and ginger-garlic paste. Instead, add a pinch of hing to the butter in Step 3. You can also use extra chopped tomato as the base and depend on the cashews and masalas for depth. 

With Blanched Spinach

If you want to prepare this dish by blanching the spinach, bring 4 cups of water to a boil, add the chopped or whole spinach, and cook them for 2 minutes. Once softened, immediately transfer to ice-cold water to stop the cooking and preserve the colour. 

Drain the water, blend these leaves with cashews, then follow the same recipe as in Step 3. The blanched variant has a slightly milder flavour but an equally bright colour if you don’t overcook it.

Expert Tips

• Always use young and fresh spinach. Dark, old, and mature spinach leaves contain more oxalic acid and taste more bitter, especially after cooking.
• Never overcook the spinach at any stage of the recipe. This is one of the most important rules that decides whether your palak paneer looks bright green or dark and dull.
• Let the spinach cool before blending it to puree. If you blend hot spinach in a sealed blender, it can generate dangerous steam pressure. Always let it cool completely, or use a hand blender.
• Add paneer cubes at last. Roasted Paneer needs only a couple of minutes to heat properly. If you over-cook the paneer in the gravy, it turns rubbery and chewy. 

Different Suggestions to Serve Palak Paneer

This dish can pair with multiple side dishes. Many Indian families prefer to serve this curry with:

• Naan or tandoori roti: the gravy is rich and smooth. This works perfectly with a slightly lightly browned bread.
• Jeera rice: aromatic cumin rice cooked in ghee. It soaks up the green gravy of this palak paneer nicely, and it’s the most satisfying pair.
• Regular paratha or phulka: perfect for a simple, everyday family dinner.
• Serve a bowl of sliced onion, with lemon juice on the side, to balance the spice in each bite.

Storage and Reheating

Refrigerator: You can store the leftover curry in the fridge for up to 2 days. Transfer the leftovers to an airtight jar. The colour of this gravy will deepen slightly after refrigerating it overnight; this is normal.

Freezer: You can freeze only spinach gravy (without paneer) for up to 1 month. Defrost it overnight in the fridge before using. Add freshly roasted paneer cubes when you reheat the curry. 

To reheat: You can reheat the defrosted or refrigerated gravy on low heat with a splash of water. Keep stirring it gently. If you want to add an extra freshness, then add a tiny cube of butter.

FAQS

Why does the colour of my palak paneer turn deep green or nearly grey? 

This happens when the spinach is overcooked. Always sauté the spinach for about 2-3 minutes, until it softens. Let it cool before blending to puree. Then cook the blended puree for only 2-3 minutes. 

How can I keep the spinach bright green? 

Always sauté the spinach over medium heat only until softened. Let it cool properly before blending. Some cooks also add a pinch of sugar or squeeze some lemon juice at the end to preserve the bright colour.

Why does my palak paneer taste bitter? 

The bitter taste usually comes from one of 3 things: mature, old spinach (always use young, firmer leaves), overcooking the spinach leaves, or adding too much garam masala. You should keep the cooking time of spinach short and use good-quality garam masala.

Can I make palak paneer without adding blended cashews? 

Yes. You can easily replace the blended cashews with 2-3 tbsp of fresh cream or coconut cream. Add it at the very end. You can also add about 5-6 blended almonds to the spinach instead of cashews.

Is blanching the spinach necessary? 

No, if you’re following this recipe. Sautéing the spinach in a little oil of your choice gives an extra flavourful puree and the same bright colour. Blanching is good if you're on a low-oxalate diet, but for good flavours and colour, the sautéing method is the better choice.

Can I make palak paneer without onion and garlic? 

Yes. Instead of onion and garlic, instead you can add a tiny pinch of hing to the butter in the tadka step. Also, you can use an extra tomato as the base, add cashews along with spinach puree, and use whole spices for tadka to add proper depth.

Can I use frozen spinach for palak paneer? 

Yes. Just defrost the frozen spinach gravy fully and remove as much water as possible before sautéing. Frozen spinach releases more water content than fresh spinach, so you should dry it to prevent a watery gravy. 

How do I make palak paneer less spicy for kids? 

You should reduce the amount of chopped green chilli or skip it completely. The green chilli is the only ingredient that adds all the heat in this recipe. With less or no green chilli, the gravy stays mild, creamy, and very kid-friendly.

Related Recipes You Can Try

Paneer Masala Recipe · Jeera Rice Recipe · Dum Aloo Recipe