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Home » Recipes » Diet » Gluten Free

Palak Paneer - Paneer in a Mildly Spiced Spinach Sauce

Published: Jan 25, 2016 · Modified: Apr 18, 2017 by Manju · This post may contain affiliate links · 5 Comments

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Palak Paneer – one of the quintessential Indian curries with soft Indian cheese, Paneer swimming in mildly spiced sauce made with spinach as a base. Gluten Free and Vegetarian.

Palak Paneer - Paneer in a mildly spiced Spinach sauce - vegetarian, gluten free - Cooking Curries

Ok. So, its one of those Mondays where I haven't yet gotten over the weekend yet and I am pretty depressed about it. Well, isn't that the case with every Mondays?! Not really. Most Mondays I am glad it is the start of the new week and I am excited to plan for the week – blogging, meal plans and other things. Today I had so much backlog of work from the weekend that I couldn’t get to the fun part soon enough. I was too worried whether I will be able to get everything done and that is how I woke up, worrying. See, not a great start. But here is making the most of a Monday and bringing you a delicious paneer recipe that is very mildly spiced. The spinach in it is part of the sauce that you will not realize you are eating greens while you mop up the curry with some rotis or naan.

Palak Paneer - Paneer in a mildly spiced Spinach sauce - vegetarian, gluten free - Cooking Curries (3)

This is a vegetarian and gluten free recipe in itself and you can always devour it with rice instead of any of the breads! The green sauce is a fragrant blend of dried fenugreek leaves / methi mixed in to the spinach to give a wonderful depth of flavors. This can easily be made over the weekend for you meatless Monday dinner, as it is one of those dishes that definitely tastes a lot better the next day with the paneer absorbing more flavors of the sauce.

Palak Paneer - Paneer in a mildly spiced Spinach sauce - vegetarian, gluten free - Cooking Curries

Palak Paneer – The Recipe

Ingredients:

  • 5-6 cups (10-12 oz) Spinach, washed
  • 1 tablespoon grapeseed oil or any oil of your choice
  • 1 Red Onion, chopped
  • ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
  • ¼ teaspoon fennel seeds
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • ½ teaspoon minced ginger
  • 1 tomato, chopped
  • ½ teaspoon red chilli / cayenne powder
  • ¼ teaspoon coriander powder
  • ½ teaspoon garam masala
  • 2 tablespoon kasuri methi / dried fenugreek leaves
  • 2 green chillies, slit in half
  • 2 cups chopped paneer cubes
  • salt, to taste
  • ¼ cup cream

Method:

Bring 7-8 cups of water to boil and add the spinach leaves to it. Once it softens, take them out in a colander and keep under running cold water.

In a heavy bottomed pan / kadhai, heat the oil over medium high heat and add the cumin and fennel seeds to it. Once they start to release their fragrance and turn light brown, add the chopped onions, garlic and ginger to it. Saute well till the onions softens and turns color to a darker brown, but not caramelised yet.

Add the chopped tomatoes, red chilli powder, coriander powder and garam masala. Let the tomatoes soften and come together into a sauce.

Grind the spinach in a food processor until almost smooth. Add the spinach to the kadhai along with the tomatoes, onions and spices. Add the green chillies and kasuri methi too and let it all cook together for a couple of minutes. Now throw in the paneer and add the salt as well and mix well.

Remove from heat and add the cream. Mix just before serving. Serve hot with naan or rotis.

Palak Paneer - Paneer in a Mildly Spiced Spinach Sauce
Cuisine: Indian
Author: Manju | Cooking Curries
Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 30 mins
Total time: 40 mins
Serves: Serves 4
Palak Paneer – one of the quintessential Indian curries with soft Indian cheese, Paneer swimming in mildly spiced sauce made with spinach as a base. Gluten Free and Vegetarian.
Ingredients
  • 5-6 cups (10-12oz) Spinach, washed
  • 1 tablespoon grapeseed oil or any oil of your choice
  • 1 Red Onion, chopped
  • ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
  • ¼ teaspoon fennel seeds
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • ½ teaspoon minced ginger
  • 1 tomato, chopped
  • ½ teaspoon red chilli / cayenne powder
  • ¼ teaspoon coriander powder
  • ½ teaspoon garam masala
  • 2 tablespoon kasuri methi / dried fenugreek leaves
  • 2 green chillies, slit in half
  • 2 cups chopped paneer cubes
  • salt, to taste
  • ¼ cup cream
Instructions
  1. Bring 7-8 cups of water to boil and add the spinach leaves to it. Once it softens, take them out in a colander and keep under running cold water.
  2. In a heavy bottomed pan / kadhai, heat the oil over medium high heat and add the cumin and fennel seeds to it. Once they start to release their fragrance and turn light brown, add the chopped onions, garlic and ginger to it. Saute well till the onions softens and turns color to a darker brown, but not caramelised yet.
  3. Add the chopped tomatoes, red chilli powder, coriander powder and garam masala. Let the tomatoes soften and come together into a sauce.
  4. Grind the spinach in a food processor until almost smooth. Add the spinach to the kadhai along with the tomatoes, onions and spices. Add the green chillies and kasuri methi too and let it all cook together for a couple of minutes. Now throw in the paneer and add the salt as well and mix well.
  5. Remove from heat and add the cream. Mix just before serving. Serve hot with naan or rotis.
3.5.3208

 

Palak Paneer - Paneer in a mildly spiced Spinach sauce - vegetarian, gluten free - Cooking Curries (2)

Palak Paneer - Paneer in a mildly spiced Spinach sauce - vegetarian, gluten free - Cooking Curries
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Comments

  1. Kylee @ Kylee Cooks says

    January 26, 2016 at 7:16 am

    I LOVE paneer! I always have this at Indian restaurants - thanks for making it so I can have it at home too!
    This looks fantastic (and I love the bread, too)

    Reply
  2. Sandi (@fearless_dining) says

    January 26, 2016 at 8:29 am

    This is one of my favorite dishes. I really need to explore making Indian dishes...they are always so flavorful. I love that it is gluten free as well. Someday I am going to tackle making a gluten free naan 🙂

    Reply
  3. Chrissa - Physical Kitchness says

    January 28, 2016 at 8:12 pm

    I am so so so intrigued by this!!! I feel like I'm way too chicken to make this (blame it on my Midwest roots). But you've made it look totally do-able. Deep breath - I'm gonna be brave and try!!

    Reply
    • Manju says

      January 28, 2016 at 8:52 pm

      Yay, Chrissa! Go for it, girl! Let me know if it turned out to be do-able! ?

      Reply
  4. afra says

    November 14, 2020 at 6:28 am

    Lovely. Really enjoyed this. Thank you so much for sharing this healthy and tasty recipe!

    Reply

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