North Indian · main
Bright spinach gravy, cubed paneer, no cream. The version I actually make on a Tuesday, not the restaurant heavy one.
What you need
Paneer
250 g · cubed
Spinach
500 g · fresh
Ginger
1 inch
Garlic
4 cloves
Cumin seeds
1 tsp
Garam masala
1 tsp
Plus: 1 onion, 1 tomato, 1 green chilli, ½ tsp turmeric, 1 tsp kasuri methi, salt, 2 tbsp ghee, 1 tbsp butter.
Do this
Blanch the spinach 💧
Salted boiling water → 45 sec → ice bath. Locks the green.
Blend cold, keep it coarse 🌀
Spinach + green chilli + half the ginger-garlic + 2 tbsp water. 10 sec pulse only.
Bloom cumin in ghee 🔥
Cumin crackles → add onion. Cook translucent, not brown.
Ginger-garlic + tomato 🍅
Cook until fat pools at the edges. That's the "masala ready" cue.
Kill the heat before adding spinach 🛑
Spinach loves low heat. Add blend, stir, turn back to low, simmer 4–5 min.
Fold in paneer 🧀
Gently. Simmer 2 min max — longer turns it squeaky.
Finish, rest, serve 🍽
Kasuri methi (crushed), garam masala, a knob of butter. Off heat. Rest 5 min.
Notes for future me
Blend cold, cook low
First time I blended spinach hot → army-green sludge. Cold blend + low heat = bright and grassy.
Skip the cream
Restaurant habit. At home the ghee + butter finish is enough.
Meal-prep tip
Gravy holds 3 days. Add paneer only when reheating — pre-cooked paneer turns rubbery.
Try it different
Palak tofu
Straight 1:1 sub for vegan. Press the tofu.
Palak corn
Add sweet corn in step 6. Kid-friendly.
Restaurant-y
2 tbsp cream in step 7. Heavier finish.
See also