Palak Paneer v2
09 November 2025

Ingredients
Dairy
- Paneer : 226g (8oz)
- Heavy Cream : 1/4th cup
Bass
- Palak (Spinach) : 250gm or 9oz (1.5 Trader Joe’s Baby Spinach Bag)
- Cashew Nuts : 12
Takda für Puree
- Cumin Seeds : 1/2 teaspoon
- Green Chilly : 3
- Ginger : 1 inch
- Garlic : 12 cloves
- Red Chilly (Dry) : 1/2 (deseeded)
- Red Onion : 1/2 American size (or 1 Indian size) rough slices*
- Tomato : 1 roughly cut*
*contents will go in blender
Main Tadka
- Turmeric Powder : 1/2 teaspoon
- Red Chilly Powder : 1 teaspoon
- Cumin Powder : 1/2 teaspoon
- Coriander Powder : 1/2 teaspoon
- Garam Masala : 1/2 teaspoon
- Salt : 1/2 teaspoon
Instructions
Blanching Phase
Here’s why blanching is useful
- Preservation : Deactivates enzymes that cause loss of flavor, color, and texture.
- Color Enhancement : Makes vegetables like green beans bright green.
- Blanch the palak by immersing it in boiling water for 2 minutes
- Then transfer to a vessel and add ice or cold water to cool it down fast
Tadka für Blender Phase
- Add 2 tablespoon of oil in a pan and heat
- Add the cumin seeds, green chilly, ginger, and onions. Let it fry for a minute
- Add garlic and saute for another 2 minutes
- Finally add chopped tomato and fry till the tomato becomes soft
- Let it cool down a little
Blender Phase
- Add the palak (already cooled) and the above Tadka (also cooled) into a blender
- Add the cashew nuts
- Blend until the cashew is thoroughly dissolved (cashew chunks mess up texture)
Final Tadka Phase
- Heat 3 tablespoon cooking oil (or ghee) in a pan (heat oil to raise temperature and then reduce the flame to min)
- Add the following
- Cumin powder
- Red chilly powder
- Coriander powder
- Turmeric powder
- Let it fry a bit (keep stirring if not the powder sticks to the pan)
- Add the blender contents (palak and veggies and a tiny bit of water if necessary) and cook for 3 minutes.
- Add cream and mix
- Add garam masala and salt
- Finally add paneer, mix, and cook for 2-3 minutes. Let it cool a bit before consuming.
Tips
- Add Kasuri methi along with the garam masala to add a bit more bass