The first time I made this, I treated it like my weeknight palak paneer and wondered why it tasted polite. The spinach was fine. The paneer was soft. The kitchen did not smell like a North Indian restaurant. Then I fried a pan of sliced garlic in ghee until it turned gold, poured it over the bowl, and the dish finally made sense.
That bowl is Lasooni Palak Paneer. Lasooni (also spelled lasuni or lehsuni) means garlicky. The gravy is lasooni palak, a bright spinach curry built on garlic. The paneer is the add-in, not the whole story. Garlic goes in the blender, in the pan, and again in the finishing tadka. Skip that last pour and you have regular palak paneer.
If you already blanch spinach for curry, you already know most of this. The new rule is timing: gold garlic, then pour, do not let it sit. Let’s make it together.
What is lasooni palak paneer?
Palak is spinach. Lasooni palak is the garlic spinach gravy restaurants serve with roti, often with no cheese at all. Lasooni palak paneer is that same gravy with soft paneer cubes folded in at the end, then a hot garlic tadka on top.
It is still a North Indian curry, not a sautéed spinach side. The leaves are blanched, iced, and blended smooth. The garlic should be loud enough that you smell it before you taste the cream.
I cook this as a three-garlic plate. A few cloves go into the blender with ginger and chilli. More get sliced into the gravy. The last handful fry in ghee until gold, with a dried red chilli, and go over the bowl at the table. The first time I left that tadka on the stove while I plated, the garlic went from gold to brown and the whole curry tasted bitter. Now I heat the ghee only when the serving bowl is already filled.
Lasooni palak vs palak paneer vs lehsuni palak
- Lasooni palak: garlic spinach gravy, often no paneer. This is the gravy name you see most often, with or without cheese.
- Lasooni palak paneer / lehsuni palak paneer: the same gravy plus paneer cubes and a garlic tadka. Hotel and dhaba menus use all three spellings.
- Regular palak paneer: milder spinach curry. Garlic is background. My no-cream palak paneer is that weeknight bowl.
Use regular palak paneer when you want a familiar, gentle curry. Use this when you want the tadka to hit the table still sizzling.
Why you’ll love this
- Bright green palak from a 60-second blanch and an ice bath
- Garlic in three places, so it tastes restaurant-loud without a long simmer
- Soft paneer if you soak it, sear it lightly, and fold it in last
- Naturally gluten-free and vegetarian
- Gravy keeps; tadka and paneer go on when you eat
- Mild enough for kids if you keep the green chilli to one
Spinach brings iron. Paneer brings protein. That pairing is why this works as a vegetarian main, not just a green side. I reach for the same pairing in my other high-protein Indian vegetarian dinners.
Test note: I blanched 1 pound of spinach for 60 seconds, then iced it until the leaves felt cold, about 2 minutes. After a hard squeeze, the puree stayed grass-green through a 4-minute simmer. The batch I skipped the ice bath on turned olive in the pan. For the tadka, sliced garlic hit gold at 25 seconds in hot ghee. At 40 seconds it browned and tasted bitter even after I poured it. Gold, then off the heat, then onto the bowl.
How to keep the palak green and the paneer soft
Do not add turmeric to the blender. A pinch in the pan is fine. A teaspoon turns the gravy khaki before you taste it.
Skip tomato, or use a spoonful at most. Tomato fights the garlic and pulls the puree toward olive. I skip it when I want the bowl to stay bright.
Simmer the blended palak only 3 to 4 minutes after the tempering. Longer cooking is how restaurant palak goes dull. If it looks tight, add a splash of blanch water, not more cream. Cream is optional here. A tablespoon or two rounds the edges. More than that buries the garlic, and then this is just palak paneer again.
Packaged paneer gets a 10-minute soak in warm water, then a light sear until the edges take color. Fold the cubes into the gravy off the heat, or for 1 minute on low. The first time I let them bubble for 8 minutes, they went rubbery and the palak lost its green. Soft paneer is a soak and a short stay, not a stew.
Perfect for
- A weeknight thali with instant pot jeera rice, roti, and cucumber raita
- A richer spinach night when palak dal already covers the everyday bowl
- Using leftover lasooni palak: warm the gravy, add fresh paneer, pour a new tadka
- When you want restaurant garlic without ordering takeout
Lasooni Palak Paneer
Equipment
- Blender
- Heavy-bottomed pan or kadhai Indian wok
- Small tadka pan
Ingredients
For the palak
- 1 pound fresh spinach about 450 g, thick stems trimmed
- 2 green chillies use 1 for mild
- 1 inch ginger peeled
- 3 garlic cloves
- 8 cashews about 2 tablespoons
- 1/4 cup ice water or reserved blanch water as needed to blend
- 1 teaspoon salt for the blanch water
For the gravy
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter or ghee
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 small onion sliced, optional
- 5 garlic cloves thinly sliced
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Kashmiri chilli powder
- 3/4 teaspoon salt or to taste
- pinch sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
- 1-2 tablespoons fresh cream optional
- 1 teaspoon kasuri methi crushed
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1/4-1/2 cup warm water as needed
For the paneer
- 10 oz paneer about 280 g, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
- warm water for soaking
- 1 teaspoon oil or ghee for searing
For the finishing tadka
- 2 tablespoons ghee
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 4 garlic cloves thinly sliced
- 1 dried red chilli broken in half
- pinch kasuri methi
- pinch Kashmiri chilli powder optional
To finish
- fresh cilantro chopped
Instructions
Soak and sear the paneer
- Soak the paneer cubes in warm water for 10 minutes. Drain and pat dry.
- Heat 1 teaspoon oil or ghee in the pan over medium heat. Sear the paneer 1 to 2 minutes per side until the edges take light color. Transfer to a plate. Do not brown them hard.
Blanch the spinach
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add 1 teaspoon salt. Set a bowl of ice water next to the stove.
- Add the spinach. Press it under with a spoon. Cook 45 to 60 seconds until just wilted and still bright green.
- Lift the spinach into the ice water. Chill 2 minutes until cold. Squeeze hard in handfuls to remove water. Do not skip the squeeze.
Blend
- Blend the squeezed spinach with green chillies, ginger, 3 garlic cloves, cashews, and 1/4 cup ice water or blanch water until completely smooth. Add another splash only if the blender stalls. The puree should look thick and bright, not watery.
Cook the gravy
- Heat 1 tablespoon oil and 1 tablespoon butter in the pan over medium heat. Add 1 teaspoon cumin seeds. Let them sizzle 20 seconds.
- Add sliced onion if using. Cook 3 to 4 minutes until soft. Add 5 sliced garlic cloves. Cook 30 to 45 seconds until the edges turn gold. Do not let the garlic brown hard or the palak will taste bitter.
- Add turmeric, coriander, Kashmiri chilli, and a pinch of salt. Stir 20 seconds.
- Pour in the palak puree. Add 1/4 cup warm water. Simmer 3 to 4 minutes on medium-low, stirring. Taste for salt. Add the pinch of sugar if the greens taste sharp.
- Stir in garam masala, kasuri methi, lemon juice, and cream if using. Simmer 30 seconds. Turn off the heat. Fold in the seared paneer. The gravy should coat a spoon and still look green. If it is too tight, loosen with a splash of water, not more cream.
Tadka
- Spoon the curry into a warm serving bowl.
- In a small tadka pan, heat 2 tablespoons ghee until hot. Add 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds, 4 sliced garlic cloves, and the dried red chilli. Cook 20 to 30 seconds until the garlic is gold and the chilli darkens. Take the pan off the heat. Add a pinch of kasuri methi and a pinch of Kashmiri chilli if you want a red streak.
- Pour the tadka over the palak and paneer immediately. You should hear a short sizzle. Scatter cilantro. Serve at once.
Notes
FAQs
Q1. What does lasooni or lehsuni palak mean?
Lasooni, lasuni, and lehsuni all mean garlicky. Lasooni palak is a garlic spinach gravy. Lasooni palak paneer is that gravy with paneer cubes and a garlic tadka.
Q2. How is this different from regular palak paneer?
Regular palak paneer is milder. Garlic stays in the background. This version puts garlic in the puree, the pan, and a finishing tadka. If you skip the tadka, you are back to a standard palak paneer.
Q3. How do I keep the palak bright green?
Blanch 45 to 60 seconds, ice bath until cold, squeeze hard, and simmer only 3 to 4 minutes. Skip turmeric in the blender. Skip tomato. Do not cover the pan and walk away.
Q4. Can I skip the garlic tadka?
You can, but then this is palak paneer. The tadka is the restaurant smell. If raw-fried garlic is too much, use 2 sliced cloves in the tadka instead of 4, and keep the cloves in the blender.
Q5. How do I keep paneer soft?
Soak packaged cubes in warm water for 10 minutes, pat dry, sear lightly, and fold them in at the end. Do not simmer paneer for several minutes in the gravy.
Q6. Can I use frozen spinach?
Yes. Thaw 1 pound, squeeze until almost dry, then blend with the ginger, chilli, and garlic. You lose a little brightness compared with a fresh blanch, so keep the simmer short and skip tomato.
Q7. Can I make this vegan or Jain?
Vegan: swap paneer for extra-firm tofu, and use oil plus cashew cream. Jain: this recipe is built on garlic, so it is the wrong dish. Use a no-onion, no-garlic paneer gravy instead.
Q8. How do I store leftovers?
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat gently with a splash of water. The tadka garlic softens overnight. A fresh tadka on leftover gravy brings it back.
Pour the tadka at the table
This lasooni palak paneer is weeknight spinach with a restaurant finish. The gravy should still look green. The garlic should still smell sweet, not scorched, when the bowl hits the table.
If you try it, tell me: did you pour the tadka in the kitchen, or at the table so everyone heard the sizzle?
Made this? Share a photo and tag @petitepaprika on Instagram. I love seeing your kitchen creations!
