Lasooni Palak Paneer
Bright homemade lasooni palak (garlic spinach curry) with soft paneer cubes and a gold garlic tadka poured over at the table.
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
Ice bath is not optional if you want a bright gravy. Squeeze the spinach well or the curry turns thin.
Skip tomato. It dulls the green and fights the garlic.
Gold garlic, then pour. If the tadka sits in the pan while you plate, it turns bitter.
Onion is optional. Skip it for a cleaner lasooni palak. The sliced garlic still carries the gravy.
Cream is optional. Use 1 tablespoon for a slightly rounder bowl, or skip it when you want the tadka louder.
For a vegan plate, use extra-firm tofu in place of paneer, oil instead of butter and ghee, and cashew cream instead of dairy cream.
This is not a Jain curry. Garlic is the dish. For a no-onion, no-garlic paneer gravy, make Jain methi malai paneer.
Palak gravy keeps in the fridge 3 days. Freeze the gravy without paneer for up to 1 month. Add fresh paneer and a new tadka when you reheat.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!