I’m not a food historian or from northwestern India. But I know good food when I taste it, and I love dissecting food and analyzing the whys, the hows, and the why-nots of cooking. Home-cooked or restaurant-style, it doesn’t matter. Today I dissect a recipe that is easily in the top 5 foods I couldn’t live without – Palak Paneer. Why? Because this is one recipe you can follow to the T every time and still have it taste completely different from the last one you made. Here’s a fun little dive into why Palak Paneer tastes different every time.
Palak Paneer Through the Ages
My fondest memory of Palak Paneer is from a Punjabi dhaba called Sachin Ka Dhaba in Adyar, Chennai. This hole-in-the-wall place was our monthly guilty pleasure. We ordered out once a month. Eating out frequently just wasn’t a thing back then.
Sachin Ka Dhaba’s palak paneer practically bathed in ghee, or was it cream that had cooked down to the point of splitting?! Who knows? I’m not sure I’m presenting a very appetizing picture here, but this was my childhood favorite. Silky spinach, a good level of grease, and creamy paneer.
Fast forward to life as an adult, I have tried many versions, excluding chunky palak paneer because what is that even?! I know there’s an entire band of peeps who love it and call it more rustic. Sure. If. that. is. how. you. want. to. perceive. the. dish.
I digress, but I have tried several variations, and what always struck me as odd about the dish is that I could never get the recipe to taste the same every single time. This is not true for other recipes. Just Palak Paneer. I have tried recipes with tomatoes, recipes without, recipes with fennel seeds, without garlic. I even once tried Priya Krishna‘s Saag Feta (now that I lurvvv, even though it’s technically not Palak Paneer).
My attempt at Priya Krishna’s Saag Feta
But believe me when I say I have tried a handful of them. And somehow, not one of these recipes ever tastes the same. This obviously bothers my inquisitive mind, and in true Pakoda Stories fashion, I decided to do a deep dive to understand why Palak Paneer tastes different every time.
Let’s break down and analyze the infamous Palak Paneer.
A good Palak Paneer recipe always starts off with spinach and ends with paneer. There are many variations and styles to make Palak Paneer. I like a smooth, creamy version, with a simple lace of ghee and a touch of cream (not too much). And then there are chunky versions, which, if you like, you like, and I’m not going to judge you. Here are the components of a good Palak Paneer recipe, regardless of its consistency.
Spinach
Blanching Process
Tadka
Cream
Paneer
Spinach
Palak paneer is incomplete without a good bunch of Spinach. So, does the variety of Spinach matter? The palak I get here in California is baby spinach. The palak that Indian stores here sell is Savoy spinach, a slightly curly, denser leaf, the closest alternative to the ones in India. And the palak we got in Chennai back then was infamously titled Delhi Palak. If anyone knows the English equivalent, please leave the name in the comments.
But it doesn’t matter what variety of Spinach you use because spinach contains oxalic acid, which is why your mouth sometimes feels dry and chalky after eating palak paneer. The amount of oxalic acid also varies between bunches. This element alone is enough to tip the scales ever so slightly every time.
Blanching Process
This process has a loose definition in Indian kitchens. True blanching requires you to bathe the spinach in hot water until it wilts, then immediately shock it in ice-cold water to stop the cooking process. This helps retain the true green color that we love in Palak paneer. While this is a foolproof method to retain the color, indian aunties (happily becoming one myself) and those seeking a sustainable route will skimp on the water and cook the greens in a pan with very little water. The greens are then blended once cooled.
The problem with lazy blanching is that you are literally reintroducing the oxalates that leach into the water back into the dish. Blanching helps remove the oxalates, which is why you need to discard the water the spinach cooks in.
Even with full-on blanching, it’s hard to recreate the same flavor every time, since keeping oxalate levels uniform is impossible. So, while how you cook the spinach and the temperature at which you blend it matter, the final taste and texture really rely on the bunch of spinach you use.
Tadka
No Indian dish is complete without a tadka. The aromatics of a tadka, when combined with hot oil, amplify the senses and make or break your dish. And in the case of Palak Paneer, a tadka made with oil cannot justify or bring out the dish’s savory, creamy flavors. This is one dish where a tadka made with ghee truly shines and makes all the difference.
To Cream or Not to Cream
A hot controversy that surrounds Palak Paneer. Some purists will tell you adding cream is a big NO. Others will tell you the dish is incomplete without cream. I love cream and think it is a great stabilizer to add to your dish. I have read that adding cream may even benefit the absorption and elimination of oxalates from the body. While I am not the right person to verify this, I do believe cream can balance out oxalate levels in the spinach, helping you deliver a great-tasting dish every time.
Paneer
Indians in India will never understand the pain of working with hard, chewy paneer. Indians living abroad make do with whatever they get at the grocery store. Sometimes, we see frozen paneer. Yes, frozen paneer. And sometimes, we get paneer that does not even remotely taste like paneer. Sure, we can make very soft paneer at home. But somehow it does not taste the same as the ones we get in India, and we live vicariously through reels and whatever we can muster overseas! Nothing more. I rest my case.
It was never YOU. It was always the INGREDIENTS
So, my dear food enthusiasts and fellow cooks, if you have always wondered why you were never able to recreate your favorite Palak paneer recipe at home exactly as you remember it tasting at your favorite restaurant or how you have envisioned it in your mind, I’m here to reassure you. It was never you who lacked consistency; rather, the complexity of the ingredients complicates an otherwise very simple dish every single time. Also, here is my recipe for a dreamy, creamy Palak Paneer, which I pair with ghee rice, another personal favorite.
A silky spinach recipe from India with creamy paneer for the perfect savory accompaniment to your rice or roti!
Total Time:20 minutes
Yield:2 servings
Ingredients
1 medium Onion, chopped
1-2 small bunches of Savoy Spinach
3 thai green chilies
1 tbsp cumin seeds
2 tbsp oil
1 tbsp ghee
Asafetida, a pinch – Optional
Cream – Optional
Instructions
Heat a pan over medium-high heat.
Add 1 tbsp oil and wait 2-3 minutes, until hot.
Add cumin seeds and let them sputter and become fragrant
Add chopped onions and ginger-garlic paste, and cook until the onions are browned.
Transfer to a plate and set this aside to cool.
In the same pan, add spinach, green chilies, and a few splashes of water
Let the spinach wilt. Turn off the heat and allow the mixture to cool. (Read notes for blanching method)
Blend the onion mixture and spinach into a smooth puree.
In the same pan, add 1 tbsp ghee and the spinach puree. Cook for 1 minute.
Add cubed paneer. Cook for 2 additional minutes.
In a tadka pan, add a tbsp of ghee. Add sliced garlic when the ghee is hot, and sauté until the garlic starts to brown. Add 1 tbsp red chili powder. As soon as the chili powder starts to bloom, turn off the heat and pour the ghee-garlic mixture over the palak paneer gravy.
Adjust salt. Serve hot with jeera/ghee rice or chapati.
Notes
Shape of the paneer doesn’t matter. Cut it to your desired shape.
For a traditional blanch, wilt the spinach in a stockpot of boiling water over medium heat. Transfer the leaves immediately to an ice-cold bowl of water to stop the cooking process. Blend the spinach with the cooled onion mixture as directed.
