Palak Paneer is one of the most searched Indian vegetarian recipes in the world — and one of the most disappointing when made at home. The restaurant version is a vivid, jewel-bright green with soft paneer cubes in a silky, aromatic spinach sauce. The home version? Usually a muddy, olive-brown mess with a metallic, overcooked spinach taste. The difference comes down to one technique that takes 3 minutes but changes everything: blanching and ice-bathing the spinach. Restaurants blanch the spinach in boiling water for exactly 2 minutes, then plunge it into ice water to lock in the bright green chlorophyll. This gives the sauce that electric green colour and a fresh, clean taste instead of the bitter, army-green result you get from cooking spinach directly in the pan.
At Pick N Save, we stock everything for both the fresh-spinach and shortcut methods. Fresh Spinach Bunch and Baby Spinach 1 pk for the from-scratch approach, and Begro Chopped Spinach 1kg for the freezer shortcut (frozen spinach is blanched during processing, so it's already green-locked — a legitimate cheat). For the paneer, this recipe works best with Homeville Paneer Block 1kg or Home Ville Paneer Slab 800g — firm blocks that hold their shape when pan-fried and don't crumble in the sauce. We've been guiding our Harrow customers through this exact recipe since 1999, and the blanching trick is the single piece of advice that gets the most "why didn't anyone tell me this before" reactions.
Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Add 500g of fresh spinach (Fresh Spinach Bunch — about 2 bunches, or Baby Spinach 1 pk for convenience) and push it under the water with a spoon. Blanch for exactly 2 minutes — no more. The leaves will wilt and turn bright, vivid green. Immediately drain the spinach and plunge it into a bowl of ice-cold water (add a few ice cubes). Leave it in the ice water for 2 minutes — this stops the cooking instantly and locks in the green colour. Squeeze the spinach firmly to remove as much water as possible, then blend into a smooth purée with 50ml of cold water. Set aside. The purée should be a vibrant, bright green — this is the colour your final curry will be.
Frozen spinach shortcut: Use 400g of Begro Chopped Spinach 1kg (thaw and squeeze dry) or frozen baby spinach. Blend directly into a purée. Frozen spinach has already been blanched during processing, so the colour is already preserved. Skip the blanching and ice-bath steps entirely. The result is 90% as good as fresh — and infinitely easier on a weeknight.
Cut 400g of paneer (Homeville Paneer Block 1kg — use half) into 2.5cm cubes. Heat 2 tablespoons of sunflower oil (KTC Pure Sunflower Oil) in a non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Add the paneer cubes in a single layer and fry for 1–1.5 minutes per side until golden-brown on at least two faces. Don't move them constantly — let each side develop a golden crust before flipping. Remove and set aside on a plate. The golden crust adds visual contrast against the green sauce and gives the paneer a slightly firmer texture that holds up in the curry.
Skip-the-fry shortcut: If you want a lighter dish or are short on time, add the raw paneer cubes directly to the spinach sauce in Step 4. They won't have the golden crust but will be softer and absorb more of the spinach flavour.
In the same pan (wipe out excess paneer oil but keep the residue for flavour), heat 2 tablespoons of ghee (KTC Butter Ghee 500g) or butter (Anchor Butter Salted 500g) over medium heat. Ghee is traditional and gives a nuttier flavour; butter is richer and creamier — both work. Add 1 teaspoon of cumin seeds (Fudco Cumin Seeds 300g) and let them sizzle for 10 seconds. Add 1 medium onion, finely diced (White Onions Prepack 4Kg), and cook for 3–4 minutes until soft and translucent.
Add 1 tablespoon of ginger garlic paste (Fudco Ginger Garlic Paste 300g) and 1–2 green chillies, finely chopped (Indian Chilli 400g). Cook for 1 minute. Add 1 medium tomato, finely chopped (Fresh Vine Tomato 500g), and cook for 2 minutes until the tomato breaks down into a paste. Stir in ½ teaspoon of turmeric (TFS Haldi Powder Rajapuri 100g), 1 teaspoon of ground coriander (TFS Dhana Coriander Powder 100g), ½ teaspoon of garam masala (TFS Garam Masala 100g), ½ teaspoon of Kashmiri chilli powder (TFS Kashmiri Mild Chilli Powder — for a touch of colour without overpowering the green), and salt to taste. Cook for 1 minute until the spices are fragrant.
Pour the bright green spinach purée into the spiced onion-tomato base. Stir well — the sauce should immediately turn a vivid green. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add 3 tablespoons of double cream (Elmlee Double Creamy Taste 270ml) — the cream swirled into the green spinach creates that classic light-green colour with creamy marbling that defines restaurant Palak Paneer. Stir gently.
Add the golden pan-fried paneer cubes to the sauce. Fold them in gently — don't stir vigorously or the paneer will crumble. Simmer for 2 more minutes so the paneer absorbs some of the spinach sauce. Add 1 teaspoon of dried fenugreek leaves / kasuri methi (TFS Dried Fenugreek Leaves 100g) crushed between your palms — the same finishing signature used in our Butter Chicken and Dal Makhani. Taste and adjust salt and cream.
Transfer to a serving bowl. Add a final swirl of cream on top, a knob of butter melting into the centre, and a pinch of Kashmiri chilli powder for colour contrast (red on green). Serve hot with Garlic Naan (the naan-and-Palak-Paneer combination is legendary), basmati rice (Tilda Basmati Rice 5kg), or roti (Shana Chapatti Multi Pack 20s). A side of Cucumber Raita and Mango Pickle completes the meal.
Every single ingredient for this recipe is available at picknsave.co.uk with home delivery across London and the UK, or click and collect from our store in Harrow. Here's your shopping list:
*RI = Reference Intake. Values are approximate and may vary based on ingredients.
