D01 · Dinner · Punjab
Palak Paneer, Lighter
The Punjabi classic without cream: a bright, garlicky spinach purée with soft paneer, enriched with a little milk. The spinach carries the flavour, so nothing is lost.
- Region
- Punjab
- Diet
- Strictly vegetarian, egg-free
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 20 min
- Total
- 30 min
- Time, as written
- Prep 10 min · Cook 20 min · Total 30 min
- Serves
- 3
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Status
- Adaptation — milk replaces cream; spinach quantity increased
- Good for
- Quick weeknight dinner
Nutrition
High protein| Per serving | kcal | Protein | Carbs | Fat | Sat fat | Fibre | Sugars | Protein per 100 kcal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palak paneer only (about 280 g) | 285 | 18 g | 18 g | 15 g | 7 g | 6 g | 12 g | 6.5 g |
| Dinner plate: curry, 1 whole-wheat roti, salad | 425 | 23 g | 45 g | 16 g | 7 g | 12 g | 14 g | 5.5 g |
Headline figures are for the full plate as served, with its stated roti, rice or bhakri; the dish alone is shown in the table.
Tier: High protein. A restaurant palak paneer of the same size often has 400–500 kcal from cream and butter. Values checked against IFCT 2017 on 14 Oct 2026.
Values are estimates calculated from the listed ingredients and quantities (IFCT 2017 and product labels), not laboratory measurements. How the numbers were calculated.
Ingredients
Plate
Method
Blanch spinach in boiling water for 1 minute; plunge into iced water. Squeeze lightly and blend with chillies to a smooth purée.
Heat oil; add cumin and sliced garlic until golden. Add onion; cook 5 minutes until soft.
Add ginger-garlic paste and tomato; cook 4 minutes until the tomato breaks down. Add turmeric and coriander powder.
Add the spinach purée, salt and 80 ml water. Simmer 3–4 minutes only, to keep the colour bright.
Stir in milk, then paneer, garam masala and crushed kasuri methi. Simmer 2 minutes. Serve with roti and salad.
Protein optimisation
- Where the protein comes from
- Paneer supplies 12 g per serving; spinach 3.5 g; milk and other vegetables 1.5 g.
- Boost
- Replace milk with 60 g hung curd whisked in off the heat (+1 g protein per serving), or add 50 g more paneer (+3 g protein, +45 kcal, +3.5 g fat per serving).
- Where the protein comes from
- Low-fat paneer (check the label) saves about 70 kcal and 8 g fat per serving.
Variations, serving and storage
- Regional
- Punjabi winter saag paneer — use 250 g mustard greens and 250 g spinach, and a little makki atta to thicken.
- Substitution
- Firm tofu for paneer (see L16).
- Storage
- 2 days refrigerated; the colour dulls on reheating.
- Food safety
- Refrigerate within 2 hours.
- Meal prep
- Make the spinach purée ahead; it keeps 1 day.
Allergens
Milk; gluten (roti)
Labels: High protein · Quick · Lower-carbohydrate (curry only) · Soy-free · Whey-free · No added sugar · Gluten-free* (curry only)
Gluten-free* means gluten-free only when certified gluten-free hing is used; most hing contains wheat flour.