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palak paneer in a bowl with salad and naan on the side
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Instant Pot Palak Paneer

Instant Pot Palak paneer is a tried and tested (and very easy and quick) recipe. Scoop up this lovely cheese and spinach curry with piping hot naan to get a taste of a much-loved North Indian dish. Vegetarian and gluten-free!
Course Lunch
Cuisine Indian
Keyword instant pot vegetarian curry, palak paneer, spinach recipes
Prep Time 8 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Servings 4
Calories 356.4kcal

Equipment

  • 6-quart Instant Pot Duo
  • Stand Blender OR Immersion blender

Ingredients

  • 11 oz baby spinach
  • 12.3 oz paneer
  • 1 small onion
  • 1 medium tomato
  • 1 inch piece ginger
  • 5 cloves garlic
  • 1-2 green chillies
  • ½ teaspoon turmeric
  • 1 teaspoon coriander powder
  • ¼ teaspoon garam masala powder
  • 2 tablespoon cooking oil
  • 2 tablespoon cream
  • salt to taste
  • For tempering optional
  • 1 tablespoon ghee or cooking oil
  • 1 clove garlic chopped
  • ½ teaspoon cumin seeds

Instructions

Preparation  

  • Chop the onion and tomato.
  • Mince the ginger and garlic.
  • Cut the paneer in cubes.

Cooking

  • Press the saute button on your instant pot and wait for it to display the ‘hot’ sign. Add the oil and onions. Saute for 2 minutes until the onions are softened.
  • Add the rest of the ingredients except the spinach and cream.
  • Cook for 5 minutes, adding splashes of water to keep the masala from burning.
  • Add the spinach and press down. The leaves will get wilted in 1 or 2 minutes. Now, cancel the saute mode and press the pressure cooking button. Secure the lid and make sure the vent is in the sealing position. Set the timer to 0 minutes.
  • When the timer beeps, release the pressure immediately and open the cooker.
  • Using an immersion blender, puree the spinach.
  • Add the paneer and cream and mix well.

Tempering (optional)

  • Heat 1 tablespoon ghee or oil in a small frypan and add the chopped garlic. Saute until it starts turning brown.
  • Add the cumin seeds.
  • Tip the oil, garlic and cumin gently over the palak paneer curry.

Notes

  1. Use store-bought ginger and garlic pastes and garam masala powder if you want to save time.
  2. You can make these ingredients at home too if you wish to. Ginger-garlic paste - put equal quantities of peeled ginger and garlic in a blender along with a few tablespoons of water and blend to get a smooth paste. Garam masala - put 5 cloves, 5 green cardamom, 2 black cardamom (peeled), 15 black peppercorns in a spice grinder or clean coffee grinder and whiz to get a powder. Store any leftover in a small air-tight container.
  3. If using frozen paneer, immerse it in hot water and cut into cubes when thawed.
  4. Don't add water to the spinach or over-blend it after it is cooked.
  5. For a vegan recipe, swap the paneer for tofu and cream for coconut cream.

Nutrition

Calories: 356.4kcal | Carbohydrates: 8.4g | Protein: 18.9g | Fat: 28.5g | Saturated Fat: 2.3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 7.4g | Cholesterol: 10.3mg | Sodium: 653.2mg | Fiber: 2.4g | Sugar: 1.3g