Instant Pot Palak Paneer

Palak Paneer is a Punjabi curry recipe made with paneer and a thick spinach curry sauce. This Instant Pot Palak Paneer recipe is quick and easy requiring ZERO minute pressure cook time. It tastes just as good as the original but saves time and washing up!

What is Palak Paneer?

Palak Paneer is an Indian dish made from fresh paneer cheese which is simmered in a sauce of pureed spinach, onion, tomato and aromatic spices. It is a popular North Indian recipe and is also found in Indian restaurants served as a main or side.

This easy palak paneer recipe uses a whole bag of spinach leaves and a block of creamy paneer.

Palak is the Hindi word for Spinach. These leafy green palak leaves are big and thicker compare to baby spinach and are found in Indian grocery stores.

They are not eaten raw thus palak is mostly used in making palak recipes such as Saag Aloo, Palak Paneer, Palak Poori or Palak Paratha.

Saag Paneer and Palak Paneer are both dishes prepared with almost the same ingredients. The main difference is in the leafy greens.

In North India, Saag is made with various greens such as spinach, mustard greens, methi leaves or any other greens. Palak Paneer recipe is prepared with a spinach puree whereas in saag paneer, the leaves are kept coarse.

Sometimes we make Punjabi Saag Paneer and Chana Saag on the stove top. Sarson ka Saag is made with mustard leaves and spinach.

This is the best palak paneer as it takes zero minutes high pressure - exactly the time required to pressure cook the onion masala and spinach. I quick pressure release straight after.

This way, the spinach retains its vibrant green color and vital nutrients from this superfood.

You can also make vegan palak by using tofu similar to our Vegan Kale and Herby Tofu Curry

I love the convenience of the instant pot for my curries and this Instant Pot Vegan Cauliflower Korma is a favourite!

Ingredients

Fresh spinach - the main ingredient. I have used baby spinach. I do not recommend using frozen spinach as the flavour will not be as good.

Paneer is a fresh cheese known as Indian cottage cheese and is used in many vegetarian Indian recipes such as Shahi Paneer (creamy paneer). It is made with cow’s milk and does not melt.

Use either store-bought paneer or make your own paneer and cut into cubes. When I have more time, I make homemade paneer.

For a vegan version use extra firm tofu. To keep it soft while cooking, place paneer cubes in hot water for 5 minutes.

Onion, garlic, ginger, green chilies - required for the base gravy found in most North Indian cooking. I used all fresh ingredients ie fresh ginger rather than powder

Oil or ghee – both works equally good in this recipe.

Indian spices – find in Indian stores or in the World Food Aisle. For delicious palak paneer you need basic four Indian spice powders - red chili powder, turmeric, ground cumin powder, coriander powder and garam masala. Alternatively use curry powder for minimal spices.

Cumin seeds

Kasoori Methi – optional - for restaurant-style flavour dried fenugreek leaves are a must.

Optional – for a creamy and rich curry use fresh cream (heavy cream in the US). Just add once the curry is done. If making it vegan, use coconut or cashew cream.

Also optional - add lemon or lime juice once the dish is cooked to keep the spinach mixture green

Method

Follow these step by step pictures, exact measurements are given in the printable recipe card below where you can leave a star rating

Press SAUTE mode on the Instant pot panel and use a medium heat setting depending on your model. Heat oil or ghee.

Add cumin seeds.

Once they crackle add onion and saute until light pink

Then add garlic, ginger and green chilli and saute further for 2 minutes.

Now add fresh tomatoes and cook until they soften.

Add four spice powders and mix well.

Add fresh spinach, and ¼ to ½ cup water, seal the pot with the lid. Do not add too much else you will end up with excess water.

Select ‘0’ minute pressure cooking on HIGH.

Once the Instant Pot beeps, quick release.

Puree the mixture using an immersion blender.

Add salt and kasoori methi (if using).

Then add cubed paneer and mix well.

Pour some cream if using.

If the gravy is too thick, add a dash of warm water.

Serving Suggestion

Indian food goes great with round and soft Gujarati rotlis

Or, why not treat yourself and make Restaurant Style Garlic and Coriander Naan which is so pillowy soft and perfect for scooping up all of the delicious sauce.

Takeaway Style Pilau Rice (made with basmati rice) or jeera rice, Indian Onion Salad and Instant Pot Daal Makhani is a must if you are looking for a complete meal.

The perfect dessert after a curry is our Best Gajar Ka Halwa or Cardamom Chai Kulfi

Storage 

This curry keeps well for a day in the fridge. After that, the spinach begins to darken. It will not freeze well due to the paneer in the recipe.

Reheat the palak paneer in a pan or in the microwave prior to serving.

How to keep Spinach/Palak green when cooking

Spinach is a very delicate vegetable that does not require longer cooking. If spinach is cooked for a long time it will loose it’s vibrant green colour as well as nutrition.

Only Cook/blanch/boil/steam for 2-3 minutes. If using a pressure cooker, cook the spinach for minimum time.

If boiling/blanching spinach in a pot add a pinch of sugar OR baking soda.

Add a splash of lemon juice to spinach gravy to retain it’s green colour.

When we don’t cook spinach in the pressure cooker, we blanch palak or spinach in boiling water with a pinch of sugar. Then remove from the pot and add in to the bowl filled with ice cubes and cold water. Ice cold water stops from over cooking.

After blanching the spinach, rinse it in under ice cold tap water (this step we only do in freezing winter when the tap water is naturally icy!)

Last but not least, use less turmeric powder and ground cumin and coriander for any palak recipe. Turmeric powder will give a yellow hue and cumin and coriander makes spinach go darker.

How to make Vegan Palak Paneer in Instant Pot?

Palak Paneer is a vegetarian Indian curry, thus it is not suitable for people who follows plant based or vegan diet. Paneer is a dairy product, to make vegan version use firm tofu for this recipe. It tastes so great.

Make sure you drain the tofu well and shallow fry the tofu cubes in a skillet, grill or air fry before adding in to the curry.

Use cashew cream or any other vegan/plant based cream instead of a dairy cream for a Instant Pot Palak Tofu.

Why my Palak Paneer is Bitter?

Palak or spinach has very mild bitter or very earthy taste, due to this reason sometimes palak paneer tastes slightly bitter (not as bad as bitter gourd or paracetamol though).

In this case add a big pinch of sugar, lemon juice and cream. These three ingredients together will cut down the bitter flavours.

My Palak Paneer is too watery

This happens when we add extra water in to the curry. In this case dry roast 2 tablespoons of gram flour in a skillet or non-stick pan and add in to the palak paneer and cook 1 minute.

If gram flour is not available, use almond flour and thicken the palak paneer.

Other Instant Pot recipes

1. Instant Pot Coconut & Rose Semolina Cake

2. Instant Pot Corn on the Cob Curry with Coconut

3. Instant Pot Cypriot Stuffed Peppers

4. Sultani Daal

5. Instant Pot Dudhi Halwa

As always if you make this recipe, be sure to leave me a comment, rate this recipe and tag me on Instagram @jcookingodyssey or #jcookingodyssey. I love seeing all your photos of my recipe recreations!

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