Instant pot Palak Paneer – Saag Paneer
Instant pot Palak Paneer also known as Saag Paneer is a popular North Indian dish that is easy healthy and tasty dish which can be prepared very quickly in the Instant Pot or stove top. Either way the taste is the same , which is the end goal.
Palak Paneer is mildly spiced so that kids can also enjoy it. Loaded with Spinach and Paneer, it is rich in Iron, mineral, protein and good fats making it a excellent side dish. Traditionally served with Roti, Special Rice dishes like Jeera Rice, Peas Pulao etc.
So traditional recipe calls for blanching the spinach for better retain of bright green color but to make it easy and quick we will skip that step. But it is totally upto you.
You can also use frozen spinach instead of fresh spinach for convenience. Many people do not like tomatoes in their palak paneer but I add it for little tanginess but you can substitute tomato with Yogurt.
Also Cream is liberally used for the best taste of palak paneer but diet conscious people can avoid it. Sometimes I do not grind the Spinach masala at all which makes my life easy and the texture doesn’t bother me as the spinach is wilted very well by the end of cooking.
Vegans can substitute paneer with Tofu, Ghee with oil and cream with cashew paste.
I made homemade paneer in the Instant pot and used the same paneer for the Palak Paneer. For super duper convenience I lightly toasted the paneer pieces in my new nuwave 6qt Airfryer.
Many people like to toast their paneer before adding to the curry. It is totally a personal choice but I like the non toasted version for most of the times.
For stove top:
Follow the same steps as described below in a saute pan. Instead of pressure cooking just saute the spinach for 2 to 3 mins.
For Instant Pot:
Instant pot Palak Paneer
Instant pot Palak Paneer
- Ghee – 2 to 3 tbsps
- Onions – one half finely chopped
- Green Chili – 1 slit into pcs
- Ginger Garlic paste – 1 tbsp
- Spinach – 400 to 500 gms.
- Water – 1/2 cup or as needed.
- Paneer cubes – 14 oz
- Cream or Cashew paste – to garnish
- Tomato – 1 medium finely chopped
SPICES
- Cumin seeds – 1 tbsp
- Coriander powder – 1.5tbsps
- Red chili powder – to taste
- Salt – to taste
- Garam masala – 2 tsps
- Put instant pot on saute mode high
- Add ghee and let it get hot, add cumin seeds fry well.
- Add onions and green chili, saute well.
- Add tomatoes, fry till mushy.
- Add in the spice powders and salt, mix well.
- Add in the spinach and mix well. Turn off saute mode.
- Put the lid, vent to sealing position.
- Do manual high 2 mins and Quick release after 2 min in warm mode.
- Now grind the spinach onion tomato mix using a hand blender or in a regular blender to a fine paste.
- Add in more water to desired consistency and put on saute mode high for 5 mins or so.
- Add garam masala and mix well.
- Add in the Toasted or untoasted paneer cubes and simmer for 2 to 4 mins.
- Serve with Cream or cashew paste if desired.
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Full Video recipe with Instructions :
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