Palak Paneer with Cabera Frozen Spinach

Prep 10 min Cook 20 min Serves 4

Spinach portions
Palak paneer with naan and basmati rice

Main curry · Ready in 25 minutes · Serves 3–4

Craving that creamy, vibrant restaurant-style palak paneer but want zero chopping and super speed? A 300 g pack of Cabera frozen spinach is your shortcut to silky green perfection. Straight from frozen, blanched, blended, and you have a spinach gravy. Soft paneer cubes swim in a rich, garlicky, mildly spiced spinach sauce: an Indian classic, made weeknight-easy.

No washing, no stemming: just cook and blend. Serve with rice, naan or roti.

Ingredients

Serves 3–4:

  • 300 g Cabera Frozen Spinach, straight from the freezer bag, no thawing needed
  • 250–300 g paneer, cut into 2–3 cm cubes
  • 1 medium onion (about 120 g), finely chopped
  • 2 medium tomatoes (about 200 g), chopped or puréed
  • 4–5 garlic cloves (about 15 g), minced
  • 1-inch piece of ginger (about 15 g), grated or minced
  • 1–2 green chilies, slit or chopped (adjust for heat)
  • 3 tbsp oil or ghee
  • ½ tsp cumin seeds
  • ½ tsp turmeric powder
  • 1 tsp coriander powder
  • ¾–1 tsp garam masala
  • ½–¾ tsp red chili powder (or Kashmiri for colour)
  • Salt to taste
  • 100–150 ml water, to adjust the consistency
  • 80–100 g fresh cream (or malai or heavy cream)
  • Optional: 1 tsp kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves), crushed

Method

  1. Blanch the spinach (5 min). Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the whole 300 g of Cabera frozen spinach and cook 3–4 minutes until completely thawed and wilted. Drain immediately, keeping a little water. Shock in cold water for 1 minute to keep the bright green colour. Drain well and blend to a smooth purée, adding 1–2 tbsp of the reserved water if it’s too thick.
  2. Make the gravy base (8–10 min). Heat 3 tbsp oil or ghee in a pan over medium heat. Add the cumin seeds and let them crackle. Add the onion and sauté 4–5 minutes until golden. Add ginger, garlic and green chilies and cook 1–2 minutes until the raw smell disappears. Add the tomatoes, salt and the dry spices (turmeric, coriander, chili powder). Cook 5–6 minutes until the tomatoes are soft and the oil starts to separate.
  3. Bring it together (5 min). Pour in the spinach purée. Mix well and add 100–150 ml water for the consistency you like. Simmer 3–4 minutes. Add the paneer, cream, garam masala and crushed kasuri methi (if using). Stir gently and simmer 2 more minutes. Don’t overcook the paneer!

Serve it up

Spoon into bowls, swirl extra cream on top and sprinkle with a pinch of garam masala or chili. Serve hot with jeera rice, butter naan, roti or plain basmati.

Pro tip: for extra-soft paneer, lightly fry the cubes in 1 tbsp ghee for 2 minutes before adding them.