palak recipes | 34 spinach recipes indian | easy palak recipes for chapathi

collection of 34 palak recipes. palak or spinach is one of the healthy greens that you can include in your meals. presented below are some palak or spinach recipes that i make often at home.

the collection includes palak curry as well as dry curry recipes which you can have with roti or chapathi. there are some palak rice recipes also and some recipes that you can serve with steamed rice.

do make it a point to include palak regularly in your diet. it is one of the healthiest greens. some kids don’t like palak.

for kids who don’t like palak, you can add it in various recipes like roti, parathas, rice dishes or snacks like pakora or kababs or vada. so that kids don’t come to know. some of these spinach recipes are also shared in this post.

when cooking with spinach, it is always better to blanch the leaves when you are using the leaves in larger quantities or making a puree of it. however, in making palak recipes like dal palak, palak rice or palak sabzi etc, the spinach leaves are not blanched but sautéed.

sautéing spinach leaves also work well in most recipes. whether to sauté or blanch depends on the type of cooking technique you are using for that particular recipe or dish and the proportion of spinach used. for a recipe like palak paneer, it is best to blanch spinach given the following benefits it has.

benefits of blanching spinach

• blanching spinach reduces some of the oxalic acid from the leaves.
• oxalic acid binds with calcium from the leaves, thereby reducing its absorption in the body. due to this binding, calcium oxalate crystals are formed which cause stones in the kidneys, if spinach is consumed raw and in large amounts.
• blanching also releases some of the calcium which is present in the leaves. thus the body gets to absorb more calcium from the spinach leaves if you blanch them.
• the only loss of vitamins which happens during blanching is the water-soluble vitamins, but the amount is very less as the spinach leaves are not getting boiled. however, blanching preserves and locks some other nutrients in the spinach.
• the blanching technique retains and preserves the green color of the spinach in the palak paneer.
• blanching gets rid of harmful microorganisms, which can cause food contamination and food poisoning.
• when you use raw spinach puree to make recipes like palak paneer or saag paneer, there is a possibility that the raw smell and bitterness of spinach can remain in the gravy.
• blanching also gets rids of the pesticide residue if any from the spinach.
• blanching removes the bitter metallic flavor of spinach and makes it more flavorful and palatable without any after taste.
• when making spinach based sauces or gravies, where spinach is directly ground, there can be a raw taste of spinach even after cooking it. to prevent this blanching is the best option as the raw taste of spinach is not felt after cooking the puree.

i hope this indian spinach recipe collection will be helpful to you. you can also check these veggie recipes collections:

• methi recipes (19 fenugreek leaves recipes)
• bhindi recipes (22 okra or lady finger recipes)
• baingan recipes (18 brinjal or eggplant recipes)
• potato recipes (65 aloo recipes)

34 palak recipes or indian spinach recipes

1. palak paneer – soft paneer cubes cooked in a smooth spinach curry. this is one of the most popular indian paneer recipe.

2. palak rice recipe – a very simple one pot recipe of spinach pulao. its a homely version but healthy. in this pulao you can add your choice of mixed veggies too.

3. palak soup – easy and creamy spinach soup. video recipe. to give a subtle sweetness to this soup, i have added besan or gram flour.

4. palak paneer recipe restaurant style – dhungar or charcoal smoking method which really perks the flavor in this one. for more delicious paneer recipes you can check this collection of 81 recipes made with paneer.

5. dal palak recipe – this delicious spinach dal recipe is a very simple and easy one and won’t take much of your time. also this dal palak recipe is made without onion and garlic.

6. aloo palak recipe – potatoes in a smooth spinach sauce. the dish pairs well with chapathi, phulkas or naan.

7. palak paratha – unleavened indian flat bread made with spinach. no onion no garlic recipe. parathas don’t get spoiled easily and are often made for lunch boxes or for one day journeys.

8. hara bhara kabab – kabab made from spinach, peas and potatoes nutritious as well as delicious. an easy finger food that can be served as a brunch or also as a starter. one which is light and not heavy.

9. palak saag – saag made with spinach and radish. this palak saag recipe is exactly the same way sarson da saag is made. step by step recipe with photos.

10. sarson ka saag– this very popular punjabi recipe is a winter staple in north india. sarson ka saag is made with 5 green leafy vegetables. they are mustard, bathua (also known as chenopodium in english), spinach, radish and fenugreek.

11. palak corn recipe – a mild and lightly spiced curry made with spinach and sweet corn.

12. palak khichdi – a sumptuous and nutritious khichdi made with mung lentils, rice, spinach and peanuts.

13. methi chaman recipe – a delicious curry dish from the kashmiri cuisine made with methi, paneer and palak. since methi leaves are used, the gravy has some bitter tones. there is some bitterness but not too much of it. addition of palak (spinach) does help in balancing the bitterness of the methi leaves.

14. palak biryani – easy and a quick biryani recipe unlike the regular biryanis. lightly spiced and aromatic biryani recipe.

15. palak puri recipe – a delicious variation of poori made with palak or spinach. these palak pooris have a beautiful green color and are easy to prepare.

16. palak pakoda – spinach and gram flour deep fried fritters. these palak pakoras can be baked too if you don’t want to fry them, with all the goodness of the spinach, sesame seeds and chickpea flour. they are best had with some mint-coriander chutney and tomato ketchup.

17. palak kofta recipe – this palak paneer kofta gravy has crispy soft paneer stuffed koftas dunked in a creamy onion-tomato gravy. this palak kofta recipe has many textures and flavors. the umami flavor of spinach, the softness of paneer in the koftas blend very well with the lightly sweet and tangy tomato onion gravy.

18. palak mushroom – a healthy curry recipe made with spinach and mushrooms. its a delicious as well as an easy palak recipe to make. it is like having palak paneer and we have just replaced paneer with mushroom. if you like mushrooms then you can check this collection of 49 mushroom recipes.

19. palak raita – lightly flavored and easy to make spinach raita recipe. raita is a yogurt based dish which is often served as a side dish with meals, specially goes well with pulao or biryani or rice based dishes.

20. methi palak saag paneer – paneer in spinach and fenureek greens. goes well with chapathi, plain paratha or makki di roti or roomali roti.

21. palak chaat – crisp fried palak pakora topped with spicy green chutney, tangy and sweet tamarind dates chutney and onions, sev and spice mixes.

22. corn spinach – creamy corn spinach, a side dish that goes well with toasted bread and soup.

23. spinach fritters – another variation of palak pakoras. these crisp spinach fritters are made with whole spinach leaf and spiced gram flour batter.

24. palak chole – spinach with chickpeas. north indian style white chickpea curry.

25. spinach lasagna – creamy, cheesy vegetarian lasagna made with spinach and mushrooms.

26. corn spinach pulao – easy recipe of a mild and lightly spiced pulao made with spinach and corn.

27. palak paneer kathi rolls – easy to prepare and tasty palak paneer wraps.

28. palak paneer bhurji –  a healthy variation to the regular paneer bhurji recipe.

29. palak paneer recipe – tasty palak paneer recipe made without onion and garlic. even without onion and garlic, this palak paneer tastes good. whole spices are added which give a nice aroma to the palak paneer.

30. aloo palak sabzi recipe – homely style dry potato spinach dish that goes very well as a side dish with rotis, chapatis or pooris.

31. palak pakora for fasting – vrat ke palak pakora – spinach fritters made during fasting with buckwheat flour and spianch

32. aloo palak sabzi for fasting – a no onion no garlic spinach potato curry made for navratri fast. you can serve this aloo palak sabzi with singhare ki poori or rajgira ki poori or kuttu ka paratha or rajgira rotis.

33. aloo palak paratha – easy and nutritious parathas made with mashed potatoes, spinach puree and whole wheat flour.

34. mushroom and spinach cream sauce – this recipe is easy and quick. these kind of creamy recipes taste great with pasta, noodles, lasagna.