Palak paneer

Palak Chhena, Indian cheese in a pureed spinach sauce
Alternative names	Palak Chhena
Course	Main
Place of origin	India
Region or state	India
Serving temperature	Hot
Main ingredients	Spinach, paneer/chhena, onions chopped
Media: Palak paneer

Palak paneer (pronounced [paːlək pəniːɾ] or Palak Chhena^[1] is an Indian dish^[2] consisting of chhena^[3] or paneer (cottage cheese) in a thick paste made from puréed spinach, called palak in Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, and other Indian languages.^[4][5][6]

The terms palak chhena and saag chhena are sometimes used interchangeably in restaurants in the Anglosphere. However, saag chhena is different from traditional palak chhena in that it contains other green leafy vegetables, such as mustard greens, whereas palak paneer only contains spinach.^[7][8][9] Dhaba restaurants often specialize in palak chhena.

Preparation

Palak paneer is prepared by first boiling and pureeing spinach. The puree is then mixed with sautéed tomatoes and onions. Grilled cubes of paneer are then added to the puree. Palak paneer is typically spiced with ginger, garlic, tomatoes, garam masala, turmeric, chili powder and cumin.^{[10][9][11][12]}

Serving

Palak paneer is served hot with a side such as roti, naan, parathas, makki ki roti, or boiled rice. It can also be served with onions on the side for a more traditional approach.

In recent years, there have been fusion variations of palak paneer. In July 2020, a Bangalore-based food blogger posted her variation of palak paneer idli. The dish sparked conversation on Twitter and Instagram about the unusual combination of these two North and South Indian dishes.^[13][14] In September 2020, Vietnam-based Pizza 4P's created unique fusion pizzas in honor of the International Day of Peace. One of these variations was a palak paneer-chapli kebab pizza to symbolize peace between India and Pakistan.^[15][16]