Hello foodies! Welcome to Naiya's Kitchen.👩🏻🍳😊
If you think you’ve seen every possible avatar of spinach and cheese, get ready to flip everything you know about classic comforting curries. Today, we’re bringing the smoky, buttery magic of roadside Indian dhabas straight to your kitchen with a show-stopping twist: Dhaba-Style Ulta Palak Paneer. Instead of the usual routine of dropping paneer cubes into a smooth green puree, we’re completely reversing the formula—starting with a fiery, garlic-forward onion-tomato gravy infused with tender spinach, and finishing with a generous shower of freshly grated paneer melted directly into the hot, bubbling sauce. It’s richer, texture-packed, utterly irresistible, and guaranteed to turn a humble weeknight meal into a roadside feast worth going back to for seconds.
Give this flavorful dish a try for your next weekend family dinner or special meal, served hot alongside butter-brushed garlic naans or steaming jeera rice. If you re-create this Dhaba-Style Ulta Palak Paneer at home, don't forget to snap a photo, leave a rating in the comments below, and tag your creation on social media so we can share the food love!
Enjoy cooking 😋👩🏻🍳
Preparation time - 10 to 15 minutes
Cooking time - 15 to 20 minutes
Serves - 3 person
Ingredients to make The Ultimate Flip: Dhaba-Style Ulta Palak Paneer (Grated Paneer Twist!):
1 tablespoon oil
1 tablespoon ghee
/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 big onion
6 to 7 cloves of garlic
1/2" piece of ginger
1 big tomato
1 1/2 cup chopped spinach
Salt to taste
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 tablespoon cumin coriander powder
2 to 3 tablespoons Kashmiri red chili powder
1 teaspoon kasuri Method
2 to 3 tablespoons cream
200 grams grated paneer
To serve with:
Roti/Jaan/cha pati
Method to make The Ultimate Flip: Dhaba-Style Ulta Palak Paneer (Grated Paneer Twist!):
- Wash and chop onion, garlic and ginger. I chopped them all in my electric chopper together.
- Wash and chop spinach.
- Wash and chop tomato, again I chopped it in my electric chopper.
- Heat oil and ghee in a wide non stick pan and add cumin seeds to it.
- When they crackles add chopped onion, garlic and ginger to it. Mix well and saute until you see onions are soft.
- Now it’s time to add dry spices to it. Mix well and add cook for a minute. Add chopped tomato to it and cook until they are soft. Add 2 to 3 tablespoons of water to avoid burning of spiced.
- When they are ready add chopped spinach to it and mix well. Let it cook covered for couple of minutes.
- When ready add fresh cream and kasuri methi to it. Mix well.
- Now it’s time to add grated paneer to it. Mix well and add some water to set the consistency. Cook well.
- Our Dhaba Style Ulta Palak Paneer is ready to serve.
Note:
The, The Ultimate Flip: Dhaba-Style Ulta Palak Paneer (Grated Paneer Twist!) looks beautiful without any garnishing as with greens of spinach and red colour of kashmiri red chili powder. It doesn't need any garnishing, you can serve it as it is piping hot with roti, naan, chapati etc.
