Palak Mushroom

Palak Mushroom is a healthy and delicious dish of sauteed button mushrooms and aromatics in a creamy spinach sauce. Loaded with the goodness of spinach and mushrooms you are sure to like this dish. Make it for a hearty weekend lunch or dinner to mop it with some soft roti, crispy paratha or enjoy it with fragrant cumin rice.

Leafy spinach and earthy mushrooms pair very well in most dishes. I try to add both of them while making pasta, noodles, soups etc.

Palak mushroom can be made in various ways. My recipe of palak mushroom is a variant of the popular Palak Paneer. You can say it is like having Palak Paneer with the paneer replaced with button mushrooms.

This is an easy flavorful recipe that tastes good. You will need to blanch the spinach and make the puree. You can also use frozen spinach or baby spinach to make this recipe.

I love to include greens in my diet. Fenugreek, spinach and amaranth are my favorite greens to experiment. I try various combinations of these greens like:

• Aloo palak
• Dal Palak
• Methi chaman
• Methi paneer

If you want to make a vegan version of palak mushroom then either omit the cream or add coconut cream. With coconut cream the taste and flavor will change. But it will still be delicious.

This palak mushroom goes well with rotis, naan, paratha or steamed basmati rice. Here I served with palak mushroom with homemade whole wheat naan.

How to make Palak Mushroom

1. Rinse the palak or spinach leaves (250 grams) very well in running water using a colander or strainer. Drain all the water.

Just chop the leaves roughly and keep them aside. 250 grams spinach gives about 5 cups of roughly chopped spinach.

Ensure that you are using fresh and tender leaves. If the stems are stringy or fibrous then don’t use them. However, if the stems are tender then you can use them.

2. Boil 3 cups of water in a pan or microwave or electric heater. If using an electric heater, then pour the hot water into a bowl. Add ¼ teaspoon salt to the hot water and stir.

3. Then add the spinach leaves into the hot water. Close with a lid and let the spinach leaves sit in the water for 2 to 3 minutes. Strain the leaves and set aside.

4. Immediately add the strained spinach leaves to a bowl containing cold water. To get cold water add 8 to 10 ice cubes in 3 cups of water. Allow the spinach leaves to be in the cold water for a minute or two. Then strain the leaves again.

5. Now add the spinach leaves in a blender or grinder along with 1 roughly chopped green chili, 1 inch ginger (chopped) and 1 or 2 garlic cloves (chopped).

6. Blend to a smooth puree. No need to add water while blending. Keep the spinach puree aside.

Making palak mushroom

7. In a pan or kadai or wok heat 2 tablespoons of oil. You can use any neutral-flavored oil.

Then add the following whole spices and saute for some seconds till the spices become fragrant.

• ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 inch cinnamon
• 2 green cardamoms
• 3 to 4 cloves
• 1 tej patta (Indian bay leaf)
• 1 black cardamom

8. Then add ½ cup finely chopped onions.

9. Saute stirring often till the onions start becoming golden.

10. Then add 1 teaspoon finely chopped ginger and 1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic. Saute for some seconds or till their raw aroma goes away.

11. Now add ½ cup finely chopped tomatoes.

12. Saute the tomatoes stirring often till they soften completely and you see oil releasing from the sides of the mixture. Takes about 2 to 3 minutes on low to medium heat.

13. Add 2 cups chopped or sliced button mushrooms.

14. Stir and mix them well.

15. When sauteing the mushrooms, in the beginning, you will see them releasing a lot of water.

16. Continue to saute till all the water dries up and the mushrooms start turning light golden around the edges.

17. Add 1 teaspoon crushed kasuri methi (dry fenugreek leaves). Stir and mix again.

If you don’t have kasuri methi then skip adding it.

18. Next add ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder, ½ teaspoon teaspoon chili powder and ¼ teaspoon garam masala powder.

19. Stir and mix very well again so that the ground spices get incorporated evenly in the mushroom mixture.

20. Add the spinach puree.

21. Stir and mix again.

22. Now add ⅔ to ¾ cup water. You can adjust the amount of water as required depending upon the consistency you want in the dish.

23. Season with salt as required.

24. Stir and bring the curry to a simmer on low to medium heat for 6 to 7 minutes.

25. Now add 2 to 3 tablespoons of light or low-fat cream. If using heavy whipping cream add 1 to 2 tablespoons.

26. Stir the gravy very well so that the cream is mixed evenly in it and then switch off the heat. Check the taste and add more salt or garam masala powder if required.

27. Serve palak mushroom hot or warm with some roti, naan, tandoori roti, paratha or with rice dishes like steamed basmati rice, Jeera Rice, biryani rice or Veg Pulao.

It makes for a healthy meal when served with a side of roti or brown rice.

More tasty Spinach Recipes

Palak Recipes (Spinach Recipes)

Aloo Palak | How to make Aloo Palak Curry

Soup Recipes

Spinach Soup Recipe (Palak Soup)

Palak Recipes (Spinach Recipes)

Spinach Wraps (Spinach Rolls)

No Onion No Garlic Recipes

Jain Palak Paneer

Please be sure to rate the recipe in the recipe card or leave a comment below if you have made it. For more vegetarian inspirations, Sign Up for my emails or follow me on Instagram, Youtube, Facebook, Pinterest or Twitter.

This Palak Mushroom post from the archives (July 2013) has been republished and updated on 27 September 2021.