Palak paneer is among the most popular dishes across the country is Palak paneer, prepared in creamy and spicy spinach gravy, with cottage cheese. While the leafy greens and cottage cheese may lead you to believe that this dish is healthy, don't be fooled by it, as most restaurants mess up the preparation of the dish by either adding unhealthy ingredients or following unhealthy preparation techniques that make the dish unhealthy.
The ingredients:
As mentioned above, this dish is made with spinach gravy, spices, and cottage cheese, which in itself, is extremely healthy. However, most restaurants mess up this dish by adding things such as butter, cream, and oil, frying the paneer in refined oil, and some are known to even add flour to thicken the gravy.
Carbohydrates:
The dish contains just 16 grams of carbohydrates or 64 Kcal, most of which are from the paneer itself, and the 3 grams of fiber come from spinach. From a carbohydrate perspective, it is pretty low.
Fats:
This dish, by no means, is low on calories, as it contains 26 grams of fat or 234 Kcal, mostly derived from the paneer, added cream, butter, and vegetable oil that's used to fry the paneer and that goes into the preparation of the dish. In fact, 64% of the dish's calories come from fats alone.
Protein:
The dish does contain a fair amount of protein at 16 grams per serving, all of which is derived from paneer, which is a good source of protein, albeit not lean.
The verdict:
While Palak paneer may not be the unhealthiest dish that we've covered on our website, it is quite heavy on the belly. If you do want to enjoy this from time to time, then we recommend that you prepare it at home, as you will have complete control over the quality and quantity of ingredients used.
Questions?