Instant Pot Palak Mushroom
Jan 26, 2021
Palak Mushroom- a simple spinach and mushroom curry which is mildly spiced, is vegan, gluten-free and made in the instant pot!
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Mushrooms cooked in a spiced spinach curry, this Palak Mushroom is an easy one-pot dish which gets done quickly for a weeknight meal.
It is also vegan and gluten-free.
In my house, I cook mushrooms only for myself. Sarvesh will never touch them so whenever I cook them I know that I have to finish the whole thing by myself.
Funny thing that I have a noticed, a lot of vegetarians do not like mushrooms. I think it’s because of the texture, isn’t it? It has kind of a meaty texture so people like my husband who are vegetarians from birth are just not used to the taste.
And of course some people find the taste also weird. I personally love mushrooms, the only type which I am not a huge fan of are portobello mushrooms, they are a bit too meaty in texture so I can’t enjoy them.
But other than that, I love cremini and white mushrooms the most. I also like wild mushrooms like chanterelle especially in risotto, so yum!
The other day I got some mushrooms and cooked them with spinach to make this Palak Mushroom curry! It’s an easy recipe and all done in one pot!
This Palak Mushroom
✔is vegan and gluten-free.
✔easy one-pot dish which is great to make on weekdays.
✔pairs well with rice or any other grain.
✔makes a hearty and comforting meal.
✔is perfect for those who are on a low-carb diet as well.
This dish is mildly spiced and finished with cashew cream. The cashews makes the curry thick and give it that little sweet taste which perfectly balances out the spinach.
Ingredients
This recipe has the usual ingredients that we use often to make Indian curries.
Spinach (palak): spinach forms the base of this curry. I like to use baby spinach from Trader Joe’s but you can definitely use regular spinach as well.
You can also use a mix of greens if you would like some turnip, collards etc. with spinach.
Mushrooms: I have used white mushrooms here which I sliced for the recipe. Since we pressure cook them, I like to keep the slices a little thick.
You can use cremini mushrooms as well but I prefer white ones for Indian recipes.
Tomatoes & onion: as in many Indian curries, they form the base of the masala. I like to blend the tomatoes with spinach, ginger, garlic and chili and then use in the recipe.
You can use can of diced tomatoes as well if that’s what you have on hand, I just prefer fresh.
Garlic-ginger: fresh ginger and garlic is used in the recipe. The garlic is used twice, first in the puree along with the spinach and then some of it is chopped and sautéed in the oil.
I love the flavor of garlic with spinach and I use extra garlic here.
Spices: to flavor the curry, coriander powder, garam masala, turmeric and red chili powder is used. There’s also kasuri methi for that nice aroma.
If you want to tone down the spices further, just skip on the red chili powder.
Lemon juice: I always prefer finishing spinach based curries with a squeeze of lemon juice. It elevates the flavors and also helps in absorption of the nutrients from the spinach.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use cream in this dish?
Yes, if you want you can skip the cashews and in stead add 2 tablespoons of heavy cream to the recipe. Though it won’t be vegan then.
You can also use coconut milk in place of cashew cream, I would probably add 1/4 cup of it and see.
Can I use any other veggies to this dish?
Yes, sure. You can add potatoes here and carrots and peas. They will also work.
What do I serve it with?
With rice or quinoa or with a bread like roti or naan.
How to make it on stove-top?
Please check the recipe card below. It has stove-top instructions as well.
Method
1- Soak cashews in hot water for 15-20 minutes while you work on rest of the recipe.
2- To a blender, add the washed spinach leaves along with chopped tomato, 3 garlic cloves, 1-inch ginger and 1 green chili.
3- Add little water and blend to a smooth paste. I added around 1/4 cup (2 oz) water here to help it blend. Set this aside.
4- Press the saute button on the Instant Pot, once it displays hot, add the oil and then add the bay leaf and add the remaining 2 garlic cloves (chopped). Saute for 30 seconds or so until garlic starts changing color.
5- Then add the chopped onion and cook for 3 to 4 minutes until the onions soften.
6- Add the pureed spinach-tomato-ginger-garlic paste to the pot now and give a stir.
7- Then add the spices- coriander powder, garam masala, turmeric and red chili powder. Also add the salt and cook the spices for 30 seconds.
8- Add in the sliced mushrooms, and then add 1/2 cup (4 oz) water and stir.
9- Close the pot with the lid and press the manual or pressure cook button. Cook on high pressure for 4 minutes with the pressure valve in the sealing position.
Let the pressure release naturally for 5 minutes and then release the remaining pressure manually.
10- Meanwhile, drain the water from the soaked cashews and then transfer them to a blender along with 3-4 tablespoons water and blend to a smooth cashew paste.
11- Once the pressure is released manually after 5 minutes, open the lid and then add in the prepared cashew paste and stir. You can press sauté and let the curry simmer for 1 minutes on sauté after adding the cashew paste.
12- Add in the crushed kasuri methi and stir. Finally squeeze in some fresh lemon juice.
Enjoy palak mushroom with roti or rice!
If you’ve tried this Palak Mushroom Recipe then don’t forget to rate the recipe! You can also follow me on Facebook and Instagram to see what’s latest in my kitchen!
More Indian Spinach Recipes
Mixed Vegetables Spinach Curry
Instant Pot Palak Mushroom
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup whole cashews raw & unsalted, 37 grams, soaked in hot water
- 340 grams spinach I used two 6 oz baby spinach bags
- 1 large tomato 178 grams or 2 medium tomatoes, quartered
- 5 large garlic cloves divided, 3 whole and 2 chopped
- 1 inch ginger roughly chopped
- 1 green chili
- 3/4 cup water 6 oz, or as needed, divided
- 8 oz white mushrooms sliced
- 1 medium red onion 160 grams, chopped
- 1 tablespoon oil 15 ml, I used avocado oil
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/4 teaspoon red chili powder skip for less heat
- 1/2-3/4 teaspoon salt adjust to taste
- 1 teaspoon kasuri methi crushed, dried fenugreek leaves
- lemon juice to taste
Instructions
- Soak cashews in hot water for 15-20 minutes while you work on rest of the recipe.
- To a blender, add the washed spinach leaves along with chopped tomato, 3 garlic cloves, 1-inch ginger and 1 green chili.Add little water and blend to a smooth paste. I added around 1/4 cup (2 oz) water here to help it blend. Set this aside.
- Press the saute button on the Instant Pot, once it displays hot, add the oil and then add the bay leaf and add the remaining 2 garlic cloves (chopped). Saute for 30 seconds or so until garlic starts changing color.
- Then add the chopped onion and cook for 3 to 4 minutes until the onions soften.
- Add the pureed spinach-tomato-ginger-garlic paste to the pot now and give a stir.Then add the spices- coriander powder, garam masala, turmeric and red chili powder. Also add the salt and cook the spices for 30 seconds.
- Add in the sliced mushrooms, and then add 1/2 cup (4 oz) water and stir. Close the pot with the lid and press the manual or pressure cook button. Cook on high pressure for 4 minutes with the pressure valve in the sealing position.Let the pressure release naturally for 5 minutes and then release the remaining pressure manually.
- Meanwhile, drain the water from the soaked cashews and then transfer them to a blender along with 3-4 tablespoons water and blend to a smooth cashew paste.
- Once the pressure is released manually after 5 minutes, open the lid and then add in the prepared cashew paste and stir. You can press sauté and let the curry simmer for 1 minutes on sauté after adding the cashew paste. You can adjust the consistency of the curry at this point if you want and add more water.
- Add in the crushed kasuri methi and stir. Finally squeeze in some fresh lemon juice. Enjoy palak mushroom with roti or rice!
Stove-top Instructions
- Follow the same steps by soaking cashews. Blanch the spinach first for 2-3 minutes until the leaves wilt and then transfer it to a blender along with tomatoes, 3 garlic, ginger, green chili and blend to a paste. Heat a pan on medium heat, add oil and then follow the same steps until cooking the onions. Then add the sliced mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms dry out (they will release a lot of moisture initially). Then add the pureed spinach-tomato mixture and the spices. Stir for 1 minute. Then add 1/2 cup water (or as needed) and cover and cook for 6 to 7 minutes on medium-low heat. Add cashew cream, kasuri methi and lemon juice finally and serve.
Notes
- If you want you can add coconut milk or heavy cream here as well in place of cashew cream. I would probably add 1/4 cup of coconut milk or 2-3 tablespoons of heavy cream in place of the cashew cream.
- You can add veggies like potato, carrots here.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
A very pleasant surprise and easy to make! Didn’t expect this much flavour from a ‘schroom dish but my wife and I enjoyed very much. Served with your Dal Fry (https://www.cookwithmanali.com/dal-fry/) and rice. Thanks, Manali, for another winner!
Growing up I once had Dhingary/Mushroom curry at a wedding celebration dinner.
At the age of 80, my mouth still waters at the thought of it.
Dhingary is dried King Oyster mushroom from northern India, mainly what is
now Pakistan. Have not been able to find dried king oyster mushrooms in Indian/Pakistani grocery stores her in the West. I have just bought fresh king oyster
mushrooms in a Chinese store.
Plan to use your recipe Manali, to cook it. Being a non-vegetarian even then, I remember the taste. Dhingary tasted like goat meat with spinach, which I was used
to, but dhingray tasted even better that meat.
My guess is that the masala used in the recipe was the same as goat meat/palak.
Will write to let you know how your recipe turned out with king oyster mushrooms.
Could I use shiitake mushrooms for this?
sure
This was fantastic and I can’t wait to try it again with the experience I gained creating it. It was a party of flavors in my mouth!
awesome!
Can I make this with tofu or will the tofu dissolve in the IP?
it will work, use extra-firm tofu