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Palak Gosht Recipe

پالک گوشت بنانے کا طریقہ

Tender mutton in a thick, dark-green spinach masala with a garlic and ghee tarka on top. A winter staple that tastes better the next day.
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Illustration of Palak Gosht

Prep

25 min

Cook

1 hr 25 min

Total

1 hr 50 min

Serves

5

Difficulty

Easy

Spice

Medium hot

Palak gosht is a winter dish, made when spinach is cheap, tender and everywhere. The meat is cooked first in an onion-tomato masala, then a big pile of chopped spinach is added and cooked down until it melts into the gravy and the oil comes back to the surface. A last tarka of garlic in ghee is what makes it taste like home.

Ingredients

5 servings

For 5 servings

Measures

Tarka

Method

  1. Heat the oil in a heavy pot on medium heat and fry the onions until golden.

    ⏱ 8 min

  2. Add the mutton and ginger-garlic paste and fry on high heat until the meat changes colour and its water dries.

    ⏱ 8 min

  3. Add the tomatoes, salt, red chilli powder, coriander powder and turmeric and bhuno until the oil separates.

    ⏱ 8 min

  4. Add the hot water, cover and simmer on low heat until the mutton is almost tender.

    ⏱ 40 min

  5. Add the chopped spinach and green chillies in handfuls; it wilts down fast. Cover and cook on medium heat until the spinach is soft and has released its water.

    ⏱ 10 min

  6. Uncover, mash the spinach a little with the back of the spoon and bhuno on medium-high heat until the water dries, the colour darkens and oil comes back to the surface. Stir in the kasuri methi and garam masala.

    ⏱ 12 min

  7. For the tarka, heat the ghee in a small pan, add the cumin, garlic and dry red chillies and fry until the garlic is light golden. Pour it over the palak gosht straight away and cover for a minute before serving.

    ⏱ 2 min

Tips for the best result

  • Wash spinach in a sink full of water two or three times, lifting it out each time so the grit stays behind.
  • For a smoother, restaurant-style palak, blanch the spinach for 2 minutes and pulse it coarsely before adding.

Common mistakes

  • Stopping before the spinach has been fried down. Watery palak gosht tastes grassy; keep going until the oil shows again.
  • Adding the spinach with raw meat. By the time the mutton is tender the spinach is grey and bitter.

How to serve

Serve with hot roti or naan and some raita.

Storing and reheating

Keeps 3 days in the fridge and up to 1 month in the freezer. Add a splash of water when reheating.

Nutrition and cost

Worked out from the ingredients, not measured in a lab. Treat both as a rough guide.

Per serving Estimate

Calories
730kcal
Protein
32g
Fat
61g
Carbs
18g
Fibre
6.8g
Sodium
1190mg

Estimated from USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy (April 2018), public domain values for the raw ingredients (100% of the recipe by weight had data). Deep-frying oil is counted at 20%; bones and water lost in cooking are not subtracted, so bone-in and fried dishes can read high. Not medical advice. Method

Cost per servingEstimate

≈ Rs 395

Whole dish ≈ Rs 1,970 · 56% of ingredients by weight priced

From the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics weekly SPI, week ended 29 Oct 2026. Spices, herbs and some vegetables are not in the SPI and are left out unless you add your price, so the real cost is a little higher. How this works

Palak Gosht: questions people ask

Can I use frozen spinach for palak gosht?

Yes. Use about 500 g frozen chopped spinach, thaw it, squeeze out some water and add it at the same stage. It needs less cooking than fresh.

Why is my palak gosht bitter?

Overcooked spinach and old, thick stems both turn bitter. Remove the stems, add the spinach only once the meat is nearly done, and finish with a garlic tarka.

Serve it with, and similar recipes

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Read this recipe in Urdu: پالک گوشت بنانے کا طریقہ

https://handi.danixsoft.com/recipes/palak-gosht · Handi, DanixSoft