Saag Paneer is one of my favorite vegetable dishes. It’s an Indian recipe I’ve been making for about four or five years now, and every time I make it, someone asks me for the recipe.
The word “saag” refers to any Indian dish made with leafy greens, such as spinach, mustard greens, collards, or basella. “Paneer” is a fresh cheese made in many South Asian countries, including India. It’s incredibly easy to make yourself, but you can also usually find it at the grocery store. It’s made with milk, lemon juice or vinegar (an acid), and a smidgen of salt.
The acid of the lemon juice or vinegar is used to separate the milk into curds and whey. Next, you would strain the whey (which you can reserve and use in smoothies!) and then press the curds into a solid block of cheese.
The awesome part about paneer is that even though it’s a soft cheese, it won’t melt in a warm dish, which is why for this recipe, we will cut it into 1/2 inch cubes and evenly distribute it throughout the dish.
The reason I’m posting this recipe tonight is because I got a sweet text from my aunt Cris out in Seattle that requesting the recipe for her overflow of spinach in her fridge! Truth be told, I should have posted this long ago! I’ve texted this recipe to friends so many times, that I should have just typed it up and put it on the blog for you all to enjoy as well. My apologies for my tardiness!
The fact that I’ve been able to text it though, should be a testament to how simple it is. So without further ado, let’s get to it.
SERVES 4
Ingredients:
2 large bunches of spinach
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp fenugreek seeds
3 TBSP butter
1 large onion, minced
1 large tomato, diced
8 garlic cloves, minced
2 inches ginger, grated or minced
2 tsp garam masala
16 oz. paneer, cubed
Step 1, The long way
Blanch the spinach in boiling water for 2 minutes, then refresh in cold water, drain, finely chop, and set aside.
Step 1, The short way
Finely chop the spinach and set aside.
Step 2
In a large skillet or frying pan, dry roast the cumin, coriander, and fenugreek on low heat until aromatic.
Step 3
Add the oil to the pan, increase heat to medium-low, and add the minced onion and garlic. Fry until brown and aromatic.
Step 4
Add the diced tomato, ginger, and garam masala. Bring to a simmer—throw in a pinch or two of salt—then add the spinach.
Step 5
Simmer until the liquid has reduced. Our goal here is just to reduce the liquid of the tomato without completely evaporating of all of it.
Step 6
Turn off the heat and gently fold in the paneer and salt to taste.
Enjoy!
- 2 large bunches of spinach
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp fenugreek seeds
- 3 TBSP butter
- 1 large onion, minced
- 1 large tomato, diced
- 8 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 inches ginger, grated or minced
- 2 tsp garam masala
- 16 oz. paneer, cubed
- (Step 1, The long way)Blanch the spinach in boiling water for 2 minutes, then refresh in cold water, drain, finely chop, and set aside.
- (Step 1, The short way) Finely chop the spinach and set aside.
- In a large skillet or frying pan, dry roast the cumin, coriander, and fenugreek on low heat until aromatic.
- Add the oil to the pan, increase heat to medium-low, and add the minced onion and garlic. Fry until brown and aromatic.
- Add the diced tomato, ginger, and garam masala. Bring to a simmer---throw in a pinch or two of salt---then add the spinach.
- Simmer until the liquid has reduced. Our goal here is just to reduce the liquid of the tomato without completely evaporating of all of it.
- Turn off the heat and gently fold in the paneer and salt to taste.
- Enjoy!
