Saag Paneer

Ok Paneer! Let’s do this! I’ve never cooked with paneer before, so when a friend offered us some because they had extra, I didn’t hesitate!

There are so many recipes out there with paneer, but I thought it was best to start with a classic. There is something so comforting about the fragrant and spicy spinach curry sauce that it’s hard to not spoon it straight out of the pan. I made a recipe for 4 which we managed to finish off with just the 2 of us, oops!

Today I served it with steamed cumin white rice, but pappadums or naan would have gone great with it as well, for that extra bite. All in all this is quite a simple recipe, you can have it on the table within 30-40 minutes. Recipe for the Saag inspired by @harighotra and the recipe for the paneer inspired by @foodandwine . Thanks @sybillance and @polagreg for the paneer!

Saag Paneer

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Dinner Indian
Serves: 2-4
Prep Time: 20 Cooking Time: 30 Total Time: 50 minutes

Ingredients

  • Spinach
  • 1 tbsp butter / 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 750g baby spinach, washed (or 600 g frozen spinach, see notes)
  • 1-2 green or red chillies, roughly chopped
  • Masala
  • 1 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 tbsp cumin seeds
  • 1 large white onion, chopped
  • 1-2 tsp salt to taste
  • 3 cloves garlic, sliced
  • 3 cm fresh ginger, sliced
  • 1 tomato, roughly chopped
  • 1.5 tbsp dried fenugreek leaves
  • 1 tbsp garam masala
  • 1 maggi stock cube (optional)
  • Paneer
  • 2 tbsp ghee
  • 2 tsp turmeric
  • 2 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 450g paneer, cut into 3cm cubes
  • To serve:
  • Chili flakes (optional)
  • 1 tbsp Melted Ghee (optional)
  • Steamed white rice, pappadums and/or naan

Instructions

Saag

1

Heat butter or oil in a pan and sauté the spinach until just starting to wilt.

2

Transfer the spinach to a mixer and add the chili's.

3

Blitz this into a smooth paste and set aside.

Paneer

4

Melt the ghee, whisk in with the turmeric, chilli powder and salt, then add the cubed paneer and toss well. Set aside.

5

Fry the paneer in a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat for around 8 mins, tossing the pan so they become golden all over.

6

Remove and set aside on a plate, leaving spices behind in the pan.

Masala

7

In the same pan add a bit of extra oil and the cumin seeds, toast until fragrant.

8

Add chopped onions and sauté on low heat for 2 minutes until translucent and fragrant.

9

Add the salt and garlic and let cook on low heat for ± 5 minutes until soft.

10

Stir in the tomatoes, ginger and dried fenugreek leaves.

11

Add the garam masala and stir through.

12

Increase the heat, add a splash of water and create a thick paste.

13

When sauce has come together add the spinach and crumble in the maggi cube (if using), bring to a simmer.

14

Reduce heat and let simmer for a few minutes until you have a thick gravy (if it seems too dry add a drop of water).

15

Add the paneer, gently stir and warm through, 2-3 minutes.

16

In a small pan melt a tablespoon of ghee and add a teaspoon of chili flakes. Let bubble for a few seconds.

17

Serve with steamed white rice and drizzle the hot ghee over the saag paneer, it will sizzle a bit.

Notes

Frozen spinach works great as well! Defrost the spinach in a colander so the excess water can leak out. When defrosted blitz it in a blender together with the chili as mentioned above).

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