SAAG PANEER

Saag paneer is a classic Indian dish made with lightly fried paneer cubes cooked in pureed spinach and fenugreek leaves. Thickened with cream this saag paneer makes a hearty and filling vegetarian meal. You can also substitute cream with thick coconut milk.

Quite often my friends have asked me the difference between palak paneer and saag paneer. Now let’s get this cleared…..While palak paneer is solely made with ‘palak’ aka spinach as the only green, saag is made with a number of greens such as spinach, fenugreek, mustard, kale, turnip greens etc.

This dish is rich in calcium and folate from the spinach and is gluten free too. Saag paneer makes a perfect combination with rice, rotis, naan bread.

Now, let’s start with this dish prep….

Ingredients

• 2 bunches Spinach, roughly chopped
• 1 bunch Fenugreek leaves, roughly chopped
• 3 tbsps. Sunflower oil
• ½ pound Paneer, cubed
• 1 Green chilli, chopped
• 1 tsp. Cumin seeds
• 1 Onion, thinly sliced
• 1 tsp. grated fresh ginger
• 3 cloves Garlic, minced
• 1 Tomato, diced
• 2 tsps. Garam masala
• ½ tsp. Turmeric powder
• ½ tsp. Cayenne pepper
• ½ cup heavy Whipping cream
• Salt, to taste

Method

• Bring a large saucepan of water to boil. Cook spinach and fenugreek leaves in the boiling water until wilted, this will take about 3 minutes. Drain well and transfer to a food processor. Puree well, about 5 pulses.
• Heat a tablespoon of sunflower oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Fry paneer cubes, stirring constantly, until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes. Set the fried paneer cubes aside.
• Again heat 2 tablespoons of sunflower oil in the skillet and fry the cumin seeds until lightly toasted and aromatic, about 3 minutes. Add the sliced onion; cook and stir until onion begins to soften, this takes about 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in ginger, garlic, green chilli, tomato, garam masala, turmeric powder and cayenne pepper; cook and stir until tomatoes break down and onions are translucent, about 10 minutes.
• Stir in spinach and fenugreek, cream, paneer cubes, and salt to taste. Cover and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Tasty saag paneer is ready to serve!