Saag Paneer
Creamy, dreamy, and packed with spinachy goodness! 🥬🧀 Saag Paneer is the cosy bowl of comfort you’ve been craving.
Ingredients
- 3 cups spinach blanched chopped (for instructions on how to blanch see recipe)
- 200 grams paneer
- ½ cup fresh mint leaves chopped
- 1 cup fresh coriander chopped
- ½ cup spring onions finely chopped
- ½ cup red onions finely chopped
- ¼ cup ginger garlic paste
- 2 tablespoons dried fenugreek leaves
- 2 tablespoons garam masala
- 2 tablespoons tomato purée
- 1 tablespoon black pepper powder
- 1 tablespoon chopped green chilli
- ½ lemon zest and juice
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar or honey
- 2 tablespoons butter
- ¼ cup cream
- 1 tablespoon ghee
- Salt to taste
For Tempering (optional)
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 8-10 curry leaves
- 1 dried red chilli cut into 3-4 pieces
- 2 tablespoons ghee
Instructions
To blanch the spinach
- Put the uncooked spinach leaves in a pot of boiling water for a few minutes until the colour darkens.
- Remove from the heat, strain and immediately submerge into a bowl of cold water (ice water preferred)
For the Curry
- Purée 3 cups blanched spinach, 1/2 cup fresh mint leaves, 1 cup fresh coriander, 1 tablespoon chopped green chilli. To help it blend you can add 1-2 tablespoons of water.
- In a non stick pan on medium heat, add cubes of paneer and some cooking oil and lightly brown the paneer.
- In a fresh non-stick pan on medium heat, add 1 tablespoon ghee. Once hot add 1/2 cup each of chopped spring onions and red onions and 1/4 cup ginger garlic paste. Sauté for 30 seconds. Add in 1 tablespoons dried fenugreek leaves, 2 tablespoons tomato purée, 2 tablespoons garam masala, 1 tablespoon black pepper powder and 2 tablespoons brown sugar or honey.
- Sauté until the onions are translucent.
- Cook for another few minutes until the onions slightly caramelise.
- If you want a smooth finish, purée the onion mixture, but if you want a chunkier finish leave this as it is.
- In the same pan, turn the heat to low and add the spinach purée into the onion mix. Stir well for 2 minutes. Add in the browned paneer cubes and mix, stirring for another 2 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon fenugreek leaves, 2 tablespoons butter and the zest and juice from 1/2 lemon. Mix in for another 30 seconds.
- Turn off the heat and mix in 1/4 cup cream.
- Serve hot or leave for half an hour for the paneer to absorb all the flavours.
Optional Tempering Spices for finishing
- Two minutes before you’re ready to eat, in a small saucepan on high heat melt 2 tablespoons ghee, add 1 teaspoon mustard seeds and 1 teaspoon cumin seeds.
- Once it starts to splutter add 8-10 curry leaves, 1 dried red chilli cut into 3-4 pieces.
- Once the curry leaves stop spluttering, swirl quickly for 5 seconds and immediately pour over the palak paneer curry.
- Serve and enjoy