Saag Paneer

I can’t remember when my love affair with Saag started but I don’t think I could quite imagine my life without this creamy green goodness. Universally loved by meat eaters and vegetarians alike and it’s really easy to see why this classic Indian favourite packs serious flavour. Simplistic in concept, saag means spinach or leafy greens in Punjabi and paired with paneer it’s flavour matrimony bliss.

Paneer is a flavour carrying Indian cheese which in itself it easy enough to make. All that is required is milk, lemon juice and a cheesecloth although it’s also readily available to buy in most supermarkets. I prefer making my own because you’re getting on at the ground floor and can infuse the cheese with even more flavour but home made paneer does tend to be softer than shop bought and sometimes crumbles into the saag. Still deliciously tasty, but losing the aesthetic of well seasoned and seared paneer cube in a sea of beautiful green saag.

For the sake of ease and visual appeal we’ll follow this recipe with the shop bought variety. There’s also some debate over fresh vs frozen spinach and for this I consulted my flavour Sherpa and good friend Bali. I would ordinarily always favour fresh, except I think most supermarket stock Baby leaf spinach and for this recipe mature spinach stocks are preferred. The younger leaves tend to have more water and less structural integrity which results in mush. So if you’re fortunate enough to live in close proximity to fresh mature spinach, by all means go ahead but in terms of practically and accessibility I am going to champion frozen spinach this time round as recommend by Bali and the ladies of Glasgow Gurdwara, and those ladies know their stuff.

Disclaimer : please avoid tinned variety at all costs, unless you mean to inflict pain on your unwitting diners.


  • 45 minutes
  • Easy
  • 4

    • Ingredients

    • 500g Spinach
    • 4 tbsp Vegetable Oil
    • 1 tsp Cumin Seeds
    • 1 Large Onion, diced
    • 1 Red Chilli, diced
    • Fresh Ginger, 3cm piece grated and peeled
    • 4 Garlic Cloves, Crushed
    • 2 tsp Garam Masala
    • 1 tsp Ground Coriander
    • 1/4 tsp Fenugreek
    • 1/4 tsp Ground Black Pepper
    • 1/4 Sea Salt
    • 4 tbsp Tomato Passata
    • 2 tbsp Creme Fraiche
    • Small bunch of Coriander, chopped

    • 1 tbsp Vegetable Oil
    • Paneer, cubed
    • 1/2 tsp Garam Masala
    • 1/4 Chilli Powder
    • 1/4 Cumin
    • 1/4 Sea Salt
    • 1/4 Ground Black Pepper

    Method

    Step 1

    Blanche the spinach and set aside for later.

    Step 2

    Add oil to a large saute pan. Toast cumin seeds for 30 seconds, until fragrant. Add onions, chilli, garlic and ginger. Season with spices to make flavour base. Cook until onions are translucent.

    Step 3

    Add the passata and spinach. Mix well together. Cover with lid and reduce heat, allow to simmer and darken in colour.

    Step 4

    In another pan fry the paneer cubes and season with garam masala, other spices and salt and pepper. Once coloured well add them to the saag.

    Served with chopped coriander.

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