Punjab, India
Saag Paneer
Punjabi spinach-and-fresh-cheese curry — the vegetarian Indian dish most often quoted, often misnamed *palak paneer*.
In repertoire since Sep 2025
Saag means mixed greens.
The dish gets called *palak paneer* (spinach-paneer) almost everywhere outside India, and *palak paneer* is a perfectly valid name — but *saag* technically means mixed greens, and the Punjabi original used whatever was in season: spinach, mustard greens, fenugreek leaves, amaranth. The international restaurant version flattens this to pure spinach. Both work. The mixed version has more depth.
2 · Plant
Then, the plants.
Each ingredient held water and minerals, built sugar out of light over weeks or months, ripened, and was picked. A few ingredients (salt, water) came from a different elemental story.
- Ingredient
Fresh spinach
800 g fresh spinach, stems trimmed
Yes, this much — it cooks down to almost nothing. Frozen spinach (500 g) works as a backup but the colour and texture are duller.
Origin not yet authored
- Ingredient
Mustard greens
200 g mustard greens or kale (optional — *saag* technically means mixed greens)
Origin not yet authored
- Ingredient
Paneer
300 g paneer, cut into 2.5 cm cubes
Indian fresh non-melting cheese. Cottage cheese is not a substitute — the texture and behaviour are wrong.
Origin not yet authored
- Ingredient
Ghee
3 tbsp ghee (or oil)
Origin not yet authored
- Ingredient
Cumin seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
Origin not yet authored
- Ingredient
Yellow onion
1 large yellow onion, finely diced
Origin not yet authored
- Ingredient
Ginger
Thumb of ginger, finely minced
Origin not yet authored
- Ingredient
Green chiles
2 green chiles, minced
Origin not yet authored
- Ingredient
Garam masala
1.5 tsp garam masala
Origin not yet authored
- Ingredient
Ground coriander
1 tsp ground coriander
Origin not yet authored
- Ingredient
Kashmiri chili powder
1 tsp Kashmiri chili powder
Origin not yet authored
- Ingredient
Heavy cream
80 ml heavy cream
Origin not yet authored
- Ingredient
Kasuri methi
1 tsp kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves), crushed
Origin not yet authored
3 · Cook
Then, the kitchen.
Heat, time, salt, fat, acid — the recipe that turns the ingredients into something more than their sum.
4 · Plate
Punjab, India
Saag Paneer
Punjabi spinach-and-fresh-cheese curry — the vegetarian Indian dish most often quoted, often misnamed *palak paneer*.
The vegetarian Indian dish most likely to be on any international Indian restaurant’s menu, and the one most often distorted in adaptation. Restaurant versions tend to be thinner, smoother, and more cream-heavy than the home original — the dish should have visible texture from the chopped greens and the cream should be a finish, not the body.
Among Indian vegetarian dishes, saag paneer is also a useful gateway: the technique (blanch-purée-temper-simmer-paneer-finish) extends to dozens of related curries — palak chaat, palak dal, saag mushroom, baby spinach with chana. Learning saag paneer well teaches you the whole green-curry register of North Indian cooking.
Blanch and shock.
The vibrant green colour depends on it. Spinach simmered without blanching first turns army-green within fifteen minutes. Blanch in salted water 60 seconds, plunge into ice water, then squeeze and purée. The colour is the dish's signature.