Recipe

Saag Paneer

4 servings · prep 15 min · cook 30 min

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• dinner
• indian
• vegetarian

Authored by the maintainer; Punjabi method with a small amount of mustard greens alongside the spinach.

Ingredients

the greens

• 800 g fresh spinach, stems trimmed
• 200 g mustard greens or kale (optional — *saag* technically means mixed greens)

the cheese

• 300 g paneer, cut into 2.5 cm cubes

the cook

• 3 tbsp ghee (or oil)
• Sea salt to taste — Trapani salt pans

the tempering

• 1 tsp cumin seeds

the base

• 1 large yellow onion, finely diced
• 5 cloves garlic, minced — Tropea allium farm
• Thumb of ginger, finely minced
• 2 green chiles, minced

the spices

• 1.5 tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp Kashmiri chili powder

the finish

• 80 ml heavy cream
• 1 tsp kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves), crushed
• Splash of lemon juice (to brighten) — Sicilian citrus orchard

Method

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Blanch the spinach (and mustard greens if using) for 60 seconds. Drain and plunge immediately into ice water — this fixes the green colour. · 1 min
2. Squeeze the greens hard to remove most of the water. Roughly chop, then purée in a food processor with a splash of water until coarse-fine (not a smooth paste — saag should have texture).
3. Pan-fry the paneer cubes in 1 tbsp ghee until golden on at least two sides, 4 minutes. Lift out. · 4 min
4. In the same pan, add remaining ghee. Throw in cumin seeds; they should sizzle and release fragrance, 15 seconds. · 0 min
5. Add onion. Sauté 8 minutes until deep golden — not just translucent. The colour matters. · 8 min
6. Add garlic, ginger, and green chile. Stir 90 seconds. · 2 min
7. Add garam masala, coriander, Kashmiri chili, and 1 tsp salt. Stir 30 seconds.
8. Add the puréed greens with a splash of water. Simmer 8 minutes, stirring, until the saag deepens in colour and the raw smell is gone. · 8 min
9. Add the fried paneer cubes. Stir gently to coat. Simmer 3 minutes more. · 3 min
10. Off heat. Stir in cream and crushed kasuri methi. Squeeze in a splash of lemon. Taste — adjust salt.

Notes

*Saag* in North India technically refers to mixed greens — spinach,
mustard greens, fenugreek, sometimes amaranth. The familiar version
abroad is almost always *palak paneer* (spinach paneer specifically).
Both are correct names, slightly different dishes.

The blanch-and-shock step keeps the green vivid. A saag that goes
army-green has been over-simmered without blanching first; you can
taste fine but you eat with your eyes.

Serve with basmati rice and naan or paratha.