Saag Paneer – vegetarian spinach curry

One of my favorite Indian dishes is Saag Paneer: a vegetarian creamy spinach curry with crispy cheese cubes. A delicious and healthy meal, that is so easy to make at home!

Perfect in the winter months as we can use seasonal products and make a warming and comforting meal, packed with vitamins.

If paneer is not available to you, you can use potatoes, cauliflower, chickpeas, tofu or any other vegetable. Or make your own paneer! It only takes 2 liters of milk, vinegar, and a cheesecloth!

Don’t get intimidated by the long list of ingredients needed to cook saag paneer, most of them are spices and herbs!

Ingredients:

• 4 Tbsp Coconut oil
• 350 g Paneer, cubed (or homemade with 2 liters of milk)
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 Tbsp ginger, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 chili (or less, go with your spicy tolerance), finely chopped
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1/4 tsp chili powder
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 2 tsp salt
• 150 ml tomatoes sauce
• 2 Tbsp fresh coriander, chopped
• 2 Tbsp fresh chives, chopped
• 1 Tbsp Kasuri Methi (fenugreek) – optional
• 1 Tbsp Dill, finely chopped
• 450 g chopped frozen spinach, defrosted
• 3/4 tsp garam masala powder
• 150 ml cream

Instructions:

1. In a small pan heat up 2 Tbsp of coconut oil (or any other oil of your choice) and fry the paneer until crispy on all sides. Do so in batches and put the fried ones on some kitchen paper to dry a little.
2. Put 2 Tbsp of coconut oil (or other) in a pot and heat it up, add the cumin seeds (1tsp) and let them release their aroma.
3. Now pour in the chopped onion, ginger (1Tbsp), garlic (2) and chilli (a whole one for a lot of heat, half for good heat, omit for mild flavour) and let everything cook, add a little water if necessary.
4. Time to use the spices: add coriander powder (1tsp), chilli powder (1/4tsp), turmeric (1/4tsp) and salt (2tsp) and mix well together.
5. Pour in the tomato sauce (150ml) and let it all come together.
6. You can now add all the greens: coriander (2Tbsp), chives (2Tbsp), Kasuri Methi (1Tbsp), Dill, (1 Tbsp) and spinach (450g), mix well and cook for about 10 minutes.
7. At this point you can add the fried paneer, mixing carefully as not to break it.
8. Finish adding 3/4 tsp of garam masala powder and 150 ml of cream.
9. Enjoy with rice and/or naan.

You can round up this meal with some Butter Chicken! Check out all my Indian recipes under Recipes/by country/India

Thanks to Payal from Commune Kitchen for introducing me to the Indian Cuisine and the amazing foodie tours in Little India in Singapore!

Stay tuned! More Indian recipes will follow!