**Discover the Delightful Flavors of Saag Paneer: A Culinary Journey into North Indian Cuisine**
Embark on a culinary adventure to North India and delve into the delectable world of Saag Paneer, a vegetarian dish that tantalizes taste buds with its harmonious blend of flavors. This hearty and flavorful dish features succulent paneer (Indian cottage cheese) nestled in a creamy, vibrant spinach gravy. Saag Paneer is a symphony of textures and tastes, offering a delightful interplay of soft, pillowy paneer and the earthy, slightly bitter notes of spinach. This beloved dish is a staple in many North Indian households and restaurants, enjoyed for its versatility, health benefits, and ability to transport diners to the vibrant streets of India.
**Explore a Treasure Trove of Saag Paneer Recipes:**
1. **Classic Saag Paneer:** Dive into the traditional recipe for Saag Paneer, where fresh spinach, aromatic spices, and creamy tomatoes come together to create a rich and flavorful gravy that perfectly complements the soft paneer cubes.
2. **Saag Paneer with Coconut Milk:** Experience a delightful twist on the classic Saag Paneer with the addition of creamy coconut milk. This variation adds a touch of sweetness and richness to the gravy, creating a velvety and indulgent dish.
3. **Saag Paneer with Roasted Bell Peppers:** Elevate your Saag Paneer with the vibrant flavors of roasted bell peppers. This colorful variation adds a smoky, sweet, and slightly tangy dimension to the dish, making it a delightful sensory experience.
4. **Saag Paneer with Mushrooms:** Indulge in a hearty and umami-packed Saag Paneer enhanced with sautéed mushrooms. The earthy, meaty flavor of mushrooms complements the spinach and paneer beautifully, resulting in a satisfying and flavorful dish.
5. **Saag Paneer with Sweet Corn:** Delight in the vibrant colors and textures of Saag Paneer with sweet corn. This variation adds a touch of sweetness and crunch to the dish, making it a delightful choice for those who enjoy a pop of flavor and texture.
AUTHENTIC SAAG PANEER
Saag paneer is a classic Indian dish of cooked spinach studded with cubes of fried paneer cheese. Thickened with cream or coconut milk, it's a hearty and filling vegetarian meal.
Provided by Allrecipes
Categories World Cuisine Recipes Asian Indian
Time 1h
Yield 4
Number Of Ingredients 15
Steps:
- Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Cook spinach and fenugreek in the boiling water until wilted, about 3 minutes. Drain well and transfer to a food processor. Puree until finely chopped, about 5 pulses.
- Heat 1 tablespoon canola oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Fry paneer cubes, stirring constantly, until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes. Set aside.
- Heat 2 tablespoons canola oil in the skillet and fry the cumin seeds until lightly toasted and aromatic, about 3 minutes. Add onion; cook and stir until onion begins to soften, 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in ginger, garlic, tomato, garam masala, turmeric, and cayenne pepper; cook and stir until tomatoes break down and onions are translucent, about 10 minutes.
- Stir in spinach and fenugreek, cream, paneer cubes, and salt to taste. Cover and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 299 calories, Carbohydrate 18 g, Cholesterol 29 mg, Fat 19.9 g, Fiber 5.2 g, Protein 17.1 g, SaturatedFat 6 g, Sodium 479.9 mg, Sugar 2.9 g
SAAG PANEER
Saag refers to an Indian vegetable dish in which spinach or other dark greens are stewed with ginger, garlic, fresh chiles and spices until meltingly soft. As the name suggests, saag paneer includes paneer, a mild Indian cheese that is firm enough to cook without melting. The heat of the serrano chiles balances the creamy richness, but for a milder dish, remove the seeds before mincing the chiles. The fresh greens are finely chopped before cooking, to help them break down faster into a silky gravy. Thawed chopped frozen spinach can be used to save time, but make sure to drain well and squeeze out the excess liquid first. Finish the dish with a little heavy cream (or plain yogurt) to lend body and richness.
Provided by Kay Chun
Categories dinner, one pot, vegetables, main course
Time 35m
Yield 4 servings
Number Of Ingredients 12
Steps:
- In a food processor, working in batches, pulse spinach until minced but not puréed. Do not pack the spinach too tightly or it won't get evenly chopped. You should have about 3 packed cups of minced spinach.
- Heat 1 tablespoon ghee over medium in a large nonstick skillet. When it shimmers, add paneer and cook, turning occasionally, until golden all over, 5 to 7 minutes. Using tongs or a fish spatula, transfer cheese to a plate, leaving as much ghee as possible in the skillet.
- Reduce heat to medium-low, add the remaining 1 tablespoon ghee and the onion, and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened but not browned, about 5 minutes.
- Add ginger, garlic and chile, and cook, stirring occasionally, until fragrant and well incorporated, 1 minute. Stir in coriander and cumin until well blended.
- Add minced spinach and 1/2 cup water, and increase the heat to medium. Season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until spinach is completely soft and most of the liquid is absorbed, about 8 minutes.
- Stir in heavy cream and paneer until well incorporated. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a serving bowl.
- Divide rice and flatbread among 4 shallow bowls or plates. Pass the saag paneer to spoon on top.
SAAG PANEER
Provided by Aarti Sequeira
Categories main-dish
Time 1h10m
Yield 4 to 6 servings
Number Of Ingredients 14
Steps:
- In a large bowl, whisk together the turmeric, cayenne, 1 teaspoon salt and 3 tablespoons vegetable oil. Drop in the cubes of paneer and gently toss. Let the cubes marinate while you get the rest of your ingredients together and prepped.
- Thaw the spinach in the microwave in a microwave-safe dish, 5 minutes, then transfer to a clean kitchen towel and squeeze out the excess liquid. Puree in a food processor until smooth. (Alternatively, you can chop it up very finely with your knife.) Set aside.
- Place a large nonstick skillet over medium heat and add the paneer as the pan warms. In a couple of minutes, flip the paneer; each piece should be browned on one side. Fry another minute or so and then remove the paneer from the pan to a plate.
- Add the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil to the pan. Add the onion, ginger, garlic, chile and a pinch of salt. Now here?s the important part: Sauté the mixture until it?s evenly toffee-colored, which should take about 15 minutes. Don?t skip this step?this is the foundation of the dish! If you feel like the mixture is drying out and burning, add a couple of tablespoons of water.
- Add the coriander, cumin and garam masala. If you haven?t already, sprinkle in a little water to keep the spices from burning. Cook, stirring often, until the raw scent of the spices cooks out and it all smells a bit more melodious, 3 to 5 minutes.
- Add the spinach and stir well, incorporating the spiced onion mixture into the spinach. Stir in a little salt and 1/2 cup water. Cook 5 minutes.
- Turn off the heat. Stir in the yogurt a little at a time to keep it from curdling. Once the yogurt is well mixed into the spinach, add the paneer. Turn the heat back on, cover and cook until everything is warmed through, about 2 minutes.
SAAG PANEER (PANIR) - INDIAN SPINACH AND CHEESE
Make and share this Saag Paneer (Panir) - Indian Spinach and Cheese recipe from Food.com.
Provided by Bunny Erica
Categories Spinach
Time 30m
Yield 3 serving(s)
Number Of Ingredients 12
Steps:
- Fry the onions, garlic, ginger and spices in oil for around 5 minutes.
- Add the chopped tomatoes and continue to cook for another 5 minutes, making sure the heat is down to a simmer.
- Add the spinach and continue to simmer for a further 5 minutes.
- Add the paneer and yogurt and simmer for around 5 minutes.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 103.2, Fat 3.5, SaturatedFat 1.8, Cholesterol 10.6, Sodium 121.2, Carbohydrate 14.1, Fiber 3.5, Sugar 6.7, Protein 6.6
SPINACH AND FETA COOKED LIKE SAAG PANEER
Steps:
- In a large pan over medium heat, warm ¼ cup of the ghee (or oil). Once the ghee has melted (or the oil begins to shimmer), add the coriander and cardamom and cook, stirring, for about 2 minutes, until the seeds start to brown. Add the onion and cook until it is translucent, 5 to 6 minutes. Stir in the ginger and garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Add the spinach and cook until it is just wilted, 4 to 5 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the heat and add the lime juice, green chile, and salt. Let cool for 5 minutes. Transfer to a blender and blend into a chunky paste. Return the spinach mixture to the same pan and set it over low heat. Stir in ½ cup water, then gently fold in the feta, being careful not to break up the cubes. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes more to soften the feta slightly and allow it to soak up some of the spinach sauce.
- While the feta cooks, in a small pan or butter warmer over medium-high heat, warm the remaining 2 tablespoons ghee (or oil) for 1 minute. Add the cumin seeds. As soon as (emphasis on as soon as-you don't want your cumin to burn!) the cumin seeds start to sputter and brown, about 1 minute max, remove the pan from the heat. Immediately add the asafetida (if using) and red chile powder.
- Pour all of the ghee (or oil) mixture into the spinach and feta once that is done cooking.
- Serve with rice or roti.
INDIAN STYLE SPINACH WITH FRESH CHEESE (SAAG PANEER) - COOK'S IL
This classic dish combines pureed spinach with freshly made cheese in a mildly-spiced creamy sauce. This version includes a little bit of mustard greens for bite. Adapted from Cook's Illustrated Sep/Oct 2012. Note: if you place the colander over a bowl, the whey from the cheese makes very tasty bread. Also note that the serving size reported is incorrect - you are going to lose nearly 3 quarts of whey in the cheese making, so the actual serving size is more like 350gm or 12 oz.
Provided by DrGaellon
Categories Spinach
Time 1h45m
Yield 6 serving(s)
Number Of Ingredients 22
Steps:
- Line a colander with a triple layer of cheesecloth and set in sink. Bring milk to boil in large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Whisk in buttermilk and salt and remove from heat. Let stand 1 minute. Pour through cheesecloth let drain 15 minutes.
- Pull together edges of cheesecloth to form pouch. Twist pouch, extracting as much liquid as possible. Place pouch between two plates and set a heavy pot on the top plate. Let stand at room temperature 45 minutes, or until cheese is firm and set. Drain whey as often as necessary. (Cheese can be wrapped in plastic and refrigerated up to 3 days at this point.) Unwrap and dice cheese into 1/2" pieces.
- Place spinach in large bowl and microwave on high until wilted, about 3 minutes. Let cool until it can be handled.
- Chop enough spinach to make 1/2 cup and set aside. Place remaining spinach in blender container.
- Wilt mustard greens in same bowl in microwave, about 4 minutes. Let it cool until it can be handled.
- Chop enough mustard greens to make 1/2 cup and set aside with chopped spinach. Add remaining mustard greens to blender container.
- Meanwhile, melt butter in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add cumin seeds, coriander, paprika, cardamom, and cinnamon, and cook, stirring often, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add onion and 3/4 tsp salt; cook until soft and translucent, about 3 minutes. Add garlic, ginger, and jalapeno, and cook, stirring often, until lightly browned, about 2-3 minutes. Add tomatoes and cook until pan is dry and tomatoes are beginning to brown, 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat and transfer half the mixture to the blender.
- Add half the cashews and all the water to the blender. Process on high until smooth, about 1 minute. Add puree to skillet and return to medium-high heat. Add reserved greens and buttermilk and bring to simmer. Reduce to low, cover, and cook until flavors blend, about 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Gently fold in cheese cubes and cook until hot, 1-2 minutes. Serve sprinkled with remaining cashews and cilantro.
VEGAN SAAG PANEER
This is a Vegan version of an Indian favourite. Small cubes of Indian "cheese" (tofu) with a spicy green gravy.
Provided by kasturi_kj
Categories Soy/Tofu
Time 30m
Yield 6 serving(s)
Number Of Ingredients 14
Steps:
- Heat half the olive oil in a frying pan. Add cumin seeds, paprika, coriander powder and garlic, saute 1 minute.
- Add drained tofu. Saute until tofu is golden brown, remove from pan and set aside.
- Grind cloves, cardamom and fennel seeds.
- Heat remaining oil and add ground powder and leek, saute until brown.
- Add kale, saute until kale is limp.
- Add salt and blend kale mixture in a food processor with tomato and tomato paste.
- Return to pan and add tofu mixture. Simmer 10 minutes.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 138.1, Fat 6, SaturatedFat 0.8, Sodium 320.1, Carbohydrate 16.5, Fiber 3.8, Sugar 3.5, Protein 8.7
Tips:
- For the best flavor, use fresh spinach and paneer. If using frozen spinach, thaw it completely and squeeze out any excess water before using.
- To make a creamier sauce, use full-fat coconut milk. You can also use a combination of coconut milk and heavy cream.
- If you don't have a blender, you can use an immersion blender to puree the spinach and tomato mixture.
- Serve saag paneer with rice, naan, or roti.
Conclusion:
Saag paneer is a delicious and easy-to-make dish that is perfect for a weeknight meal. It is packed with flavor and nutrients, and it can be easily customized to your liking. Whether you are a vegetarian or meat-eater, you will love this dish. So next time you are looking for a new and exciting recipe, give saag paneer a try. You won't be disappointed!
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