I started making Saag Paneer when I started dating my wife. It’s cooked greens, principally spinach, along with paneer cheese (think cottage cheese with no liquid). I wasn’t that much into dishes based on cooked spinach, but I was in love. My Indian cookbook didn’t have saag paneer, but it did have a similar dish called Methi Chaman based on spinach and methi leaves. I doubled the greens, adjusted the spicing, and have been refining it ever since. I pretty much hit my standard batch by using half a pound of spinach, a bunch of chopped cilantro, and frozen methi leaves to fill out the pound of greens.
Then I went to a place in the West End of Glasgow, Scotland, called Mother’s India Café. I ordered Saag Paneer as a matter of course (I enjoy the dish and it’s useful research). Mother’s saag paneer blew mine away. First, it was chunkier. The recipe I follow calls for adding two cups of water to the cooked and pureed greens, bringing it to a boil, adding the paneer and then simmering down over an hour or two.
I much prefer Mother’s version as it tastes fresher. It also had a flavor to it that I can’t quite pin down. Not just ghee (clarified butter). I use asafoetida (hing) in my version, which adds a little hwang to the mix. I went to Mother’s three times in four nights, the last of which was a Saturday night. I decided to go with takeaway as the place is popular. I put in my order, went to a nearby place for a pint, and then came back. The line had grown amazingly by the time I returned. I happily took my curry back and even got my obligatory ride on the upper level of a double decker bus.
Once back in my hotel room, I decided that the rice and chana daal (lentils) would be adequate, so I treble wrapped the saag paneer and put it in the mini fridge. It survived the trip back to the U.S. and I shared it with my two favorite curry tasters. I also made a batch of my own, improved with some ideas I got. First of which is that I decided the long cook down was not necessary. The water I used to rinse the greens was sufficient for the sauce. Rather than pureeing the batch, I used an immersion blender to leave the batch a bit chunky. Finally, I adjusted the greens. In the past, I’ve used a half pound of spinach, leaves from a bunch of cilantro, and a half pound of methi leaves. I decided to add in some mustard leaves for a bit of a kick and kale for heartiness. It wasn’t really a blind taste test as I brown my saag whereas Mother’s doesn’t and it was my fresh made batch vs. four day old leftovers. Still, Mother’s forced me to up my game. Here’s my new and improved recipe.
Paul’s Improved Saag Paneer
Serves 4 – 6
Ingredients
1 pound of greens, coarsely chopped, rinsed, and drained
1 bunch cilantro, stems removed and chopped
1 pound of paneer cheese, cut into 1/2” cubes
¼ cup each clarified butter and vegetable oil
Spice Mix #1
1 tsp. Asafoetida (hing)
2 tsp. cumin seeds
10 cloves (or ½ tsp clove powder)
Spice Mix #2
2 tsp. turmeric powder
1 tsp. red chilli powder
2 tsp. chopped ginger
1 tsp. ginger powder
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 tsp. salt (or to taste)
Notes
Spinach is the base for the greens, but it helps to use a combination. I like ½ pound of spinach, a few mustard greens and some kale, and then methi leaves to fill out. If you don’t have methi leaves available, I’d suggest a combination of spinach, kale, and mustard leaves with at least half the weight from spinach.
Method
Cut one pound of paneer cheese into half inch cubes. Brown in a bit of vegetable oil and set aside.
Put ½ cup of F A T in a med. sized pot or dutch oven over med-high heat. I like using a combination of half clarified butter (it really is needed) and canola oil (because we don’t need it that much). Add in spice mix #1. No biggie if you don’t have any hing, but it really does add something to the flavor. Cook until the seeds begin to “pop”.
Add the chopped greens and cilantro, lower heat and cover until cooked. Add spice blend #2 and cook for a minute or two. There should be a bit of excess water. If not, add up to ½ cup. Partially puree with an immersion blender. If you don’t have one, pour mixture into blender and pulse a few times until partially pureed and return to pan.
Add paneer cheese and bring the mixture to boil. Serve over rice.
BB
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