Saag Paneer with Greens from the Garden

We have friends who are native to India and they brought this over once when they visited. We loved it so much that we had to make it ourselves. I make the recipe from the America’s Test Kitchen Vegetarian Cookbook.

You can subscribe to their site and get this recipe, or you can use this recipe for the Saag Gravy:

https://www.curiouscuisiniere.com/saag-paneer/

And here is a recipe for Paneer:

https://www.feastingathome.com/how-to-make-paneer/

Palak Paneer is a related dish but rather than using a mix of greens, it only calls for fresh spinach. If you like Palak Paneer and don’t want to go to the trouble of making it, Trader Joe’s has Palak Paneer in the frozen section of the store and it is quite good, though not as good as what you could make for yourself.

The recipe that I use calls for 10 oz fresh spinach and 12 oz of turnip greens. I made a double batch and used the radish and bok choy greens that I blanched and put in the freezer a while ago and I picked some of my kale to put in it too. This batch has a more full bodied flavor, but we really like it. If you live in an area where mustard greens are difficult to find fresh, try the frozen section.

I made a double batch because we love it and my son and his girlfriend are coming for dinner. I finally found a source for paneer (Janta in Chattanooga). The 14 oz package was perfect for a double batch.

If you are going to make your paneer from scratch, here’s what you need to know:

My recipe recommends that you start by making the paneer. Here are some tips:

1. Make sure that your milk is boiling before adding your acid or buttermilk.
2. Do NOT whisk the milk vigorously to incorporate the salt and acid/buttermilk.
3. Let the mixture sit for a couple of minutes before draining the whey from the curd.
4. My recipe recommends using a triple ply of cheese cloth–that is too much even for a very loose weave cheese cloth–single ply for fine weave and two ply for loose weave.
5. Do yourself a favor and use the tools below to drain off most of the whey. I used the gray pasta scoop to dip the curd out of the pot and into the mesh strainer. I used the mesh strainer to remove a lot of the liquid. This will save you SO MUCH TIME!

Here are the steps of removing the excess liquid from the paneer–first in the colander; then pressing with your hands; and then between two plates under a weight.

As I mentioned above, I made a double batch Saag gravy. This recipe is one that you should definitely get all your ingredients prepped and staged (mise en place) before you start cooking. You will need a good blender and a food processor for this recipe–these will make your life much easier.

Here is the finished Saag gravy:

I tasted it and it needed just a smidge more salt.

I hope that you found this helpful, and that you’ll give Saag Paneer, or Palak Paneer a try.