Recipe: Perfect 'Saag Paneer' Indian Spinach Curry

'Saag Paneer' Indian Spinach Curry. Add the spinach and stir well, incorporating the spiced onion mixture into the spinach. Today I am sharing a very famous authentic Indian spinach curry recipe with you - Saag Paneer. It is a protein-rich and healthy vegetarian curry made with lots and lots of spinach, basic Indian spices and paneer ( Indian cottage cheese).

Saag Paneer or Palak Paneer or Indian creamed spinach and paneer curry, no matter what I call it, it is a delicious and easy spinach and Indian cheese main course curry which I always order in one of my favorite Indian restaurant! Palak Paneer is a popular North Indian spinach and cheese curry. Palak means spinach and paneer is a type of firm Indian cottage cheese made from cow's milk (traditionally made with buffalo milk). You can have 'Saag Paneer' Indian Spinach Curry using 14 ingredients and 14 steps. Here is how you cook that.

Ingredients of 'Saag Paneer' Indian Spinach Curry

You need 500 grams of Spinach.
You need 1 large of Onion.
Prepare 2 medium of Tomatoes (or canned tomatoes).
Prepare 2 clove of Garlic.
It's 1 1/2 of cm Ginger.
It's 1 of handful Cilantro leaves.
You need 1 tsp of Cumin seeds.
It's 1 1/2 tbsp of ☆ Coriander.
Prepare 1 tsp of ☆ Turmeric powder.
Prepare 1 tbsp of ☆ Garam masala.
Prepare 1/4 tsp of ☆ Cayenne pepper.
It's 3 tbsp of Heavy cream (or substitute with yogurt).
It's 1 of Salt.
You need 150 grams of Paneer (or bite-sized pieces of chicken breast, potatoes, etc.).

There is also Saag Paneer which is made using a combination of greens like spinach and mustard greens. The most important part of getting this recipe right is using the freshest ingredients and ensuring you don't overcook the spinach! Saag paneer originated in North India in the Punjab region. My version is quite close to what you would find there but I have added a pureed fresh green chilli paste that is used more often in south Indian cooking.

'Saag Paneer' Indian Spinach Curry step by step

Rinse the spinach well and place in an empty pot. Cook until wilted. You can also heat the spinach in boiling water..
Lightly rinse the wilted spinach and puree in the food processor. It will turn out very fragrant and rich in color..
Finely chop the garlic and ginger. Cut the onion into 7 mm cubes. Finely chop or food process your tomatoes..
Heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil over medium heat, and add the cumin seeds. It'll start popping..
Once the cumin starts to pop a lot and begins to brown, add in the garlic and ginger and saute..
Add the onions and saute well until translucent..
Add all the spices marked with ☆ and saute while mixing them thoroughly. It'll seem dry, but it's fine that way..
Add the tomatoes and keep sauteing. Saute until the shape of the tomatoes disappears and the mixture starts to thicken..
Please saute until it turns into a paste like in this picture. There will be some oil oozing out from the tomatoes and onions..
Add the pureed spinach and saute more..
Once the spinach and tomatoes are mixed together evenly, add either heavy cream or yogurt and stir well..
Add 100 ml of water and 1 teaspoon of salt. After bringing it to a boil, let simmer for about 10 minutes over low heat..
Gently mix in the paneer. Check the saltiness and adjust to your liking..
Garnish with some finely chopped coriander leaves and it's done. Enjoy it while it's still hot..

Saag paneer is a classic Indian dish of cooked spinach studded with cubed of fried paneer cheese. Thickened with cream or coconut milk, it's a hearty and filling vegetarian meal. When preparing this dish you can use fresh Spinach or a bag of frozen Spinach. Saag Paneer is best served with Indian flatbread ("roti"). Saag just means greens in Hindi, and though spinach is usually used in the U.