Saag Paneer/ Cottage Cheese with Greens

Saag paneer/ Cottage Cheese with Greens is a classic favorite dish for most of the  Indians across India. This is a very popular dish in North India. Traditionally this dish is made of mustard leaves, spinach, and fenugreek leaves. The recipe is a combination of different varieties of greens with the perfectly browned paneer cubes which are infused with Indian spices and are stewed together in the rich cream or coconut milk till done.

Recently, while I was talking to my friend, who is Polish, but is a big fan of Indian food, she mentioned how she loves Saag Paneer. So I tried making this dish when I invited her home, she liked it a lot and this was a big hit at my house too. So from then on, this dish is prepared once in a week, which we eat along with chapatis or rice. It is so easy to make and not time-consuming.

This recipe requires an incredible amount of spinach, feel free to use any amount of spinach. Here in the US, I tried making this along with kale, spinach, fenugreek leaves, broccoli. Whatever greens, they are, all tastes perfectly good. Paneer is available abundantly nowadays. Some people will use homemade paneer, which tastes amazing. I fried the paneer lightly as I love the soft crumble texture of paneer. Some love it crunchy and can be done golden brown. The spices will add a nice flavor to the dish and last but not the least, the cream is added to make the dish more rich, creamy, tasty and flavorful. Instead of cream, we can also use coconut milk. A delicious, amazing dish will be ready to enjoy, by adding all the above ingredients and with a little bit of love. Hope you will try to prepare this and will like it. Please let me know.

Ingredients:

1. Paneer/ Cottage Cheese- 2 Cups (cubed)
2. Oil- 3 tbsp
3. Spinach- 3 Cups
4. Fenugreek Leaves- 1/2 Cup
5. Onions (chopped)- 1 no
6. Tomatoes(chopped)- 1 no
7. Ginger and Garlic Paste- 1 tbsp
8. Turmeric Powder- 1 Tsp
9. Red Chili Powder- 1 Tsp
10. Coriander Powder- 1 tbsp
11. Cumin Powder- 1/2 tsp
12. Garam Masala Powder- 1 Tsp
13. Salt- as required
14. Cream- 2 tbsp

Method:

1. Chop the spinach and fenugreek leaves using a hand blender. Keep this aside.
2. Fry the cubed paneer pieces on a slow flame in 1/2 tbsp of oil. When they turn a light golden color, keep them aside.
3. In the same pan, add oil, saute the onions till translucent. Add the ginger- garlic paste. Fry for a min on medium flame.
4. Add the chopped tomatoes and when they turn mushy, add all the spice powders along with required amount of salt.
5. Add the chopped greens, stir for about 2 minutes. In this add the lightly fried golden colored paneer, mix and pour the cream on top. Stir lightly and enjoy naan/roti dipped in hot saag paneer.