Saag Paneer Recipe

Saag Paneer is a healthy, protein & flavor-packed dish of Indian cheese, served in buttery, creamy & spicy leafy greens. It is best served for a weekend lunch with roti, Tandoori Roti, Butter Naan or plain fluffy Basmati Rice. Make it in a regular pan on the stovetop or in the Instant pot (for a one-pot dish).

About Saag Paneer

The term “Saag” refers to leafy greens. So Saag Paneer simply translates to Paneer cooked with any or mixed leafy greens. It is not a dish you will find in India, & is believed to have originated in the Indian restaurants abroad (outside India).

Inspired with the rich and warming flavors of Punjabi sarson ka saag, chefs may have come up with Saag Paneer. Though the restaurant version of Saag Paneer is not cooked the same way as sarson ka saag, you will still see mustard greens being used.

My Recipe

This Saag Paneer is simple, easy to make, healthy and tastes delicious. It is not very creamy like my Palak Paneer due to the higher amount of leafy greens used, making this truly a SAAG. While Palak Paneer is made with spinach alone, Saag Paneer is made with mixed greens.

So you are free to use a combination of leafy greens like spinach, mustard greens, kale, radish greens, bathua, collards, Swiss chard and fenugreek. But it is important to use the greens you love because your saag will have those flavors and taste.

I make mine with baby spinach, fenugreek and choy sum. Choy sum is a leafy green that belongs to the mustard family and is slightly sweet and pleasant-tasting. There are many different kinds of mustard greens grown across the world and what is used for sarson ka saag in India may not be available elsewhere.

So you can easily substitute the mustard greens with your favorite locally available fresh greens that don’t taste bitter. It is important to use fresh and young greens rather than mature leaves which may impart bitter and metallic tones to the saag.

This recipe has been tested extensively with many different kinds of leafy greens, to avoid bitter, metallic & bland results. While acidic ingredients like tomatoes and yogurt are used to cut down the bitter flavors, carrot/ baby turnip is used to impart sweeter tones. A small amount of cream(dairy or nut cream) is used to make the dish slightly creamy.

Traditionally made sarson ka saag does not use ingredients like garam masala because a small amount of maize/yellow corn flour is used. It not only makes the saag thick but also imparts a flavor. This recipe uses garam masala to flavor the Saag Paneer since we don’t use flour.

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How to Make Saag Paneer (Stepwise Photos)

Below I show you how to make it in a pan with pictures but have the instructions for Instant pot as well. The only difference would be the color of your Saag, since that’s cooked under pressure. This recipe makes 3 servings but the pictures show 2x recipe.

Preparation

1. To save time you may use ready to use (pre-washed) greens. Else rinse them well thrice in plenty of water and drain to a colander. You will need

• 4 cups baby spinach leaves / palak (without stalks, 120 grams/4.5 ounce) 
• 4 cups mustard greens / choy sum/ baby kale or a combination (without stalks, 120 grams /4.5 ounces) 

If using kale, destem and rinse them well. Taste test the raw leaves and if they taste bitter, chop and add to 3 cups of boiling hot water mixed with 2 tablespoon lemon juice. Blanch them for 3 mins. Remove & add to cold water, drain to a strainer.

2. You will also need

• ¾ cup onions (85 grams,1 medium onion sliced)
• 1 to 2 green chilies (slit, adjust to heat tolerance)
• 3 medium garlic cloves (peeled & sliced thick if required)
• ½ inch ginger (peeled and sliced thick)
• ½ cup ripe tomatoes (60 grams) sliced (I peel first)
• ⅓ cup carrot (or baby turnip, (50 grams) sliced, cuts down the bitter taste)
• ¼ cup thick curd/ yogurt (sub with ¼ cup tomatoes)

3. You will need the following spices & other ingredients:

• ½ teaspoon salt (more if you need)
• ½ teaspoon sugar (optional, use if you need)
• ¾ to 1 teaspoon coriander powder
• ½ teaspoon cumin powder
• 1 pinch of turmeric (more if you want)
• ¾ to 1 teaspoon garam masala (use more if you want)
• 1 tablespoon kasuri methi (taste test your saag before adding)
• 1½ to 2 tablespoons ghee & 1 tablespoon butter for tadka
• ¼ cup heavy cream (or cashew cream from 12 nuts, powder in a small grinder, blend with ¼ cup water or milk to a smooth cream)

Pan Fry Paneer

4. Add ½ tablespoon ghee to a non-stick pan, spread and heat it. Place 250 grams (9 ounces) cold paneer cubes on the pan and fry on a medium high heat, until the base turns golden. Turn the pieces to the other side with a wooden tong and repeat frying until golden. Leave them in the pan aside.

If you are using Instant pot, you may leave out this and add the paneer directly later, to make it a one-pot dish.

Make Saag Paneer

5. Pour rest of the ghee to a pan and add sliced onions, slit green chilies, sliced ginger and garlic. Saute until the raw flavor of the onions is gone, for about 7 to 8 minutes. Reduce the flame and stir in turmeric, coriander and cumin.

Instant pot: Perform the above step on a saute mode. You will need only 3 to 4 mins to cook the onions.

6. Add tomatoes and curd/yogurt. Mix well and cover. Cook on a medium heat until the tomatoes break down to a mush.

Instant pot: This takes you about 3 to 4 mins.

7. The onions should completely become completely soft.

8. Add carrots and saute for 2 to 3 minutes. This step helps to bring out the sweet flavors. Add the spinach.

Instant pot: Add carrots, followed by all the greens and saute until wilted. Pour ¼ cup water. Cover and pressure cook for 10 minutes. Let the pressure drop naturally for at least 10 mins, release the rest manually.

9. Also add all the other greens.

10. Let them steam/cook or saute until wilted & cooked. It should take you about 5 to 6 minutes. I did not add water at all. There were water droplets from the rinsed greens which was enough to cook. But if your pan dries out, you may add some water.

11. Set aside a green chili if you want. Pour ¼ cup water & blend to a slightly coarse puree using an immersion blender or a blender. If using a blender, cool down first. If the mixture is too thick, use a splash of water. Taste test, add the reserved chili & blend if you want extra heat. Mix together saag puree and salt. Bring it to a gentle simmer and cook on a medium heat for 6 to 7 mins, or until it no more smells raw. If it is too thick to your liking, add some hot water during this process.

Instant pot: Follow the same blending step and cook on saute mode for 2 to 3 mins. Follow the rest of the steps as mentioned below. Add the paneer raw and I highly suggest tadka for extra flavor.

12. Add garam masala and sugar (if you need). I prefer adding kasuri methi because my saag tastes sweet even without adding sugar. Taste test first and then add sugar or kasuri methi to suit your taste.

13. Mix together very well first and then stir in the cream.

14. Add fried paneer (retain some to garnish). Cook for another 3 to 4 minutes, until aromatic. At this stage taste again and add whatever you want like salt, garam masala or more cream. If you are making this dish ahead and want to reheat later, you may not cook after adding paneer. Simply do that at the time of reheating.

Temper/ Tadka

15. Temper saag paneer, only when you are ready to serve. You will need the following to temper:

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter or ghee
• 1 to 2 large garlic cloves sliced
• 1 to 2 dried red chili
• ¼ teaspoon asafoetida / hing (use gluten-free if preferred)
• ½ to ¾ teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder or hot chili flakes (adjust to taste)

Begin to heat butter on a very low heat. Before the butter melts, add sliced garlic and let cook for 2 to 3 minutes to infuse the flavors. Do not brown the garlic.

16. Add dried red chili & fry until crisp. Turn off the stove and stir in hing & red chili powder or flakes.

17. Pour this over Saag Paneer & garnish with fried paneer.

Serve with Tandoori Roti or Basmati Rice. Do not forget to squeeze lemon juice while serving.

Pro Tips

• It is important to use young/ baby greens in this recipe. Since we use a lot of them, using mature leaves or the stalks can impart bitter and metallic flavors.
• Baby spinach has low-oxalates compared to the mature leaves so this recipe does not call for blanching. But if you are using regular spinach, you may blanch them to lower the oxalates. Mustard leaves are low-oxalate greens. So you don’t need to blanch them.
• Greens can taste bitter if they are not grown in good conditions – too little water or sometimes soil profile. Greens grown during the cooler season or winters are best to make saag as they naturally taste less bitter. However to reduce the chances of your dish tasting bitter, please use young or baby greens.
• This recipe calls for longer cooking times compared to my palak paneer and that’s because this recipe uses higher amount of greens for the same servings. You need to cook the saag really well until you no more feel the raw taste of greens.
• Turnip/ Carrot: Traditionally, a small/young turnip is added to sarson ka saag to impart a unique earthy and sweeter flavor. But since that don’t give me the desired results I use carrot. You may leave out that if you know your greens won’t taste bitter. But you won’t taste the carrots in your saag.

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