Authentic Saag Paneer Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What's the difference between saag paneer and palak paneer? ›

What is the difference between saag paneer and palak paneer? Saag refers to different kinds of greens like mustard greens, spinach, fenugreek, amaranth and a few others. Saag paneer can be made with any of these greens but palak paneer is made with palak (spinach) alone.

Saag paneer (and palak paneer) are vegetarian Indian dish made of curried greens and fried paneer cheese. You've likely come across the dish at your favorite Indian restaurant, but now's the time to try making authentic saag paneer at home!

While making dishes that need crumbled or grated paneer, you have a lot of alternatives. Tofu, Processed Cheese, Halloumi, Feta, farmers cheese, Ricotta, Panela queso and even mozzarella.

There can be many factors responsible for paneer to taste bitter. If the milk used to make paneer is already spoiled it will result into bitterness. If paneer is kept outside the fridge for long it will get infected with fungus which will give it a yellowish tinch and make it bitter.

Regardless of its modest roots, saag paneer in all its creamy simplicity is a beloved dish in home kitchens as well as at Indian restaurants across the diaspora. However, there have been notable variations: the type of greens commonly used in North India for this dish are mustard greens, not spinach.

Sag is also called saag in English. Saag, refers to a variety of green leafy vegetables, including Spinach (called Palak in Hindi), Mustard Greens, Fenugreek, Collard Greens, and other similar varieties.

Spiced with garam masala and cayenne, creamy spinach is an excellent pair for seared paneer. Add cream, garam masala, cayenne pepper, and salt to taste. Now, return the paneer to the skillet along with the greens and cook on low heat, covered, for about 15 minutes. Serve saag paneer with rice, flatbread, or both.

Additional spices and seasonings are added to taste, such as salt, chili powder, and lemon juice. Paneer, which is Indian cottage cheese, is a common addition to saag and adds a creamy texture and mild flavor.

If you're wondering what the difference is between the two, the answer is basically nothing. Chicken saag and a chicken saagwala curry are the same thing. Minor differences may exist from cook to cook with these terms but they're both essentially a spinach curry at the end of the day.

Store leftovers in an airtight container. Reheat thoroughly before serving. Freeze the Saag Paneer in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. Defrost at room temperature and ensure food is piping hot before serving.

What is paneer called in the USA? ›

Although many Indians translate "paneer" into "cottage cheese", cottage cheese is made using rennet extracted from the stomach of ruminants, and cow's skim milk. Queso blanco or queso fresco are often recommended as substitutes in the Americas and Spain as they are more commercially available in many American markets.

What can I use instead of paneer? According to Shilpa from Some Indian Girl blog, the best substitute for paneer is haloumi (but remember, haloumi is much saltier so reduce the quantity of salt in your recipe if you are swapping paneer for haloumi. Other options include firm tofu, ricotta, mozzarella or cottage cheese.

No paneer? No problem! Make this reduced-fat Indian palak paneer (or saag paneer, really) recipe using ricotta cheese instead of the traditional Indian paneer. If you don't have a source for paneer in your city, you can still enjoy palak paneer—Indian spinach and cheese.

Solution: Combine a teaspoon of corn flour with two tablespoons of water to form a paste. Pour this paste into the food and allow to simmer on low to medium heat. Voila!

Dilute The Dish

Simply add some water or stock to the dish and allow it to evaporate while cooking. This helps in balancing out the flavours, thus reducing the sourness. However, make sure to adjust the seasoning after diluting as it may affect others flavours in the dish.

1) Salt is one of the most common ingredients used to reduce bitterness from bitter foods . In small quantities salt ions suppress bitter alkaloids in foods bringing out the inherent sweetness and other flavours. In any mustard paste recipe you will see that salt is added to soaked mustard seeds as standard practice.

Afterwards, bring it to a pan/wok/whatever you have and mix with the oil of choice (I used olive oil, but butter is best) Add soy sauce to taste (I used 1tsb per bunch) and let cool. The spinach should be much less bitter than average and nice to eat, but still pretty healthy as a meal.