In Northern India Saag generally refers to a mix of spinach and mustard greens. I take the creative freedoms to use the dark leafy greens we have in the fridge to make this Saag Paneer recipe with spinach or kale and the leafy tops from radish and beets as well as the fibrous stalks of the spinach. These parts of the vegetables generally get tossed, but hold a lot of nutritional value and forces me to make a conscious effort to reduce food waste.
In this interpretation of Saag Paneer recipe I have left out the cream or yogurt and compose more as Indian seasoned sautéed greens with the best part, the tasty fried paneer cheese nuggets. This is a great stovetop recipe for home or camping with a potjkie and fire.
INGREDIENTS
- olive oil
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 inch ginger peeled and grated
- a few chilis minced
- masala mix
- 2 tsp. garam masala
- 1 tsp. cumin
- 1 tsp. paprika
- 1 tsp. tumeric
- dash of cayenne
- dash of cardamon
- dash of coriander
- dash of nutmeg
- 1 onion thinly sliced
- kale or spinach stalks scrubbed and finely sliced (the leftovers)
- 1 block paneer if not available, alternatively haloumi or pressed ricotta
- 1 large bunch dark leafy greens cleaned and torn
EQUIPMENT
- wooden spoon
- pot / potjkie pot is what is shown below
- towel lined plate
METHOD
- Dry cheese and cut into cubes.
- Season cubed cheese with salt and pepper
- Heat oil.
- Fry cubes of cheese in oil turning to brown all sides.
- When cheese is fried, pull out and set aside.
- Toss sliced onion and cut stems into oil and sauté until translucent.
- Add garlic, ginger, chili, and masala mix into pot, cook until fragrant about 1-2 minutes.
- Add spinach leaves and stir until it wilted roughly 2 minutes.
- Toss fried cheese in and mix through.
- Pull off heat and serve.
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