Curried Spinach with Fresh Cheese (Palak Paneer or Saag Paneer)
This curried spinach and cheese dish is so flavorful! Cubes of fresh paneer cheese, swathed in a creamy spinach curry sauce... this is delicious over hot basmati rice or with fresh garlic na'an or other flatbreads. This is a large batch recipe, great for feeding a big family or crowd. But if you have a smaller household or hate leftovers, the delicious spiced spinach sauce for this dish also freezes well. Enjoy half now, and put the other half in the freezer (before you add the cheese) for a quick meal-prep simmer sauce to have on hand for a busy day!
Equipment
- 8 Quart Instant pot or pressure cooker (see notes for stove-top or slow-cooker instructions)
- Immersion blender (can use regular blender, food processor, or food mill)
- stainless tea infuser or cheesecloth & twine (for whole spices)
Ingredients
- 2 lbs fresh or frozen spinach (for saag paneer, use mixed baby braising greens, or a combination of spinach with tender radish, mustard, or wild greens)
- 4 tbsp vegetable or coconut oil
- 1 jumbo yellow or white onion, diced 2 medium or 3 small onions
- 2 10 oz cans Rotel (substitute 2-3 large Roma tomatoes or canned diced tomatoes)
- 8-12 cloves garlic
- 2-3 large green chiles, chopped (to taste, remove seeds for milder curry or substitute a small can of mild green chiles for little to no heat)
- 1 tbsp ginger paste substitute 1" section peeled fresh ginger
- 1 tbsp kosher salt
- 1 tbsp garam masala
- 1 tbsp ground cumin
- 1 tbsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp red chili powder (reduce, or substitute paprika for mild curry)
- 1 tsp turmeric
- ¼ tsp asafoedata
Whole Spice Sachet
- 1 small cassia/cinnamon stick (break into halves or thirds to fit in sachet)
- 1 large smoked black cardamom pod (carefully cut in half or crush)
- 12 large black peppercorns
- 8 whole cloves
After Pressure Cooking:
- 1 cup heavy cream (sub plain yogurt or coconut milk)
- 3 ½ lb paneer cheese cut in 1-2" dice (weight is approximate, this was fresh paneer made with 2 gallons of fresh whole milk)
Instructions
Prep all ingredients:
- For fresh bunch spinach: Wash the fresh spinach in several changes of water to remove all dirt and grit. Pick through and remove any slimy leaves. Trim an inch or so from the ends of the stems and leave the rest. Bagged spinach just needs a quick wash, and frozen spinach can be used as-is. Drain but do not spin or pat dry.
- Peel the garlic and trim the root ends. Peel and dice the onions, and measure all the spices. Trim the stem from the green chile(s) and roughly chop.
- Place the whole spices into a metal tea infuser, or wrap in a small bundle of cheesecloth and tie with butcher's twine.
Saute onion & spices
- Heat a large pot over medium heat or preheat a large Instant Pot using the saute setting.
- Add the vegetable oil and quickly add the chopped onion. Briefly saute, then add the salt, dry spices, green chiles, and the whole spice sachet or tea infuser.
- Stir and saute a few minutes, just until fragrant and the onion is beginning to soften a bit.
Add spinach & tomatoes and simmer (IP: use Soup setting)
- Add the spinach, a few handfuls at a time, pressing down gently until all the spinach is in the pot.
- Add the canned Rotel or chopped fresh paste tomatoes. Stir again until the spinach wilts down by half or more. (for IP or pressure cooker, skip the next step).
- Reduce the heat on the pan to low, cover, and simmer for 30-45 minutes or until the spinach is very tender. You can also transfer the mixture to a slow cooker and cook for several hours.
- If you are using an Instant Pot or pressure cooker, cover with the lid, close the vent, and use the Soup setting. Cook on high pressure for 15 minutes, then use a quick or natural release.
Puree and add cheese
- Add the yogurt or cream to the cooked spinach mixture and stir. If you are using an Instant Pot, use the keep warm setting.
- Remove the sachet of whole spices, and puree the mixture with an immersion blender, or carefully transfer to a regular blender to puree and then back to the pot. Taste, and adjust seasoning if necessary.
- Use the slow cooker setting (low-medium) or place your dutch oven or regular pot on a very low simmer burner.
- Dice the paneer into large 1-2" cubes. Gently fold the cheese into the spinach curry sauce, and heat gently until the cheese is heated through-out. If your fresh paneer is not very firm, add it just before serving, as it may dissolve into the dish.
- Serve your palak paneer with hot basmati rice, naan, or other flatbreads.
Notes
Make-Ahead or Freezer Meal-Prep Instructions Palak Paneer:
You can make the spinach curry sauce in advance, or portion and freeze it. This is enough sauce for 1-2 lbs of paneer (from 1-2 gallons of milk, if you are making your own cheese).
Add the paneer cheese just before serving and heat enough to warm through. The cheese may break up and dissolve (especially if you are using homemade paneer cheese) if you add it too soon.
While you can freeze the paneer cheese, the texture changes and will be more crumbly, so I recommend freezing just the spinach sauce by itself and adding fresh cheese when you serve it.
Nutrition
Calories: 526kcalCarbohydrates: 10gProtein: 22gFat: 45gSaturated Fat: 25gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0.03gCholesterol: 110mgSodium: 712mgPotassium: 496mgFiber: 3gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 7439IUVitamin C: 24mgCalcium: 746mgIron: 3mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!