Vegetable Platter: Paneer

Mixed Greens Saag | Saag Paneer | Chana Saag

I can't believe that it's almost the end of the year. For me, 2015 was a super fast one. I still feel Jan - Feb was just a few months ago & its already the end of December.

One of the good thing about 2015 was that I kind of managed to get my blogging mojo back & I hope it stays that way in 2016 as well.

We are going on a little holiday so, this is going to be my last post for 2015. So, I am here to share a favourite recipe - Mixed Greens Saag. I love anything that has greens in it. From Green Smoothies to a leafy Salad to a Green Rich Saag.

Saag is a great way to incorporate greens in our diet. You can use a variety of Greens based on your liking. Saag is a very versatile curry. It can be eaten plain along with Indian Breads or cook it with Paneer to make Saag Paneer, or with Chickpeas to make Chana Saag or even with potatoes to make Saag Aloo

To Make Saag - You Will Need:

2 Bunches Spinach
1 Bunch Methi Leaves
1 Bunch Green Amaranth Leaves
1 Bunch Mustard Greens (When in Season)
1 big Onion
1 Ripe Tomato
A small knob of ginger
7-8 cloves of garlic
2-3 Green Chilies
2 tsp cooking oil
1/2 tsp Garam Masala
Salt as per taste

How To:

Finely chop all the greens & wash them under running water. Set aside for the water to drain

Roughly chop the onions & tomatoes. Grate ginger & Slit the chilies lengthwise.

In a Pan, heat cooking oil. Add chilies, ginger & garlic & sauté for 30 seconds. Add the onions & sauté till they turn slightly pink in colour. Add the tomatoes & cook till the tomatoes are soft.

Add chopped greens & some salt & cook for 3 to 4 minutes until they slightly wilt. Turn off the heat & allow to cool.

Once, cool enough to handle, blend coarsely. Transfer back to the pan, add about 1/4 a cup of water, Add Garam Masala & bring to a gentle boil. Simmer for 2-3 minutes. check for salt. Turn off the heat

To Make Saag Paneer:

You Will need about 200g of Paneer & about 2 cups of Saag

Dice the Paneer cubes & dunk them in salted warm water & let it stay for about 10 minutes. This makes the Paneer (especially Store Bought ones) stay soft

In a Kadhai, Add 2 cups of Saag & add the paneer cubes. If the Saag is too thick add very little water to adjust the consistency. Add salt if needed. Gently simmer for about 3-4 minutes. Turn off the heat. Add juice of half a lime & mix well.

To Make Chana Saag:

You will need about Half a cup of Chana/Chickpeas & 2 cups of Saag

Clean & Soak Chickpeas in water overnight or for 6 hours. If I am short on time, I soak Chickpeas in Hot water for about 3 hours.

Pressure cook for 2-3 whistles in salted water.

In a Kadhai, Add 2 cups of Saag & Add cooked Chickpeas. If the Saag is too thick add very little water to adjust the consistency. Add salt if needed. Gently simmer for about 3-4 minutes. Turn off the heat. Add juice of half a lime & mix well.

Serve with Hot Makai Rotis/Phulkas or any other Indian Bread of your liking. Add a bit of sliced onions on the side. Makes such a yummy meal

NOTE:

Any leftover Saag can be used to make Chapatis. Knead wheat flour along with Saag & make them like regular chapatis. Its a great way to sneak in some greens if your kids are fussy eaters

1 comments

, by Deepthi Shankar

Gravy

Matar Paneer | Cottage Cheese & Fresh Green Peas Simmered in a Tomato Based Gravy

2 comments

, by Deepthi Shankar

Gravy

Paneer Kalimirch & The Giveaway Winner

12 comments

, by Deepthi Shankar

Gravy

Palak Paneer - Cottage Cheese simmered in fresh Spinach Puree

I have never been a huge fan of Palak Paneer honestly. Infact, I never ate much of paneer until a couple of years ago. I don't know how many of you agree, but a good Palak Paneer is hard to come by. Either the Paneer is not fresh, or the lush green palak turns into a brown gravy once cooked or it is laden with too much spices, tomatoes or fresh cream masking the true flavour of Palak Paneer ..

So, I set out to find the almost perfect Palak Paneer recipe, And, after reading dozens of recipes, looking at various food pics & asking a lot of people on Facebook as well, I arrived at My Recipe :-) And, I was quite satisfied with the results. Perhaps, you may want to try this ...

You Will Need:

3 big bunches of fresh Spinach
200g Paneer - Cut into cubes
2 big white onions
1 small tomato or 1/2 of a large tomato
5 green chillies
4 cloves
1 small stick of cinnamon
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tbsp cashew paste
1 tbsp fresh cream or 1/4 cup milk
2 tsp oil
2 tsp ginger garlic paste
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp Sugar
Juice of half a lemon
1/2 tsp Garam Masala
Salt as per taste.

How To:

In a large pot, bring salted water to a boil. Add a tsp of sugar & throw in chopped spinach & let it cook for about 3 mins
Drain the water & reserve some water to use in the gravy. Immediately rinse under cold water & set aside. Once cool, grind into a paste, without adding any water. Do not grind into a very smooth paste. I should be a coarse paste but smooth enough for it to blend .. so, keep this texture in mind. You can also mash the spinach with a Kadchi, if you like
Make a paste using onions, green chillies, cloves, cinnamom & Fennel seeds, without adding water.
Meanwhile, bring another pot of salted water into boil. turn off the stove & add paneer cubes. Let them rest in hot water for about 5 mins. Strain & set aside
In a large sauce pan, Heat oil, splutter cumin seeds & add onion paste, chopped tomatoes & saute for about 3 mins until raw smell disappears. Add cashew paste, Paneer cubes, salt & mix well. Add Pureed spinach, fresh cream or milk & mix gently. Check for salt & gently simmer for abor 2-3 mins. If the mixture is too thick, you may add the reserved liquid. However, do not make the gravy too rummy. If you are using milk instead of fresh cream, you may not need water at all.
Add a pinch of Garam masala before turning off the stove. Once the heat is turned off, add juice of half a lemon & mix well.
Let the gravy sit for a while before serving.

Serve warm with Peas Pulao, Phulkas or Naan .. Enjoi !!!

29 comments

, by Deepthi Shankar

Curry

Paneer Bhurji

Those of you who follow me on Facebook must already be familiar with this picture already. A couple of weeks ago, I made this yummy Paneer Bhurji for lunch. When Shankar saw the pictures, He said, this looked like Cauliflower/Gobi & nobody is even going to think this is Paneer. Now, if I can't make paneer look like paneer then, that would be a serious challenge to my photography skills :(

We anyways decided to put it up on FB without a caption & the comments were rather interesting.

And, yes a lot of people did say it looked like Gobi. Much to my relief, some of them (mostly my food blogger friends) thought it look like Paneer too. Else, I'd have to reshoot this one :)

Anyways, whatever this looks like, This is Paneer Bhurji for me.

You Will Need:

200g Paneer/Indian Cottage Cheese
1 big Onion - finely chopped
1 big Tomato - finely chopped
1 Green Bell Pepper - finely chopped
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp kalonji/Nigella seeds
1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp Garam Masala
Salt as per taste
Chopped cilantro for garnish
1 tbsp cooking oil

How To:

Crumble Paneer & set aside
In a pan, heat oil, splutter cumin seeds & Kalonji. Add ginger-garlic paste & saute for about 10 secs. Add chopped onion & saute` till they turn slightly pink.
Add chopped bell peppers & tomato. Mix well & Add red chilli powder & turmeric & cook till oil separates. Add crumbled paneer, Salt & Garam Masala. Mix well & allow it to cook in low heat for about 5 mins. Keep stirring ocassionally to avoid the bottom from getting burnt.
Garnish with chopped cilantro

Serve with warm Rotis ... Enjoi !!!

Since Shankae dislikes overuse of spices, I made this rather plain. I skipped Cumin & Coriander powder. I add just a little bit of Garam Masala for thr flavour. I sometimes skip Garlic too & for me it didn't make a huge difference.

I love serving this with warm Rotis. Since it gets done in 15 mins, its a great option for a weeknight dinner. You could probably use the leftover Bhurji for stuffing parathas too or even in wraps