CSA Week 8 - July 21 - saag paneer

 

I have been making saag paneer for years now, as evidenced by the actual saag paneer all over this recipe. As far as I understand, saag translates to "greens" so saag paneer means "greens with cheese."  If it's made with all spinach it's palak paneer. All that being said, I do vary the "mix-ins" to include ingredients other than cheese. Right now I'm settled into cheese and chickpeas, which would make it saag paneer choley or saag choley paneer as far I can tell. You could also add potatoes, mushrooms, and/or meat, which would make it something else. After all those semantics, let's call it "saag" for the remainder of this post and get to what's really important.

I started out making this dish by adapting a recipe from 101 cookbooks. Earlier this year, Christa shared a new recipe with me, which I merged with that one and with my own adaptations. I never make saag the same way twice, but I have settled into a pretty solid list of ingredients and methods (below). That being said, I encourage anyone interested in making it to continue to adapt it as I inevitably will. I thought about waiting until it's more "perfected" to share it, but if you have a lot of beautiful CSA greens taking up fridge space this dish may just be your savior like it was mine this week.

I have made saag with every combination of spinach and/or Swiss chard and/or kale. This week I used all the week 7 scotch kale PLUS all the week 8 chard and summer spinach. I think a variety of greens is nice for flavor when you can swing it.

Preparing the components of the recipe takes the most work (and dishes!), but once everything is prepped it comes together very quickly.

The prep includes cooking the greens by blanching them or sauteeing them in a little water. I don't like the idea of losing so many nutrients in the cooking water so have moved towards sauteeing in water and preserving the liquid (just make sure it's not too much, you will also be adding milk). This method also takes less water than blanching. The beauty of this technique is that the greens only need to be washed and de-stemmed, if necessary, they don't need to be chopped (assuming you have a decent blender). As a note, I prefer to wash my greens in a large stock pot of water after they are de-stemmed, then drain them a bit before getting them into the hot water to cook. Remember that they don't need to be dry so you can keep the salad spinner in the cabinet! Puree the greens to your textural liking in a blender (after you grind your spices - see below).

In addition to the greens you need to prepare your cheese (I like Halloumi, which Murray's Cheese carries - it's saltier than paneer). Chop the cheese into cubes and brown it in butter in a skillet. Try not to eat too much while you prepare the rest of the dish.

Prepare your spice mixture with as many spices ground from whole as possible. You can use a mortar and pestle, spice grinder, coffee grinder, food processor, or blender, since you'll be using that for your greens anyway (see above).

Finally, chop up a couple onions and mince some ginger and garlic. Oh, and don't forget to make some basmati rice to go with the saag during your prep.

Once greens, cheese, spices, onions, and aromatics are prepped you can put it all together, sauteeing the onions, adding the spices and aromatics, then the greens. Cook everything, adjust seasonings (you will likely need more salt), then mix in your chickpeas to allow the flavors to meld. Once everything is just right, add the cheese.

Serve over rice and/or with naan and topped with some sesame seeds and a squeeze of lemon juice/dash of vinegar if you want to brighten things up. The dish's flavor improves by the second day.

That's where I am with saag paneer! Now go, dispatch of those greens in the most delicious way possible.

Saag Paneer

Adapted from here and here

I apologize for the amount of imprecise ingredient amounts in this recipe. Think of it less as a recipe to follow exactly and more as a set of guidelines. As I note below, the amount of greens you use will be a huge factor in determining the amount of salt, spices, garlic, ginger, and onion you use. 

Also, I know you could streamline the spices in this recipe a bit, since by adding coriander, curry powder, and garam masala you are adding coriander three different times. Maybe someday I will work that out. 

Ingredients

• 1+ cup of cubed paneer or Halloumi cheese (my preference), chopped and browned in a skillet with 2 tbsp. butter.
• 1 14.5-oz can chickpeas
• 2 bunches of greens (any combo of kale, Swiss chard, and/or spinach – I like to use at least one bunch of kale since it has more flavor and it’s so nutritious). The amount is not that important, though you will need to increase the salt, onion, garlic, ginger, and spices with more greens. 
• 2 onions, chopped 
• 3+ cloves minced garlic 
• 1+ tsp. minced ginger 
• 1+ tsp. cumin powder 
• 1+ tsp. coriander powder 
• ½+ tsp. turmeric powder 
• 1+ tsp. garam masala. Here's a recipe if you like. 
• 1.5+ tsp. curry powder (I love the SWAD Madras curry powder that you can get at Jungle Jim’s) http://shop.khanapakana.com/swad-madras-curry-powder-400-grams-14-oz/
• Pinch+ cinnamon
• Pinch+ nutmeg
• 2+ whole cloves
• Sprinkle+ whole mustard
• Sprinkle+ ground cardamom
• 2 tbsps. ghee or 1 tbsp cooking oil and 1 tbsp. butter 
• 2 heaping tsps. of tomato paste (or 1 pureed tomato) 
• 1 c.  milk
• Salt to taste (at least 1 tsp., likely more)
• Sesame seeds (optional)
• Lemon juice or vinegar (optional) 

Directions

1. Cook the greens. Bring a small amount of water to boil in a large pot and cook the greens until they are completely wilted. It is a good idea to cook kale separately from chard/spinach/beet greens as it takes longer to cook. Transfer greens to a blender, add the milk, and puree.

2. Heat the ghee or oil/butter in a pot. Add the chopped onions. Saute until golden brown and then add the spices. Fry for a few seconds, taking care not to burn the spices. De-glaze the pot with a splash of water if necessary to keep things from sticking and burning.

3. Next, add the minced ginger and garlic and the tomato paste if using. Mix well (don’t burn the aromatics!) and then add the pureed greens.

4. Mix well, bring to gentle boil and add the salt.

5. Cook covered for about 6-8 mins until the greens are completely cooked and spices have blended well into the gravy. Gently add the chickpeas. Continue to simmer, uncovered, adjusting seasonings to your liking. At the last minute, add the cheese.

Serve with rice and/or naan. Optionally, top the saag with a sprinkle of sesame seeds and a squeeze of lemon juice or dash of vinegar.