It’s easy and fun to make your own saag paneer at home! It’s especially delicious with rice or paleo flatbread.
Have you ever made your own cheese? I made some ricotta last year, and wanted to try my hand at paneer. Fresh cheeses like paneer and ricotta are easy to make at home, and totally worth it. All you need is milk, a lemon, some cheesecloth, and a little patience.
Saag paneer has been my favorite Indian dish for years, and I’m so glad I finally made it myself. The creamy spiced spinach studded with chewy bits of paneer is totally addictive, and my major Indian takeout/delivery habit is all saag paneer’s fault (oh, and Eat24–you guys didn’t help, either). This homemade version is just as good as my local restaurant’s, and the paneer is far superior: it’s meltingly tender, with a wonderfully creamy flavor. It’s a little labor intensive to make the paneer and the saag on the same day, but it was a perfect project for a Sunday afternoon. Next time I might try making a big batch of paneer, stashing some in the fridge, and freezing the rest. That way I can make saag paneer happen on weeknights!
In case you find the idea of cheese-making intimidating, here are some step-by-step pictures to help demystify things. You’ll be an accomplished cheesemonger in no time!
Bring the milk to a boil, then stir in the lemon juice. The curdled mixture will look like this (sorry for the terrible phone picture).
Pour it into a cheesecloth-lined sieve over a big bowl, and wait for it to drain.
When most of the whey has drained out, make an adorable cheesecloth bundle and put it on a plate.
Stick some heavy things on top, and wait for an hour or so.
Carefully unwrap the cheese…
…and slice it into cubes!
Fry the paneer until golden in a little ghee. You could really just stop there and chow down, but saag paneer is awesome, so try one piece and then carry on with the rest of the recipe!
If I still haven’t convinced you to take up cheese-making, you can also buy frozen paneer at some grocery stores and Indian markets. I’ve used store-bought paneer that was already pan-fried, but I think you can also buy it in block form and slice and fry it yourself.
Saag Paneer
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
It's easy and fun to make your own saag paneer at home! It's delicious with rice or paleo flatbread.
Author: Becky Winkler
Recipe type: Gluten free, Vegetarian, Dinner
Cuisine: Indian
Serves: 4 servings
Ingredients
For the paneer (adapted from Veg Recipes of India):
- 6 cups whole milk
- 2-3 tablespoons fresh-squeezed lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons ghee
For the saag (adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer):
- 1 (16-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach
- 1 red onion, chopped
- 6 cloves garlic, chopped
- One 3-inch piece of ginger, chopped
- 2 and ½ teaspoons garam masala, or more to taste (available on Amazon, or make your own), divided*
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- Pinch or two of cayenne, optional, for a spicier dish
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- ¾ cup water
- 1 and ½ teaspoons coarse sea salt
- ½-3/4 cup heavy cream, to taste
- Chopped fresh cilantro, for serving
Instructions
- To make the paneer, line a strainer with cheesecloth and place it over a large heatproof bowl. Heat the milk in a medium saucepan over high heat, stirring occasionally, until it comes to a boil and starts to rise up in the pan. Add the lemon juice, starting with two tablespoons, and stir. If the milk does not separate into curds and whey, add the remaining lemon juice. Once the mixture has curdled, carefully pour it into the cheesecloth-lined strainer and allow to drain for 15 minutes or so.
- Pick up the edges of the cheesecloth and bring them together, forming a bundle with the cheese inside. This should help squeeze some more liquid out. I discarded the whey, although some people use it for cooking other things. Place the cheese bundle on a large plate, and weight it with something nice and heavy (as you can see, I used a cast-iron skillet with two cans inside). Let the paneer sit for an hour or two.
- Unwrap the paneer carefully, and slice into one-inch cubes. When you are ready to fry the paneer, heat the ghee in a heavy skillet over medium heat. When it's hot, add the paneer and cook until golden brown on the bottom, 2-3 minutes. Flip and cook until golden on the other side, then transfer to a paper-towel lined plate.
- To make the saag, return the skillet to the heat and add the onion, garlic, and ginger. Cook over medium heat for about ten minutes, or until the onion is starting to brown.
- Meanwhile, place the spinach in a large glass bowl, and microwave for about 5 minutes, until defrosted. Squeeze excess moisture from the spinach and set aside.
- Once the onions are lightly browned, turn the heat off and stir in the turmeric and two teaspoons of the garam masala. Transfer to a blender and add the tomato paste and water, or use an immersion blender. Process until the mixture forms a paste, then return to the skillet.
- Turn the heat to medium and add the spinach, mixing well. Cover and cook for about ten minutes, stirring occasionally, until the spinach is darker green. Meanwhile, in a small, dry skillet, toast the remaining half teaspoon of garam masala over low heat until fragrant, about one minute. Mix the cream, salt, and toasted garam masala into the spinach, then carefully stir in the fried paneer. You may want to start with ½ cup of cream and add more if it looks too dry. Cover and cook for about ten more minutes, until the cheese is heated through.
- Top with cilantro if desired. Serve hot with rice or cauliflower rice.
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It looks so fresh and tasty. Can’t wait to make it at home . Hope me and my family will like your recpie.
Thanks! Hope you enjoy it as much as we did!
I looove paneer and will absolutely try your recipe! I have never made it myself but with your awesome step by step instructions, it should be a walk in the park! Delicious!! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks, Rose! When you give it a try, let me know how it goes 🙂 I like homemade paneer so much better than store bought!
I give this recipe two thumbs up. Saag Paneer is my favorite Indian dish. I never attempted to make it as I was under the impression it was too complicated. This recipe and its detailed steps made it very doable in a reasonable amount of time. I bought the paneer and garam masala from an Indian grocery store, but assembled everything else. The end result was just as good as when I order it from an Indian restaurant. It was delicious and I feel quite proud of myself. I now have the confidence to make this again and again. I may even try making the paneer sometime.
That’s wonderful, Diana! I’m so glad you enjoyed it. I hope you do try making your own paneer sometime–it takes a little effort but the homemade paneer tastes so much better! 🙂
saag paneer sounds delicious. i love paneer recipes thanks for share this.
I came across your blog while looking for some Indian food recipes and liked a lot. How amazing! I will keep an eye out for all your recipes 🙂
I'm totally gonna try this with Coconut milk and gelatin for the paneer portion and then coconut milk for the sauce 😀 Yum! hopefully this works!
Wow, do you have a link for the coconut milk & gelatin part? That sounds really interesting! Coconut milk should definitely work instead of the cream :). You could also try firm tofu in place of the paneer if you eat that, or chickpeas instead for chana saag. Let me know how it goes!
Yum!! Looks so delicious!
Thank you! 🙂