Impress guests by making your own cheese for this creamy Indian comfort food made from fresh baby spinach simmered in an aromatic yogurt mix.
| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 2 hr 10 min |
| Prep: | 1 hr 40 min |
| Cook: | 30 min |
| Yield: | 6 servings |
Ingredients
- 6 cups whole milk
- 1 cup plain 2 percent Greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
- Kosher salt
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- Vegetable oil, for frying
- Kosher salt
- 2 pounds baby spinach
- 1 2-inch piece ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1/2 jalapeno pepper (seeded for less heat)
- 2 teaspoons ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
- 3/4 cup plain 2 percent Greek yogurt
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
Instructions
- Make the cheese: Line a colander with a double layer of damp cheesecloth; put in the sink. Bring the milk to a simmer in a wide nonreactive pot over medium heat, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon. Remove from the heat and stir in the yogurt, lemon juice and 2 teaspoons salt. Continue to stir gently until large curds form and separate from the whey, 1 to 2 minutes. Strain through the cheesecloth-lined colander, discarding the whey. Gather the ends of the cheesecloth and twist to squeeze out any excess whey (run the sides of the bundle under cool water if it’s too hot to handle). Tie the ends of the cheesecloth around a wooden spoon handle and lay the spoon over the colander, letting the bundle dangle; let drain, 10 minutes.
- Untie the bundle and twist the cheesecloth again, squeezing out any more whey. Lay the bundle on its side on a plate. Top with another plate and weigh it down with a large can. Refrigerate until a firm cake forms, about 1 hour; unwrap and refrigerate in an airtight container until ready to use, or up to 2 days.
- Fry the cheese: Cut the cheese into 3/4-inch cubes. Toss in the flour until well coated, shaking off any excess. Heat about 1/2 inch vegetable oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Carefully add the cheese and fry, turning occasionally, until golden brown, 2 to 4 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Season lightly with salt and set aside.
- Make the spinach: Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil. Working in batches, cook the spinach until just tender, about 30 seconds. Remove with a slotted spoon and transfer to a bowl of salted ice water. Drain and squeeze dry, then chop and set aside.
- Pulse the ginger, garlic, jalapeno, coriander, cumin, turmeric and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a food processor until finely chopped. Whisk the yogurt, 1/4 cup water and 1 teaspoon salt in a small bowl.
- Heat 2 tablespoons butter and the vegetable oil in a wide pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until deep golden brown, about 10 minutes. Add the ginger mixture and cook, stirring, until toasted, about 5 minutes (add a splash of water if the mixture is sticking). Reduce the heat to medium low; add 1/2 cup water and scrape up any browned bits, then add the cooked spinach and stir until heated through, about 4 minutes. Stir in the yogurt mixture and simmer gently until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Add the fried cheese and the remaining 2 tablespoons butter and cook, stirring, until heated through, about 1 minute. Season with salt. Photograph by Anna Williams
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 6 servings |
| Calories | 1117 |
| Total Fat | 106 g |
| Saturated Fat | 18 g |
| Carbohydrates | 29 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 4 g |
| Sugar | 17 g |
| Protein | 19 g |
| Cholesterol | 56 mg |
| Sodium | 1445 mg |
Reviews
A word of advice, read the full directions before you even attempt this recipe. If you have ALL DAY to cook a spinach dish, that’s great. Most people don’t. Two whole pounds of spinach cost me about $14 at the health food store, that is another item to consider. The other ingredients were another $15. My main complaint is that after the super labor-intensive and messy process of making the cheese, I only ended up with about 15 little 1 inch squares of cheese. Not near enough, and a lot of waste.
A total of about $30 for a side dish of spinach + about 6 hours of messy work.
Save yourself the hassle and just order takeout.
I’ve made this dish many times and it has always turned out great. I don’t add the yogurt in the dish but leave it off to the side so people can add the amount they want. I made the cheese from scratch once but found it worth it to just buy the paneer from local Indian market.
The first time we tried this we had less than stellar success with the amount of cheese produced. With experimentation we have found that at a minimum whole milk is a must and half and half produces the greatest amount of cheese. Once you have refined your technique it is surprisingly simple and has become a staple around our house.
the yogurt separated when I added it and the final result was watery with little specks of dairy. sounds like others had the same result
An absolute waste of supplies. I followed the directions exactly and the whey moderately separated but, for all of the milk I used, there was barely anything. I won’t try this one again.
While this took a while to make, none of the steps were hard. I didn’t end up with the creamy sauce like I’ve had in restaurants, I’m sure due to some mistake I made, but it didn’t matter. This was absolutely delicious !! I am definitely making it again !!
I was a little worried about making cheese. The directions were very clear, and my cheese came out perfect. I did not realize that Saag Paneer could taste so good. I will be making this one again.