michelle picker cooks

Saag is an Indian dish of finely chopped or creamed greens which can include spinach, mustard greens collard greens or, in fact, anything green. It’s usually served with rice or Indian breads and is often cooked with meats, shellfish or, as in my case, with paneer. Paneer is a cows’ milk cheese which can be made fresh by curdling milk with lemon juice. I chose to use a bought paneer which is firm enough to fry and brown before adding to the saag. The saag recipe comes from Maddhur Jaffrey’s ILLUSTRATED INDIAN COOKERY.

In a large saucepan heat 3 tablespoons of mustard oil over medium heat. Add 2-3 dry red chillies and allow them to darken slightly before adding 3 cloves of finely diced garlic. When the garlic is just browning add 1-2 fresh whole green chillies, stir once then add 900g (2 lbs) of chopped kale leaves. Stir again and add 300ml (10 fl oz) of chicken stock or water. Cover and simmer over low heat for 20-30 minutes. Meanwhile, cut the paneer into cubes and shallow-fry over low-medium heat until golden on all sides. When the kale is tender, turn up the heat and cook away all the liquid. Lastly, add the paneer, stirring to combine, and season to taste with salt.