favourite saag or palak paneer recipes?
April 3, 2022 5:56 AM Subscribe
I miss Trader Joe's frozen palak paneer so much!! It is on product hold, maybe due to testing for high lead last year, and I am requesting recommendations for specific saag/palak paneer recipes that might dupe the TJ's item, slight preference for using frozen spinach for convenience. If you haven't had the TJ's one, open to trying any favourite recipes.
I haven’t had TJ’s, but I can give you my go-to recipe. It uses fresh spinach but you can probably modify it. Spices and ginger garlic paste can be found at any Indian grocery store or Amazon.
posted by redlines at 6:21 AM on April 3, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by redlines at 6:21 AM on April 3, 2022 [2 favorites]
I like TJ's frozen palak paneer too, and didn't realized it had been canceled! Just to note, I don't think it's the same as TastyBite (this is the frozen and not the ready to eat version). Luckily palak paneer is fairly easy to make, as long as you can buy premade paneer at a local store. I've used a variation of this recipe before.
posted by pinochiette at 6:31 AM on April 3, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by pinochiette at 6:31 AM on April 3, 2022 [1 favorite]
I've made Priya Krishna's Saag Feta a few times and it's quite good and relatively easy. I make it with frozen chopped spinach and it works just fine.
posted by Janta at 6:53 AM on April 3, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by Janta at 6:53 AM on April 3, 2022 [2 favorites]
Pro Home Cook's recipe seems pretty darn authentic but distilled for Western audience. He used fresh, but he explained that frozen is perfectly fine. The trick seems to be pre-cook the spices, then add some sort of lentil or chickpeas.
posted by kschang at 7:30 AM on April 3, 2022
posted by kschang at 7:30 AM on April 3, 2022
The Curry Guy's blog and books are great resources for British-Indian dishes (ie, more restaurant style than not) and I make a variation similar to this one.
Depending on your locale, you can absolutely substitute non-melting Mexican queso fresco for paneer; it's much easier for me to find at my neighborhood grocery store.
We also routinely sub out the paneer for potatoes cooked up as homefries, but with garam masala, hing and turmeric (and salt and pepper), and it's pretty fantastic too.
posted by furnace.heart at 8:18 AM on April 3, 2022 [2 favorites]
Depending on your locale, you can absolutely substitute non-melting Mexican queso fresco for paneer; it's much easier for me to find at my neighborhood grocery store.
We also routinely sub out the paneer for potatoes cooked up as homefries, but with garam masala, hing and turmeric (and salt and pepper), and it's pretty fantastic too.
posted by furnace.heart at 8:18 AM on April 3, 2022 [2 favorites]
In a little water in a large pot, steam 20 oz of spinach, mustard greens, etc, until wilted. Remove to a cutting board and let cool. In a clean kichten towel, wring out as much water as possible. Chop very fine.
Put 3 tbsp oil or ghee in a pot, and add big pinches of mustard seed, while cumin, and a minced clove of garlic. Saute until cumin starts popping, then add one chopped onion and 3 more cloves of minced garlic. Stir until golden. Add spinach, garam masala to taste, and a little more oil. Stir until heated, then add a few tbsps of yogurt or heavy cream and blitz with an immersion blender to desired consistency. Add more yogurt if needed. Add salt and garam masala to taste.
In another pan, saute bite sized pieces of paneer in ghee or oil until golden on each side. Use plenty of oil and flip only once. Add to the saag.
To make paneer yourself, put a half glon of whole milk (preferably raw or unpasteurized) in a large pot. Add the juice of one lemon and a big pinch of salt. Heat slowly while stirring until the curds and whey start to separate (I like to add 1/8 tsp of liquid rennet at this point for extra flavor) then cover and let sit for 5 minutes off the heat for it to separate fully (the whey will be almost clear). Pour into a colander lined with 3 layers of cheese cloth. Gather and tie the cheesecloth in to bundle and squeeze out the whey as much as you can (don't squeeze too hard or you'll tear the cloth!). Place between two cutting boards and put a book under one end so the boards tip toward the sink to drain. Place heavy books or canned goods on top to press the remaining moisture from the cheese and let drain for several hours, and you're done!
posted by ananci at 9:12 AM on April 3, 2022 [4 favorites]
Put 3 tbsp oil or ghee in a pot, and add big pinches of mustard seed, while cumin, and a minced clove of garlic. Saute until cumin starts popping, then add one chopped onion and 3 more cloves of minced garlic. Stir until golden. Add spinach, garam masala to taste, and a little more oil. Stir until heated, then add a few tbsps of yogurt or heavy cream and blitz with an immersion blender to desired consistency. Add more yogurt if needed. Add salt and garam masala to taste.
In another pan, saute bite sized pieces of paneer in ghee or oil until golden on each side. Use plenty of oil and flip only once. Add to the saag.
To make paneer yourself, put a half glon of whole milk (preferably raw or unpasteurized) in a large pot. Add the juice of one lemon and a big pinch of salt. Heat slowly while stirring until the curds and whey start to separate (I like to add 1/8 tsp of liquid rennet at this point for extra flavor) then cover and let sit for 5 minutes off the heat for it to separate fully (the whey will be almost clear). Pour into a colander lined with 3 layers of cheese cloth. Gather and tie the cheesecloth in to bundle and squeeze out the whey as much as you can (don't squeeze too hard or you'll tear the cloth!). Place between two cutting boards and put a book under one end so the boards tip toward the sink to drain. Place heavy books or canned goods on top to press the remaining moisture from the cheese and let drain for several hours, and you're done!
posted by ananci at 9:12 AM on April 3, 2022 [4 favorites]
I haven't had the TJ's brand but the recipe I make at home is Aarti Sequeira's saag paneer. It's not exactly conventional (eg, she has you season the paneer before frying) but I like it.
posted by LobsterMitten at 10:17 AM on April 3, 2022
posted by LobsterMitten at 10:17 AM on April 3, 2022
The hold might be off. I picked up two from my local (Bay Area) TJ's a few days ago, after being on the lookout for months.
posted by dws at 10:26 AM on April 3, 2022
posted by dws at 10:26 AM on April 3, 2022
I have made this budget bytes recipe for years! If you can't easily get actual paneer, fresh mozzarella is a decent substitute.
posted by nakedmolerats at 1:25 PM on April 3, 2022
posted by nakedmolerats at 1:25 PM on April 3, 2022
Depending on what type of markets you have access to, and the time of the year, frozen spinach may well be the best and tastiest option. I mean, I can't wait till I can find mature full greens at my Asian market or the farmers market, but till then, those bags of "baby" spinach are just a waste of money, go with the frozen.
posted by mumimor at 2:21 PM on April 3, 2022
posted by mumimor at 2:21 PM on April 3, 2022
Felicity Cloake's distillation of various saag paneer recipes in The Guardian is reliably yummo
posted by schmoft at 3:18 PM on April 3, 2022
posted by schmoft at 3:18 PM on April 3, 2022
Lead! I have so many of them hoarded in my freezer. Okay, well, the pouches are the same as TastyBite, but I have yet to find a similar frozen product.
posted by betweenthebars at 6:40 PM on April 3, 2022
posted by betweenthebars at 6:40 PM on April 3, 2022
Response by poster: Thank you for all the recipes, I went to my local TJ’s and they did indeed have it back in stock!! I plan on trying all the recipes anyway, thanks all!
posted by tangaroo at 4:26 PM on April 9, 2022
posted by tangaroo at 4:26 PM on April 9, 2022
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by sundrop at 6:05 AM on April 3, 2022 [5 favorites]