Saag Paneer & Chickpeas
with naan
Smarts: We saute the paneer and chickpeas in turmeric, salt, and oil first for color, texture, and flavor.
Ingredients
- Frozen spinach - 16 oz, defrosted and drained of as much liquid as possible
- Onions, medium - 1, chopped
- Garlic - 2 cloves, minced
- Ginger - 1/2 inch, grated
- Jalapenos - 1, seeded and diced
- Cilantro (opt) - 1/4 bunch, chopped
- Diced tomatoes (14 oz / 397 g can) - 1 can, drained
- Paneer - 8 oz, cubed
- Garbanzo beans - 1 cup
- Turmeric - 1 Tbsp
- Cooking oil - 1 1/2 Tbsp + 1/2 tsp
- Coriander - 1 Tbsp
- Cumin - 1 1/2 tsp
- Garam masala - 1/2 tsp
- Naan - 4 pieces
- Yogurt, plain - 1/4 cup
Nutrition Facts
Prep
- Spinach - Remove from bag and thaw in microwave or place bag in a bowl of warm water. Once thawed, drain out as much liquid as possible using a colander.
- Onions / Garlic / Ginger / Jalapenos / Cilantro - Prep as directed. (Can be done up to 3 days ahead)
- Puree spinach - Drain tomatoes. Using a blender, food processor, or immersion blender, blend spinach and tomatoes until smooth. (Can be done up to 3 days ahead)
- Paneer - Cube.
- Garbanzo beans - Drain and rinse.
- Marinate proteins - Toss paneer and garbanzo beans with turmeric and some salt and marinate for at least 5 minutes.
Unlock this meal along with hundreds of smart meal plans and never stress about "What's for dinner?" again
Try for freeLearn More
Make
- Heat a non-stick pan (if not using non-stick, you'll have much more trouble with paneer sticking to the pan and will have to compensate by using more oil) over medium-high heat. Add first part of cooking oil and then paneer and garbanzo beans to heated oil. Saute until golden, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove and set aside.
- Heat a Dutch oven over medium-high heat and add second part of cooking oil. Add onions, garlic, ginger, and jalapenos to heated oil. Saute and caramelize aromatics for 3 to 5 minutes. If they ever look like they’re going to burn, just add a splash of water.
- Add coriander, cumin, and garam masala. Saute for another 2 minutes with spices. Again, add a splash of water if ingredients look they’re about to burn.
- Fold in pureed spinach and tomatoes and cook for another 5 minutes.
- Warm or toast naan while saag is cooking.
- Stir in paneer and beans.
- Remove from heat and fold in yogurt. Season to taste with salt or any more spices. Garnish with cilantro and enjoy with naan!
Nutrition Facts
Reviews
Ratings
48 reviews
I was surprised how good this was. I am getting better at checking the flavors in these dishes as I go along with the prep and adding seasoning as needed AND it is really making a difference. yay!
0 HelpfulReally good! I was skeptical since I eat a lot of Indian food so my standards were high. I ended up using frozen *creamed* spinach and omitted yogurt at the end. Didn't drain the spinach or tomatoes. Really tasty and fairly easy, even our 17 month old gobbled it up!
0 HelpfulThis was not liquidy enough. Perhaps I shouldn't have squeezed out as much liquid as I did from the spinach and likewise, I wouldn't drain the tomatoes next time. Making paneer was easier than I thought.
0 Helpfulreally quite a mess, but that could just be me and my chaotic style of cooking. in future, i would have the garbanzos in a side dish rather than in the saag paneer.
0 Helpful