Instant pot Kale Saag Paneer is a twist to a classic Punjabi dish – Saag Paneer! Saag primarily means green leafy vegetables like spinach, mustard greens, fenugreek etc. It goes amazingly well with Makki ki roti (Corn tortilla) and a dollop of butter. This traditional dish is eaten during winters in Punjab – northern part of India. Saag tends to keep you warm during winters and is a good source of iron, magnesium and calcium. This winter special makes everyone drool in winters. When cubed paneer enters the equation, the dish becomes saag paneer.
Hey there everyone! I hope everyone had a Fun filled Halloween. We surely had a fun filled one on our end. One of the primary reason being my elder son R2’s birthday. Yes, he is a Halloween baby and time flies so fast can’t believe he is so close to being a teenager! Fall is my favorite season. Living in the east coast, I feel foliage is basically the most magical process of nature to ever occur. Trees bursting into the red, orange, and yellow colors making it a beautiful experience. Halloween, Karwachauth (Indian festival), Diwali( Indian festival )and Thanksgiving are pretty awesome holidays and happen within 30 days. All these occasions revolve around dressing up in costumes, fancy dresses, candy, get-togethers, party and family time. It just gets better with Holiday season, Christmas and New Year. This is probably the best time of the year where one tends to spend a lot of time with family and friends.
What is Saag?
Saag means green leafy vegetables. Indian saag is a curry preparation made of cooked green leafy vegetables. The usual suspects that get added together in a saag are spinach, mustard greens, fenugreek, kale, collards, turnip greens, chard, bok choy, and beet greens. Any combination of greens works, ofcourse it is based on your liking. Saag Panner takes time, love and patience to make it the traditional way, however, we are drastically reducing the cooking time by making it in our very own Instant-pot so that you have more time with your loved ones.
What is the difference between Saag and Palak?
Palak means spinach and when you say Palak Paneer, it usually means that you will get only this leafy vegetable in the greens that you ordered in a restaurant. As mentioned above, Saag means a combination of leafy vegetables and you can control which greens are used to prepare the saag. There are still some people who use Palak & Saag in the same sentence, and they usually mean that the main green leafy vegetable in the saag is spinach. Finally, there is not a lot of difference between the two and a lot of people use it interchangeably however saag is a mixture of multiple green leafy vegetables. There you are much smarter now when you go to a restaurant and order a Saag Paneer or Palak Paneer. You can certainly look at the Palak Paneer recipe to see the minor differences.
Instant-pot Kale Saag paneer is not only delicious but also provides a delicious source of necessary protein to those who don’t eat meat. Saag paneer is commonly eaten as a side dish—perhaps with a bowl of Instant -Pot Dal Tadka or Instant pot Dal Makani, or vegetable tikka masala. It is also eaten with bread like Whole Wheat Naan, often with a glass of lassi to drink.
I have seen my mom spent hours on prepping and then cooking this delicious Saag. From sorting the greens, washing them multiple times :), chopping it and then cooking it for hours using multiple utensils. I would see her enjoy the process, however, with the new age lifestyle, it is difficult to spend so much time on just preparing one dish. I used to believe there are no shortcuts to make this delicious dish and I was so so wrong! Cooking it in Instant-pot was such a breeze without compromising on the flavor or texture. I can now prepare Saag without hassles at my pace and time.
What do you need to make Kale Saag Paneer?
Indian food is notorious for being too complicated and greasy. This recipe is not at all complicated if you have the right ingredients in your pantry. Do check out our recipe card for more details on where to purchase the ingredients. Kale, Spinach, Paneer can be easily found in whole foods or any Indian grocery store and few spices and yes INSTANT-POT
A stew-like preparation made with Kale & Spinach. Kale saag paneer is a well-loved vegetarian side. It’s rich in calcium and folate from Kale & spinach and is gluten-free too. Nowadays, I honestly prefer my version. It tastes just as satisfying but also nourishes me.
How to make Kale Saag Paneer recipe video
In case you are wondering what’s the design on my hand. I got a Henna tatoo on my hand for the Karwachauth festival.
Is the Kale Saag Paneer Recipe Freezer Friendly?
The recipe is freezer friendly. I usually double/ triple the size of the batch and freeze it for up to 3 months. when I need to serve I thaw it in the fridge overnight and give a tempering of some fresh ginger/ garlic and green chillies and add the Panner. Do not add paneer to the saag if you are going to freeze it.
Instant-Pot Kale Saag Paneer
Instant pot Kale Saag Paneer is a twist to a classic Punjabi dish – Saag Paneer! Saag primarily means green leafy vegetables like spinach, mustard greens, fenugreek etc. This traditional dish is eaten during winters in Punjab – northern part of India. Saag tends to keep you warm during winters and is a good source of iron, magnesium and calcium. This winter special makes everyone drool in winters.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (Approx 25 small bite size cubes) - Paneer / Cottage cheese/ Tofu for vegan version
- 1 bunch Organic Spinach
- 1 Bunch Organic Kale
- 4 Green chilli
- 3 Tomato / crushed
- 1 onion / chopped
- 1/4 cup yogurt
- 1-1/2 Tsp Garam masala
- 1/2 Tsp Turmeric powder
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 tsp Cumin seeds
- 2 Tbsp Dried Fenugreek leaves
- 1 Tbsp fresh ginger- garlic paste
- Salt to taste
- 1Tbsp Ghee/ Olive oil vegan version
Instructions
- Wash the Kale and Spinach leaves and set aside. Soak paneer cubes in hot water till use.
- Put IP on Sauté mode adjust to NORMAL.
- When HOT add ghee.Sauté cumin seeds , cinnamon stick ,green chillies, ,ginger - garlic paste , Dried fenugreek leaves and stir .
- Add in the chopped Onions ,Tomato stir it well .
- Add in the salt,Yogurt , turmeric powder and the garam masala .mix well.
- Cancel Sauté.
- Add Kale and spinach leaves .
- Cover with lid,VENT to SEALING.Select STEAM,adjust to LESS & cook for 1 minute.Quick Release immediately.
- Remove the cinnamon stick.
- Using an immersion blender,blend the spinach into a smooth paste
- Lastly add the paneer nd crushed Kasoori methi. Mix well and serve hot.Enjoy!
Recommended Products
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Instant Pot DUO60 6 Qt 7-in-1 Multi-Use Programmable Pressure Cooker, Slow Cooker, Rice Cooker, Steamer, Sauté, Yogurt Maker and Warmer -
KitchenAid KHB1231WH 2-Speed Hand Blender, White
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Frontier Garam Masala Certified Organic, Salt Free Blend, 2-Ounce Bottle
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Simply Organic Ground Turmeric Root | Certified Organic | 2.38 oz. (3 Pack)
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Dried Fenugreek Leaves/Kasoori Methi, used in South Asian and Central Asian Cuisine, Kosher Certified (1oz.)
Beryl says
Great recipe! My family loves it! It has become part of our regular rotation. I love how healthy it is and it is a good way to use all of that kale growing in our garden.
Soniya Saluja says
Hi Beryl, we are so glad to hear that you enjoyed this recipe with home grown kale :)
Hope you try other recipes from our blog xoxo
Jimmy says
Turned out yummy. I added 2 more green chilies as we love spicy saag.
Soniya Saluja says
Hey Jimmy, so glad to hear that you loved the stage! Do try other recipes from our blog and share your feedback with us.
Blanca says
This was my first time making this. This is Delicious! I really like it. Thanks A lot.
Margie says
This looks so yummy and refreshing! I love a good, healthy soup!
Patty says
Hi we are dairy-free. Can you replace the yoghurt with anything else? or would a soya yoghurt taste good in it?
Soniya Saluja says
Hi Patty, you can use soya milk or you can replace the yogurt with any dairy free milk too.
Carolyn says
I just made this for lunch and it’s so delicious!!! It’s my first time having any kind of saag paneer so I’m quite pleased that it turned out 😊 I used frozen spinach and kale as that was all I had, about 10oz of each thawed and drained though I think I’ll skip the draining next time, I ended up adding some broth back in when I was blending in the final step. Thank you for sharing this recipe, I’ll definitely be making it again! ❤️
Soniya Saluja says
Hi Carolyn, so pleased to hear that❤️ Thank you so much for taking your time out to share your feedback with us. As you said you are going to definitely make this again try it with fresh spinach snd kale. You can add tofu or even boiled baby potatoes instead of paneer :)
Do visit us agima❤️ xoxo
Karl says
This looks great but I have a question. During the cooking stage at Step 3 it says “When HOT add ghee.Sauté cumin seeds , cinnamon stick ,green chillies, ,ginger – garlic paste , Dried fenugreek leaves and stir .” But then the final step, 11, says “Lastly add the paneer nd crushed Kasoori methi. Mix well and serve hot.Enjoy!”. There’s only 2 Tbsp of fenugreek leaves in the recipe and it doesn’t say anything about separating. Do we add the full 2 Tbsp in step 3 and then just “to taste” in step 11, do we separate and do 1 Tbsp in #3 and 1 Tbsp to finish, . . . ? Confused. Thanks.
Soniya Saluja says
Hey Karl, the dried fenugreek leaves(kastoori methi) is distributed equally.. 1tbsp in the step 3 and the rest in the end. Will edit it post and make it clear for the reader. Sorry about the confusion
Roxie says
What kind of kale do you use? Do you think I could use baby kale? Thanks so much for sharing.
Soniya Saluja says
Hi Roxie, you can make this with baby kale or regular kale :) do share your feedback with us after you make it !
Roxie says
Thanks for the response! About how much spinach and kale in ounces? Or alternatively about how high was it in your instant pot -2/3rds full or all the way full (is all the way full dangerous… I seriously do not know). I watched the video but had a hard time figuring it out.
Soniya Saluja says
Hey there once again! That’s why we are here for :) I use oned bunch of spinach and 1 bunch of kale.. I don’t know in ounce but I have a 6qt IP and it was almost to the top. Don’t worry about it.. the spinach and kale shrinks drastically after it cooks.. “you will wonder where did all the green go ” 💁🤔 just push it down with your hand before you put on the ip lid.
Marlynn | UrbanBlissLife says
This looks so yummy and refreshing! I love a good, healthy soup!
Meghan says
This looks SO delicious. I definitely need to try out this recipe out sometime!
Kasey Ma says
This looks like a great recipe! I have never tried this before.
Kasey Ma
thestylewright.com
Julie Bonner says
I’m always looking for new vegetarian Instant Pot recipes for my boys. This sounds delicious!
Luci Cook says
This looks really delicious. Really perfect for the cooler weather.
DeliciousLittleBites says
I absolutely love paneer and kale! This sounds like the perfect meal on a chilly fall day!
Soniya Saluja says
Thanks.. hope you give this version a try :)
Jere Cassidy says
This looks creamy and full of goodness. Love to learn about Indian food.
Beth Neels says
This sounds like the perfect, healthy comfort food! Kale is one of my favorites, so I am putting this on the list to make!
Bandia Blog says
That looks very yummy!
Soniya Saluja says
Thanks ..hope you give it a try :)
Jacqueline Meldrum says
Oh yum, that looks absolutely delicious. If only I could scoop some up from the screen. Sharing!
Stephanie says
This looks and sounds so good. Everything I love in one hearty bowl. Can’t wait to try this yummy recipe.