This beautiful Paneer and Aloo Kofta in Saag Curry starts off with koftas, which are made with potatoes and paneer with spices and Panko breadcrumbs to bind it. The greens include mustard greens and spinach, that is blanched, pureed and cooked in alliums and dry Indian spices. Enjoy this dish with garlic naan or with plain rotlis. The dish is beautifully flavored and very delicious. It comes together fairly easily and makes for a great weeknight meal.
Vegetable Koftas and Malai Koftas were regular rotations in our dinner menu, growing up. We loved that restaurant style curry and taste, with the triangle parathas that mom would make. The sauce would be a creamy tomato base, made with a cashew paste and heavy cream. That sauce was pretty versatile. You could simply add parboiled vegetables to it as well and make a wonderful vegetable to go with the parathas.
My mom would make the most amazing koftas, the taste would stay lingering in the mouth, much after we were done with our meal. We went out to eat in a restaurant only once a week, or maybe once in two weeks, so having restaurant style koftas at home was really a meal we would look forward to.
How did I come up with this recipe?
My kids do not like paneer. I don’t know if it is the texture or what? I decided to make the Malai Koftas which are essentially Paneer and Aloo Koftas, or Paneer and Potato Koftas. It is usually in a red creamy tomato based sauce, but I decided to put it in Saag Sauce or Curry and get some greens into my kids too, this way. That is how I came up with this recipe.
What is saag?
Saag is essentially a mix of the beautiful winter leafy produce such as mustard greens and spinach. It is typically a North Indian dish whose origins could be Punjab and Haryana, and is full of flavor from the greens and the spices that go into it. The combination is Makki ki Roti and Sarson ka Saag that you will find in the little dhabbas, or little eateries on the roadside in Northern India. Sarson ka saag means it is made only of mustard greens.
I have one too many memories of us going for family vacations to North Indian destinations, and stopping at these little eateries to get some real authentic, delicious, ghee laden dhabba food. It is really cheap and full of flavor, and you can feel the love that is put into it by the owners of the dhabba, who make the food. You have to wash it down with a savory lassi. If you have tried Paneer Saag at Indian restaurants, you know what I am talking about.
How to get the vibrant green color of the Paneer and Aloo Kofta in Saag Curry?
My very close friend from my childhood days is here in the Bay Area too, and she is Punjabi. Her mother was from Punjab, and she would make the best chole. I learnt how to make a good looking chole from her mother. Her secret that she shared with me, is in my blog post here. The color of the chole is unbelievable! Aunty made good food, good Punjabi food.
I learnt this trick from aunty, that to retain the vibrant color, you add a pinch of baking soda to the water, in which you will wilt the greens. The beautiful green color is retained. Sadly aunty passed away last year. I have many memories of talking to her, and spending time with my friend and aunty at their home in Juhu.
Ingredients of the Paneer and Aloo Kofta in Saag Curry
The ingredients of the Paneer and Aloo Kofta in Saag Curry are:
Paneer and Aloo Kofta:
- Paneer : I use the paneer from the Indian grocery store. There are many brands – I like the Desi or the Gopi Paneer brands.
- Potatoes
- Cornstarch
- Panko breadcrumbs: Panko breadcrumbs are available everywhere now. Here is the link to purchase it from Amazon.
- Garam masala
- Cumin seeds
- Ginger and green chillies
- Cilantro
- Cashews
- Oil for frying
Saag Curry:
- Mustard greens and spinach
- Baking soda
- Ghee
- Cumin seeds
- Bay leaf
- Tomatoes
- Alliums like green chillies, ginger, garlic and red onions
- Dry Indian spices like cumin, coriander, turmeric, red chilli powder and garam masala
- Brown sugar to balance out all the flavors
- Heavy cream
How to make Paneer and Aloo Kofta in Saag Curry?
The paneer and potato koftas are pretty easy to make. You essentially grate the paneer and the potatoes, so that there are no lumps in the batter. Add the spices, panko bread crumbs, cilantro and bind the dough. Make about 13-14 balls and stuff each ball with broken cashews. You can try to make smaller balls, if you want more of them. I prefer this size. The flavor profile of these koftas are really delicious and once I fry them, a couple always disappear because my kids love them as is! They are shallow fried, until the balls are golden brown in color.
How to make Saag Curry?
You start by wilting the mustard greens and spinach in a bit of water, only for a few minutes. The greens are then turned into a green paste, in a high speed blender. I preserve the boiled green water, because it has all the vitamins and minerals from the greens. I just drink the water as is, once I have used a bit to make the curry into a good consistency.
I use ghee to make the saag. It gives the curry a good luxurious and richer taste than regular oil. It gives the curry a bit of oomph. The curry is made with a base of onions, tomatoes, bay leaf, garlic, ginger, green chillies, and dry spices. I also add a bit of brown sugar, which is not the norm, but I always add it to balance out all the flavors. The curry cooks up very quickly and you can smell the wonderful aroma in your kitchen. The bay leaf is removed just before serving.
Assembly of the Paneer and Aloo Kofta in Saag Curry
The curry is placed in a serving dish while hot, and the kofta balls are placed on top in a pretty manner. I simply drizzled a bit of heavy cream on the top as a garnish. This curry is wonderful with some parathas, or plain ghee smeared rotlis, or even with some cumin rice. The curry keeps well the next day too. Infact, my family had this dish the next day as well, since my kids had 1 ½ koftas, so we had leftovers for the next day as well. How I love leftovers! 🙂
I hope you get to make this curry and enjoy it, as much as my family did! It was a hit, and I plan to change up the kofta filling with a vegetable kofta perhaps! 🙂
Where do I get the panko breadcrumbs from?
Panko breadcrumbs are available everywhere now. Here is the link to purchase it from Amazon.
How can I store the leftovers?
The leftovers can be stored in an airtight container, in the fridge for upto a day.
Other dinner inspiration recipes on my blog are:
IF you do make it, please do not forget to comment on this blog post, and on the Instagram post as well. Please tag #thejamlab if you make it.
XO
Amisha
Print
Paneer and Aloo Kofta in Saag Curry
Paneer-Aloo Koftas
- (~ 40 grams each ball; total 13-14 balls)
- 6 ounces paneer (available at the Indian store or specialty grocery stores)
- 300 grams potatoes, boiled and skin removed
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- ¼ cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 green chilli
- 1 inch ginger
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro
- 12 whole cashews, broken into rough pieces
- Vegetable Oil to fry the koftas
Saag Curry
- 1 bunch mustard greens (~8 to 10 cups, packed tightly), washed and roughly chopped
- 4 cups spinach, washed
- 3 cups water
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 tablespoons ghee
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 medium red onion, finely chopped
- 1 medium tomato, finely chopped
- 2 green chillies
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 inch ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon red chilli powder
Garnish
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream to drizzle
To serve
- Naan or Rotlis or Parathas
Get Recipe Ingredients
Paneer-Aloo Koftas
- In a mini food processor, add the green chilli and ginger, and grind to make a mince paste.
- In a medium bowl, grate the paneer and potato. Add in the ginger-chilli paste and the rest of the ingredients.
- Bind the dough well. Divide the dough into 13 or 14 balls. Each ball weighs around 40 grams. Take about 3-4 broken cashew pieces, make an indentation in the ball, add the cashews in the center, and close the ball from the top. Roll it between the palms of your hands. Repeat for the 12-13 equal sized balls, between the palm of your hands. and place them on a plate.
To fry the koftas
- In a large non-stick deep pan, on medium to high heat, add in the vegetable oil. Let the oil get hot, it takes about 5 minutes for it to reach a frying temperature of 350 degrees F.
- Fry 3 to 4 koftas at a time, for 2 minutes on each side, until they are golden brown in color. Remove them on a plate, with a paper towel on the side. Repeat for all the kofta balls.
Saag Curry
- In a mini food processor, add the green chilli, garlic and ginger, and grind to make a mince paste.
- In a large pot, on medium heat, add the water and baking soda and let it come to a boil. Add the spinach and mustard greens, and cover with a lid. After a minute, push it down with a wooden spatula, let it cook for another 2-3 minutes. Push it down occasionally as the greens wilt. Remove from heat. Remove the greens and put it into a high speed blender, at high speed to make a paste. Preserve the water(to thin out the curry slightly and drink the remaining! It has all the vitamins and minerals!).
- In a large non-stick skillet, on medium heat, add the ghee. Let it heat for a minute. Add in the cumin seeds, and bay leaf, saute for 30 seconds. Once the cumin seeds start splattering, add the red onions and saute for 5 minutes, until golden brown in color. Add in the tomatoes and saute for a minute. Add the green chilli-garlic-ginger mince paste and saute to mix. Add in all the dry spices like turmeric, cumin, coriander, garam masala red chilli powder, brown sugar and salt. Saute for 2-3 minutes, until the entire mixture forms a paste.
- Add the green paste into this curry base, and mix to combine. Saute for 3 to 5 minutes to cook the mixture and let the flavors combine. You can thin out the curry if it is too thick, by adding ¼ cup of the reserved water at a time. You want the curry to be a good consistency, to be able to use naan or roti to scoop it up.
Plate the curry
- Add the curry onto a medium sized shallow dish. Place the kofta balls in a pretty manner. Garnish with a drizzle of heavy cream on the top. Serve with naan or rotis and some sliced red onions/limes on the side!
