Palak Paneer

If you ever step inside an authentic Punjabi Dhaba, a dish you are sure to come across is the Palak Paneer. Earlier referred to as the Saag Paneer, the Palak Paneer is a perfect amalgamation of palak (spinach) as a curry base and nicely cubed paneer (cottage cheese). Traditionally made with the Sarson ka Saag (mustard green), the Palak Paneer is a much newer variant, beloved by the connoisseurs of vegetarian cuisines. Prepared in a blend of blanched and pureed spinach, tomatoes, onion, spices and cream, and paired with sides like rice, Roti, Naan and Paratha, this robust and rustic dish is sure to overwhelm your gustatory senses.

Although a quintessential desi dish, both palak and paneer have had their origins in the Persian lands. It was in the 7th century that spinach got introduced to India and China as the Persian vegetable. Around the 16th century when Rennet made "peynir" (cheese in Persian), paneer made it to the subcontinent with the Mughals. However, a combination of the two was never incepted till recent years. Punjab, being a fertile land, has harvested a plethora of vegetables, including the mustard green, since antiquity. It was the union of this peppery- pungent sapid saag with a rather mellowed paneer that resulted in the locally popular saag paneer.

Some sources contend that a variant of the Saag Paneer dates to the Vedic period. Mustard greens were mixed with yak milk and stored in large pots. It is believed that various Vedic texts have mentioned two variants of cheese, the porous and the non-porous ones. This cheese when added to the saag and milk mixture gave a similar dish to contemporary Saag Paneer.

Contrary to the mustard green, spinach is a much blander vegetable. The pungent trait of the mustard green was however not everyone’s preferred choice, thus was substituted with palak to adhere to the larger consumer demand. Paneer too is now being made by the Portuguese method of curdling milk with lemon or acid-based components. Whatever be the origin story, the revered Palak Paneer, loaded with ghee or butter, is surely a vegetarian delight and a winter-must all across the country.