How to Make Saag Halloumi With a Salty Twist

Prove me wrong: the best vegetarian recipes are Indian. Think about it; you got your dal filled with lentil goodness and paneer; I love anything with paneer. But you know what I like better than paneer, your guessed it; halloumi. And that’s precisely why I am sharing my saag halloumi with you today!

Saag is a vegetarian Indian dish which is curry of edible greens, usually made with spinach stateside and typically includes delicious marinated squares of paneer, which is a super mild farmers cheese. Similar to halloumi, it has a high melting temperature, so it can be fried, seared, and even grilled. Paneer is so mild that it actually can be a little boring, so in my recipe, I am swapping that paneer for salty halloumi.

The result is the perfect saag halloumi which is a green aromatic and slightly spicy dish that looks like health on a plate. Serve this with roti, paratha, and or basmati rice for the perfect weeknight dinner that’s on the table in 30 minutes.

Serves 4

Tools Needed for Saag Halloumi

A food processor or a blender will be needed to get the right consistency for this curry. I cannot recommend my Kenwood multi-mixer enough. Mine has both a blender and food processor and much, much more. You must get one.

Ingredients

12 ounces of halloumi, cut into cubes

1 teaspoon of turmeric

1/2 teaspoon of cayenne

2 tablespoons of butter

1 package of frozen spinach

A handful of the fresh stuff

1 onion, diced

1 inch of ginger, minced

4 cloves of garlic, minced

2 green chilis, minced (optional for my spice lovers)

1/2 teaspoon of garam masala

2 teaspoons of coriander

1 teaspoon of cumin

1/2 cup of plain yogurt

Plenty of salt and some pepper to taste

Instructions

1. In a saute pan, melt butter over medium high heat. Cook onion, garlic, ginger, chilis and spinach for about 5 minutes.
2. Add salt, pepper, turmeric, garam masala, coriander, and cumin. Cook for another 15 minutes adding water as needed.
3. Stir in yogurt before blending in your food processor or blender.
4. Back in the pan, add the halloumi cubes and crisp up for about 5 minutes before adding the spinach curry mixture and heating it back up. Serve with Roti to soak up all that spinach goodness.