Saag Paneer

I think this is one of the easiest curries to make and takes less than an hour to cook, making it a great options for a healthy weeknight meal. I almost always have it as a side dish when I go out for a curry but the balance of protein and veg makes it a brilliant wholesome and balanced meal

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 25 minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

Curry -

500g baby spinach

3 tbsp ghee or coconut oil

1/2 tsp chilli powder

1.5 tsp turmeric

300g paneer, cut into bite size pieces

3 garlic cloves

1 white onion, peeled and quartered

1 small green chilli, deseeded if you prefer it on the milder side

thumb sized piece of ginger, peeled and roughly chopped

1 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 tsp garam masala

juice of 1 lemon

100ml cream

Kachumba -

1 red onion

2 inch piece of cucumber

1 tomatoes

small bunch of mint

Small bunch of coriander

Half a large green chilli, deseeded (optional)

Juice of 1/2 lemon

Nigella seeds, coriander, lemon and yoghurt to serve

Naan and rice to serve

Method:

1. First, make the kachumba; peel and finely slice the red onion into half moons. Cut the cucumber in half and scrape out the seeds using a teaspoon. Slice the cucumber and tomatoes into half moons. Finely chop the mint, coriander and chilli, if using, and add to a bowl along with the other ingredients and the lemon juice. Give everything a thorough mix and season to taste.

2. Start the curry by washing the spinach and blanching it in salted boiling water for 2 minutes. remove it from the pan into a sieve and refresh by running in under cold water for a couple of minutes. This will ensure it stays a vibrant green. Roughly chop it and set aside.

3. Put a large frying pan on a medium heat and add 2 tbsp of ghee or coconut oil. Once this has melted, add the chilli powder and turmeric and cook for 1 minute. Add the paneer and toss to coat. Continue cooking it for 5-10 minutes until the paneer is crisp and golden. Remove to a plate and set aside for later.

4. Blitz the garlic, onion, chilli and ginger in a food processor into a rough paste. In the same frying pan that you cooked the paneer in, add the last tablespoon of ghee or coconut oil, the cumin seeds and garam masala. Cook over a medium heat for 2 minutes until fragrant and then add the onion mix and cook for a further 5 minutes to soften, stirring regularly.

5. Blitz the spinach roughly in the food processor. You don't need to wash it between uses.

6. Add the lemon juice and cream to the pan and cook for another minute. Add the spinach and paneer to the pan along with a splash of water. Warm through and season to taste. Sprinkle the curry with nigella seeds and coriander and serve alongside fluffy basmati rice, naans, yoghurt, lemon wedges and the kachumba.