Spinach & Paneer Curry

Ingredients

• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
• 1 large onion, finely diced
• 1 thumb-sized piece ginger, grated
• 1 green chilli, finely chopped
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp garam masala
• salt
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 400 g paneer, cut into 2cm cubes
• 400 g baby spinach
• 100 ml double cream or coconut cream
• steamed basmati rice and naan, to serve

Method

1. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large, wide heavy pot over medium-high heat. Pat the paneer dry — water means steam, and steam means no golden crust. Season the cubes with a pinch of salt, then lay them in a single layer; don't crowd the pan or they'll sweat instead of colour. Fry for 2–3 minutes per side until burnished gold on at least two faces, then lift out and set aside.
2. Add the remaining tablespoon of oil and turn the heat to medium. Cook the onion for 8 minutes, stirring now and then, until deeply golden and starting to catch at the edges — that colour is the backbone of the curry. Add the garlic, ginger, and green chilli and cook for 30 seconds, just until fragrant. Don't let the garlic burn — it turns the whole pot bitter.
3. Stir in the cumin, ground coriander, turmeric, and half the garam masala. Bloom the spices in the oil for 30–60 seconds until they smell warm and nutty. Raw spices taste dusty; bloomed spices taste of themselves.
4. Tip in the chopped tomatoes, red lentils, and the 200 ml of water — the liquid is what breaks the tomatoes down so they taste of fruit, not tin. Bring to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes, stirring now and then, until the lentils have collapsed into the sauce and the oil starts to pool at the edges. You're after a thick, glossy, deep brick-red base.
5. Add the baby spinach in big handfuls, folding it through as each one wilts. Three to four minutes and it'll be silky and fully collapsed into the sauce.
6. Stir in the cream and return the paneer along with any resting juices. Heat through for 2 minutes, spooning the sauce over the cubes so they soak up the gravy. Scatter over the remaining garam masala. Taste, season, taste again — adjust the salt now, not at the table.
7. To serve, spoon the curry into bowls over steamed basmati rice with warm naan alongside for tearing and dragging through the sauce.