The Green Kitchen

Ingredients

• 750g spinach washed

• 3 Tablespoons of coconut oil

• 1 teaspoons of cumin seeds

• 1 large onion, chopped

• thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger, peeled and sliced into long julienne

• 1½ tbsp chopped garlic

• 1-2 green chillies, whole (or dried or both)

• 2 teaspoon coriander seeds

• 1 teaspoon fresh nutmeg grated

• Himalayan pink salt and black pepper to taste

• 250g organic paneer (available from some supermarkets) cut into cubes

• 1 teaspoon garam masala

• 1 teaspoon of dried fenugreek seeds or (leaves or powder)

• 1 cinnamon stick

• 3 cloves

• 3 green cardamom pods, crushed with the back of a knife to release seeds
• 1 black cardamom pod, left whole

• 6 tbsp organic whole milk, or 4 tbsp organic cream (or coconut cream)

• 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, or to taste

• 1 teaspoon of maple syrup (optional)
• fresh coriander to scatter

Method

1. Bring a large pot of water to a simmer over high heat. Plunge the spinach into the water and cook for 1 minute only. Remove immediately to a colander set over a bowl to drain while you prepare the rest of the dish.
2. Heat a large saucepan over medium heat (with no oil) and toast the fenugreek, cumin and coriander seeds, turning regularly until they become fragrant, about 3 minutes. You will start to smell their aroma when they are ready. Remove from the pan and grind them in a mortar and pestle. (or a spice grinder if you own one)
3. In the same pan you used to toast the spices, heat the 3 tablespoons coconut oil over medium heat while you finely chop the onion. Add the cinnamon stick, ground coriander, fenugreek and cumin, cloves, and both cardamoms to the pan and fry for 2 minutes so they release their fragrant flavours. Add the onions and a teaspoon of salt and sauté until they become sweet, translucent and caramalised. About 15 minutes. You want them well cooked so they almost dissolve into the sauce.
4. To the pan with the onions, add the ginger, garlic and  fresh or dried chilli and cook over medium heat until they have broken down into a sweet mush – about 5 minutes. Taste the spice mix and if there is any bitterness add a teaspoon of maple syrup. Meanwhile, chop the spinach finely by hand using a large knife and your best rocking-chopping action. Reserve some of the water that has drained from the greens, you might need it later.
5. Add the spinach to the pan and cook for about 3-6 minutes. At this point, fish out the whole spices with a fork – the cloves, cinnamon stick, and cardamom pods. Blend the spinach either using a hand blender or a freestanding blender until almost smooth. If you’ve used a freestanding blender, add the mixture back to the pan. Now you should gauge how much water you need to add. Young spinach contains more water than older leaves so if the sauce looks a little dry, add some of the water you collected from draining the spinach – I add about ¼ cup, depending on the type of greens I use. Add the cream and nutmeg and mix well to incorporate it into the spinach mixture. At this point, check for seasoning and add more salt, pepper and chilli powder to your taste.
6. Finally, add 2 tablespoons coconut oil to a separate pan over medium heat and fry the paneer for 1-2 minutes per side until golden, remove to a plate with kitchen paper to drain the excess oil, then add them to the dish.
7. Stir in the lemon juice to taste and scatter fresh coriander. Serve with cauliflower rice or brown basmati rice or naan bread.