Palak paneer

Rinse the spinach and blanch it in boiling water for 2 minutes, then plunge straight into ice water. Squeeze dry.

The ice bath keeps the spinach bright green — skip it and the sauce turns khaki.

Blend the spinach with the chili and 2–3 tbsp water until smooth.

Cut the cheese into 2 cm cubes and pat dry. Fry in 1 tbsp oil over medium heat until golden on all sides and set aside on a plate.

Damp cheese makes the oil spit — pat the cubes dry and turn them with a spatula, not your fingers.

Finely chop the onion, garlic and ginger, and dice the tomato.

Heat the remaining oil, fry the cumin seeds for 30 seconds, add the onion and cook until golden. Add the garlic, ginger and tomato and cook until the tomato breaks down.

Stir in the spinach purée, garam masala and salt and heat through over low heat, stirring.

Pour in the cream, add the cheese and warm through for 2–3 minutes without boiling. Done!