Ingredients:-

For the sauce.

• 1 tbsp ghee or vegetable oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 inch piece root ginger, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
• 1/2 whole red or green chilli
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 4 tomatoes, roughly chopped
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 250g fresh spinach, washed
• 1 tbsp water

For the paneer.

• 2 tsp garam masala
• 50g/2oz semolina
• 200g/7oz paneer, cut into 1cm cubes
• vegetable oil, for shallow frying
• small handful coriander leaves, finely chopped, to garnish
• 1 tsp lemon juice

Method:-

For the sauce,

• Heat the ghee or oil in a saucepan, add the onion and cook for about three minutes until soft. Add the ginger and garlic and cook for a further minute.
• Add the ground cumin, ground coriander, ground turmeric, whole chilli and salt. Stir over the heat to release the flavours of the spices.
• Add the chopped tomatoes and sugar and simmer for ten minutes.

Meanwhile, for the paneer,

• place the garam masala and semolina in a large bowl and mix well.
• Place the cubed paneer into the bowl and coat well with the spiced semolina.
• Pour the vegetable oil into a deep frying pan to a depth of about 0.5cm. When hot, add the coated paneer and fry until crisp and golden.
• Add the washed spinach and two tablespoons of water to the tomato sauce, stir in and cook until the spinach wilts.
• Fold the paneer into the sauce.

To serve,

• garnish with the coriander and squeeze over the lemon juice.