Indian Chicken Saag

1. Drizzle chicken with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Season with 1 teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon coriander, 1 teaspoon garam masala, salt, and pepper.

2. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook and stir until nicely browned and cooked through, about 10 minutes. Remove from the skillet.

3. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a separate pan over medium heat. Add spinach and season with salt; cook, covered, until spinach is wilted, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

4. Melt butter in the same skillet used for chicken over medium-high heat. Saute onion and a pinch of salt in the hot pan until onion has softened, stirring to pick up browned bits left from the chicken, 5 to 7 minutes. Add garlic, chile peppers, and ginger; cook for 1 to 2 minutes, adding olive oil if necessary.

5. Add curry leaves, cardamom pods, mustard seed, and turmeric; cook and stir for 30 seconds. Stir in tomato paste and continue to cook, 1 to 2 minutes. Add tomato sauce, honey, and sauteed spinach; reduce heat to low.

6. Blend sauce mixture in the skillet using an immersion blender until smooth. Continue to let simmer, 10 to 20 minutes.

7. Remove from heat. Add chicken and stir in paneer and heavy cream.

Cook's Note:

If you don't have an immersion blender, you may pour the sauce mixture into an electric blender and pour back into the pan in batches for the final simmer. If you don't own a blender, consider chopping the sauteed spinach thoroughly before adding to the sauce mixture to simmer.