Palak Paneer (Indian creamed spinach with cheese), approximately

I love Palak Paneer but don't stock the proper spices to make it taste like Indian restaurant food, and curry powder is never even close to good enough. I've tried many recipes and they're either horrible or incredibly labor-intensive and expensive. Last night I made the closest thing I've managed yet, and thought I'd write it down, mostly for my own benefit though you're welcome to try it.

Ingredients:

2 packages frozen spinach, thawed
1 large onion, chopped
4 fat garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp Penzey's Balti seasoning (a type of curry powder, you might try red curry powder instead I suppose)
1/2 tsp ground coriander
3/4 tsp kosher salt
2/3 cup milk
1 package Baltic-style farmer's cheese (very firm farmer's cheese) or actual Paneer if you can find it, cubed

Saute the onions until soft over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Add the spices and garlic and saute until fragrant. Add the spinach and saute for another 3 or 4 minutes or until it's tender.

Scoop out into a blender and add the milk and the salt. Blend until roughly pureed - you don't want baby-food smooth, you just want it to be very finely minced, maybe the size of couscous.

Return the spinach mixture to the skillet and cook over medium-low heat for 5 or 10 minutes or until it begins to smell good and thickens slightly. Add the cheese and heat through.

If you have paneer, you should fry it in oil until it's golden before you add it, but the farmer's cheese will stick to the pan horribly if you try to fry it so I don't recommend it. You can also use ricotta salata, which is fryable, but very very salty.