Cast Iron Spinach and Chickpea Curry with Paneer (570 Cal, 36g Protein)

Spinach collapses. Ten ounces of raw leaves reduce to roughly one cup of dense, dark green matter — concentrating iron, folate, magnesium, and potassium into a fraction of the original volume. That base becomes the vehicle for chickpeas (12g fiber per serving, plus manganese) and paneer seared in cast iron until the edges caramelize and the interior stays soft.

Paneer is an underused protein in Western cooking. Per 3 oz serving, it delivers roughly 18g protein and 30% of the daily value for calcium — a mineral most adults undershoot by 30-40%. The turmeric + black pepper pairing is non-negotiable. Piperine from black pepper increases curcumin bioavailability by roughly 2000%. Both go into the onion-garlic base early so the curcumin dissolves into the fat.

Ingredients

#

• 6 oz paneer, cubed into 3/4-inch pieces
• 1 can (15 oz) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 10 oz fresh baby spinach
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp cayenne (optional)
• 2 tbsp heavy cream
• 1 tsp avocado oil
• 1/2 cup water

6 oz paneer, cubed into 3/4-inch pieces
1 can (15 oz) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
10 oz fresh baby spinach
1 medium yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne (optional)
2 tbsp heavy cream
1 tsp avocado oil
1/2 cup water

Instructions

#

1. Heat your cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tsp avocado oil. When the oil shimmers, add paneer cubes in a single layer. Sear for 2 minutes per side until golden on at least two faces. Do not move them during searing — paneer sticks until the crust forms, then releases. Remove and set aside.
2. In the same skillet, reduce heat to medium. Add diced onion and cook for 4-5 minutes until translucent and starting to soften. Do not brown — you want sweetness, not bitterness.
3. Add garlic and ginger. Cook for 30 seconds until fragrant. Add garam masala, cumin, turmeric, black pepper, and cayenne if using. Stir for 30 seconds to bloom the spices in the onion fat.
4. Add spinach in large handfuls, pressing and turning with a spatula as each batch wilts. This takes 2-3 minutes. The skillet will look impossibly full at first, then collapse to almost nothing.
5. Add 1/2 cup water and the chickpeas. Stir to combine. Bring to a simmer and cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the liquid reduces and the sauce thickens around the chickpeas.
6. Reduce heat to low. Stir in heavy cream. Fold in the seared paneer cubes gently — you want them to warm through without breaking apart. Cook for 2 more minutes.
7. Serve directly from the skillet. The cast iron holds heat long enough to keep the curry at temperature through the meal.

CRON Notes

#

Spinach iron and vitamin C synergy. Spinach delivers 7.2 mg of non-heme iron per serving in this recipe. Non-heme iron is less bioavailable than heme iron from animal sources, but vitamin C increases non-heme iron absorption by 3-6x by reducing ferric iron to the more absorbable ferrous form. The spinach itself provides 32 mg of vitamin C per serving — enough to enhance uptake without an external source.

Paneer calcium absorption. Paneer retains the calcium from the milk it is made from. A 3 oz serving provides roughly 390 mg calcium — 30% of the daily value. A systematic review and meta-analysis confirmed that increasing calcium intake from dietary sources increases bone mineral density, with dairy calcium being more bioavailable than supplement forms.

Chickpea fiber and manganese. One cup of cooked chickpeas delivers roughly 12g of dietary fiber — predominantly soluble fiber, which suppresses postprandial blood glucose concentration and reduces appetite. Chickpeas are also one of the highest dietary sources of manganese, a cofactor for mitochondrial superoxide dismutase (MnSOD), your primary mitochondrial antioxidant enzyme.