Why it works: Spinach and paneer work together. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and 21 recipes mention both. Both carry nonanal, which smells fat, citrus. The science ↓
The recipe
2 servingsIngredients
Directions
Method written by CompKitchen from the ingredient list. Not the original author's method, not kitchen-tested.
Bring a pan of boiling water to a boil, add the chopped spinach and cook 1 minute until wilted. Drain, then blend with the chopped green chile peppers until smooth.
Heat half the vegetable oil in a skillet over medium heat. Fry the paneer cubes 3 to 4 minutes, turning, until lightly golden on all sides. Remove and set aside.
Heat the remaining oil in the same skillet over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and cook 5 minutes until soft and golden. Stir in the chopped garlic and cook 1 minute.
Add the chopped tomatoes, ground cumin, ground coriander, ground red chiles and salt. Cook 5 minutes, stirring, until the tomatoes break down and the oil starts to separate.
Pour in the water and the spinach puree. Simmer on low heat 5 minutes, stirring often.
Add the fried paneer cubes and simmer 3 minutes to heat through. Serve hot.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
-
Spinach + paneertop 6% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together21 recipes
Shared aroma: nonanal (fat, citrus).
-
Cumin + coriandertop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together3,866 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
-
Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together29,030 recipes
Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
-
Tomato + coriandertop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together3,966 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).
-
Cumin + tomatotop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together3,272 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Flavor stand-ins for the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (spinach, cumin, pepper, garlic, tomato, coriander, paneer):
- Capsicumbetter flavor fit
- Carrotbetter flavor fit
- Potatobetter flavor fit
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against spinach, cumin, pepper, garlic, tomato, coriander, paneer. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).
The Sunday pairing: one pairing, the chemistry behind it, and how to cook it. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account for sign-in; Pro adds the full results and chemistry.