There is no quicker way of creating magic in an Indian kitchen than throwing in a handful of sliced garlic in a pan, which has been cradling some oil and slowly melting butter. Add in some red onion slices and crisp ginger juliennes and you have the idyllic base for most Indian curries. Ginger-garlic-onion: Call it the Indian mirepoix!

Today, I added some beautiful curly kale to this base and sautéed it until the leaves wilted, making sure the leaves didn’t lose its lively green color. A handful of cashews and raisins were mixed in as well along with salt and sugar to taste. And a couple of green chillies added the right amount of heat.

I decided to puree this concoction. A quarter cup of skim milk and two tablespoons of low fat yogurt (my substitute for cream) along with a teaspoon of brown sugar was thrown in the blender before I added in the aforementioned concoction. The final product was a creamy and decadent kale-ish curry for my Kale Paneer.

I added some butter to the pan and threw in some whole garam masalas (cardamom-cinnamon-clove), some turmeric powder and freshly ground coriander powder. The blended curry was then added and cooked for just a couple more minutes.

I sliced some store bought paneer and threw it in and there you have it — Kale Paneer, a break from the traditional Palak Paneer.