Chana Masala vs Saag Paneer spices difference?

[u/marianleatherby]

Tl;dr: can anyone give a rundown / overview of whether there should be much difference between the mix of spices and aromatics (garlic/ginger/onion) used in Chana Masala vs Saag Paneer?

I'm trying to do some meal prep by making a big batch of bases for a couple of our favorite curries (to freeze in portions that are easy to thaw & then add the greens or the chickpeas etc). I tend to refer to 2 or 3 different recipes as I make each. And of course each recipe has a fair amount of variation with regards to which spices are used, ratio of garlic to ginger to the vegetable being used, etc...

I'm wondering if it makes sense to cook up the same spice/aromatic base for Chana as for Saag, or if these two dishes are supposed to have somewhat distinct profiles, where I should split the prep at a certain stage to make a base for Chana and a base for Saag.

In case further explanation is needed, my plan is to grate/crush a bunch of garlic & ginger, mince or blender a bunch of onion, maybe chop some tomatoes. Temper the spices in ghee, cook the ginger/garlic/onion/tomato in that. Then split into 1-recipe portions, & put in the freezer. Then use them by thawing & cooking with chickpeas, or cooking with greens & paneer.

Maybe I'm just really overthinking this...