Dinner, Recipes, Spinach, Tofu

Vegan Palak Tofu Recipe: Green and Delicious

Difficulty Medium 3 comments

Vegan

Vegan Palak Tofu Recipe: One of my favorite Indian dishes is palak paneer (cheese cubes). I love how green it is and how prominent the spinach flavors are. Of course I love paneer but I don’t cook with it for ethical reasons so I used tofu instead because it has a similar texture to paneer minus the ethical guilt. You can definitely multitask while completing the various steps. See below for my veganized version of an Indian favorite!

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Vegan Palak Tofu Recipe: Green and Delicious

Vegan Palak Tofu Recipe: Green and Delicious

Recipe by ChiVeg

A veganized version of an Indian classic, Palak Paneer but with Tofu instead!

Course: Dinner, Recipes, Spinach, TofuCuisine: IndianDifficulty: Medium
0.0 from 0 votes
Prep time

30

minutes
Cooking time

30

minutes

Ingredients

  • Tofu
  • 1 lb extra firm tofu

  • 2 tsp curry powder

  • 2 tsp chili powder

  • 2 tsp garam masala

  • 2 tbsp tamari or soy sauce

  • 1 tbsp grapeseed oil

  • Palak Spinach Puree
  • 7 cups fresh spinach or ¾ of a large spinach container

  • 1/3 cup water

  • 2 green chilis (roughly chopped)

  • 1 tbsp ginger (roughly chopped)

  • 3 cloves garlic (roughly chopped)

  • Sauce
  • 2 tbsp olive oil

  • 1 medium red onion (chopped)

  • 1 medium tomato (diced)

  • 4 cloves garlic (minced)

  • 1 bayleaf

  • 1 tsp cumin seeds

  • 1/2 tsp turmeric powder

  • 2 tsp Hungarian paprika

  • 2 tsp chili powder

  • 2 tsp garam masala

  • 1/2 tsp asafetida (optional)

  • 2 tsp fenugreek

  • 1/2 cup full fat coconut milk

  • 1.5 tbsp Soy butter (earthly balance)

  • salt/pepper (to taste)

  • 1 bunch cilantro (loosely chopped)

Directions

  • Tofu
  • Drain your tofu and marinate it in tamari and spices for at least 30 minutes in a medium bowl, the longer, the better!
  • When you are ready to start cooking, preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
  • In a medium pan, heat your grapeseed oil on medium heat. When it’s ready, add the tofu and sauté for about 4-5 minutes on each side (it always goes faster after you flip it). You might need to add more oil so the tofu doesn’t stick in the pan.
  • Then put your tofu in a single layer on a baking sheet and put it in the oven for about 15-20 minutes until it is somewhat brown and firm but not too crispy since it’s emulating paneer (cheese).
  • Palak/Spinach Puree
  • Rinse your spinach.
  • Boil about 4 cups of water in a large pot with a pinch of salt and add the spinach for about 1-2 minutes.
  • Get a large bowl ready with half ice cubes and half cold water to preserve the spinach.
  • Take the spinach out of the water and add it to a food processor or blender.
  • In a food processor or blender, blend the spinach, green chilis, ginger and garlic until you get a smooth puree. Then add about 1/3 cup of water.
  • It should taste like Indian pesto!
  • Sauce
  • Heat up the olive oil in your pan on medium heat. Add the cumin seeds and let them sizzle and brown.
  • Then add your bay leaf and onions. Sauté your onions until they are golden brown. Then add the garlic and cook for about 1-2minutes being sure not to burn the garlic.
  • Add the tomato and mix it in with the other ingredients for about 1-2 minutes.
  • Now add all of your spices and asafetida except the fenugreek and stir well for about 1-2 minutes.
  • Add your spinach puree/palak mixture from the blender, fenugreek, and add about 1/3 cup of water. Simmer for about 10 minutes until the sauce is thicker.
  • Add the 1/3 cup of coconut milk and stir until it has the creaminess you desire.
  • Simmer for about 5 more minutes and add some soy butter to help with the thickness.
  • Add in your tofu and season to taste with salt/pepper. Turn off the heat.
  • Garnish with cilantro. Serve with basmati rice, roti, naan and enjoy!

Notes

  • I have a better food processor than blender so I use a food processor.
  • If you use frozen spinach, be sure to drain the water out a lot more.
  • If you’re in a time crunch, then just fry the tofu, you don’t have to bake it.
  • Inspired by https://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/palak-paneer/.
Saute those onions!
Saute those onions!
Added in the tomato and spices
Added in the tomato and spices
Palak tofu is ready!
Palak tofu is ready!

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3 Comments

  1. Pingback: Tofu Garlic Lo Mein Recipe - ChiVeg

  2. This is the closest vegan version of Palak paneer I have! Highly recommend this recipe!

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