tofu palak paneer

This Vegan Palak Paneer recipe swaps tofu for cheese and turns Palak Paneer into a delicious, vegan version of a well loved Indian dish!

Vegan Palak Paneer Recipe

yeast

lemon

salt

vegetable oil

cumin

cayenne pepper

baby spinach leaves

water

garlic (peeled)

ginger root, roughly chopped

chili

tomato (quartered)

sugar

coconut milk

Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Place the sliced tofu in a strainer set over a large bowl. Pour the boiling water over the top of the tofu. Discard the water, transfer the tofu to a plastic freezer bag and add the nutritional yeast, lemon juice and salt. Toss the tofu around to coat in the yeast mixture, then press out as much air as possible and seal the bag. Refrigerate up to 3 days, or overnight at minimum.

When ready to prepare, place the spinach, water, garlic, ginger, green chili, tomato, salt, and sugar in the bowl of a large blender. Process until pureed. Set aside.

Drain the marinated tofu. Heat the tablespoon of vegetable oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the cumin, cayenne, and drained tofu. Toss well and saute for 4 to 5 minutes, until lightly browned.

Pour the spinach mixture into the pan; stir well, cover the pan, and turn the heat down to low. Cook for 10 minutes, or until the garlic has lost its raw bite. Taste and add salt as needed.

Transfer to a serving dish. Drizzle with coconut milk, if desired. Serve hot with plenty of basmati rice and naan.

Cheese is replaced with tofu in this impressive but easy Indian-inspired vegan meal. For this Tofu Palak Paneer, spiced pan-fried tofu cubes are tossed in a creamy spinach curry, and then served over rice. Ready in about 30 minutes!

Tofu Palak Paneer

firm tofu

nutritional yeast

garam masala

baby spinach

onion

garlic (minced)

ginger

serrano pepper (seeds and stem removed and finely chopped)

cumin seeds

coriander

turmeric

vegan cream (or coconut milk, cashew cream)

chopped cilantro

basmati rice

Vegan Naan

Press the tofu: Wrap the block of tofu in paper towels. Place a plate or pan on top of the wrapped tofu, and put a couple of heavy books on top of that. Let the tofu press for 30 minutes, or up to an hour.

Cut the tofu into cubes and place in a large bowl. Add the nutritional yeast, garam masala and salt and gently mix until coated.

Heat the oil in a large non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the tofu in a single layer. Let the tofu brown on all sides, it should be a nice golden color all over. I use a fork to gently flip each piece over. TIP: When you place the layer of tofu in the pan, don&#39;t touch or move it at all for a few minutes, so a crust can form, making it easier to flip without ripping.

Transfer the golden tofu cubes to a plate and set aside while you make the sauce.

Make the tofu paneer

Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Once the water is boiling, add the spinach and cook for about 1 minute, until the spinach wilts. If it doesn&#39;t all fit at once, add half, then once it wilts, add the rest.

Drain the spinach in a colander. Transfer to a blender or food processor and blend for about 10 seconds, then scrape the side and blend for 10 more seconds. I like to leave some texture, but you can blend it smoother if you want. Set aside.

Heat a large skillet with the oil on medium heat. Add the onion and sauté for about 5 minutes, until translucent. Next, add the garlic, ginger, serrano pepper and cumin seeds and sauté for 30 seconds. Now add the garam masala, coriander, turmeric, cayenne pepper and salt. Stir to coat the onions in the spices.

Pour the blended spinach into the pan and stir well. Stir in the cream and let the sauce simmer for about 5 minutes.

Add the tofu paneer to the sauce, and serve with basmati rice, naan and perhaps chopped cilantro.

Make the spinach sauce

Just made this and its delicious! If you roughly chop the aromatics and then cook them and THEN blend everything for the spinach mixture its a bit less wrist effort. :)

Excellent recipe! I used low fat coconut milk and I wanted a super smooth sauce, so I sauteed the garlic, onion and spices on the stove and then put everything into the blender. Blanching the spinach kept that beautiful green color! I made the tofu in the air fryer. Will definitely make this again!

Another wonderful recipe and easy! I forgot to buy a Serrano pepper and it was sort of too late so I just made it without it. I added a can of chickpeas at the end for extra protein. I made the cashew cream from your website and used it in the dish. Turned out SO very good! Thank you for another simple yet amazing recipe.

Excellent recipe. I air fried my tofu. I also added a can of chickpeas for more protein and texture. Recipe easily doubles. Trick is not to over blend the spinach. I have made this twice in 1 week. Easy, economical, and restaurant quality!

Wow!  This is fresher and more vivid tasting than takeout from the local Indian restaurant.  I made it exactly as written, but wasn't sure if the cumin and coriander needed to be ground up so I put that in the mortar and used a pestle to roughly grind those seeds.  This was my first experience booking with cumin seeds as opposed to pre-ground cumin and what a difference!  I'm going to make this again and again, and get myself some tamarind chutney to go with it.  The day after, my house smells so fragrant.  I preferred the tofu to the usual paneer that comes in a dish like this at the local takeout.  Thank you.

This recipe is AMAZING! I steamed the spinach and baked the tofu. Very simple for so much wonderful flavor!

I tried this once and will try it again. I think rather than boiling the spinach I'll try steaming it so as to preserve more nutrient and to keep more texture. Twenty seconds of mixing in my Cuisinart was too long. The spinach was mush and i would like it better with more body. I made the tofu in an air fryer and in future I would cook it for less time so it would come out softer softer. I thought there was too much garam masala as the taste of cloves was quite heavy.

Fantastic recipe!  So easy and tasty. This is a real winner and will go on my regular rotation. Your the best... thanks mucho!!

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Top 2 tofu palak paneer recipes from across the web

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Vegan Palak Paneer Recipe

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