Spinach n’ Tofu — My Twist On Palak Paneer

Looking for a quick and easy dish to whip up after a long day? I’ve got the recipe for you. The dish is called Spinach n’ Tofu. 

Palak paneer is a North Indian Dish that originated in Punjab. Originally, when attempting to make this dish, I noticed that I was missing the main component: Paneer!

Paneer is an Indian cheese that is made from curdled milk and lemon juice. I noticed that I had tofu at home laying around, so decided to substitute the paneer with tofu.  

I typically eat this dish with white rice. I love how citrusy, creamy, and refreshing the sauce is. The baked tofu has a great texture that compliments the sauce. It holds the flavor so well too. 

Let’s get into how to make this dish!

Recipe 

1. Cut up the tofu into bite sized pieces.
2. Bake or air fry the tofu for 15 minutes at 350ºF.
3.  Put the baked tofu into a separate bowl. Add a squeeze of lemon juice, 1 tsp of red chili powder, 1 tsp of salt, and 1 tsp of black pepper. Mix the tofu in these spices to ensure each one is coated.
4. Cut up 1 ginger, 1 red onion, 1/2 jalapeño pepper, mint leaves, and 3 green chilis.
5.  Add oil, ginger garlic paste, and minced garlic to a pan on medium high heat. As the oil heats up, add the vegetables into the pan. Then add the spinach. 
6. When the vegetables finish sautéing, blend them up into a blender. Add the blended vegetables back into the heated pan.
7. Now add the tofu pieces.
8. Add the following spices: 1 tbsp of cumin powder, 1 tbsp of garlic powder, 1 tbsp of onion powder, 1 tbsp of basil powder, 1 tbsp of turmeric, 1 tsp of salt and pepper, 1 1/2 tbsp of red chili powder, and a sprinkle of chili flakes. 
9. Now add a dollop of heavy cream and 3 tbsp of whole milk yogurt to add the creaminess. 
10. To add the citrus component, add a couple squeezes of lemon juice.
11. I like to add mint and coriander chutney to the dish to enhance the flavor. You can get the chutneys from the Indian store. I also add 1 tbsp of sun dried tomato pesto. 

Ingredients 

1. tofu 
2. lemon juice 
3. red chili powder
4. salt and pepper
5. ginger
6. red onion 
7. jalapeño
8. mint leaves
9. green chilis 
10. spinach 
11. ginger garlic paste
12. minced garlic 
13. vegetable oil
14. cumin powder
15. garlic powder
16. onion powder
17. basil powder
18. turmeric 
19. chili flakes
20. yogurt 
21. heavy cream 
22. mint chutney (optional) 
23. coriander chutney (optional) 
24. sun dried tomato pesto (optional)