IN PROGRESS
This restaurant-quality north Indian vegan Palak Paneer recipe is creamy and perfectly spiced. Cubes of tofu “paneer” swim in a delicious spinach sauce that’s perfect to scoop up with naan or roti.
Prep Time15minutes mins
Cook Time25minutes mins
Total Time40minutes mins
Course: Curry
Cuisine: Indian, North Indian
Diet: Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian
Servings: 8 servings
Calories: 119kcal
Author: Vaishali · Holy Cow Vegan
Equipment
Ingredients
- 397 g extra firm tofu (press out the water, then cut into ½-inch cubes)
- 20 g cashews (use pumpkin seeds if nut-free)
- 454 g frozen spinach (substitute with two large bunches of fresh spinach*)
- 15 ml avocado oil or any neutral oil
- 4 cloves
- 1-inch piece cinnamon
- 5 green cardamom pods
- 2 g cumin seeds
- 1 large onion (finely diced)
- 3 cloves garlic (thinly sliced)
- 34 g ginger-garlic paste
- 3 medium tomatoes (finely diced)
- 1 g turmeric
- 2 g cayenne (adjust up or down based on your taste)
- 5 g ground coriander
- 2 g ground cumin
- 5 g garam masala
- 4 g kasoori methi (dry fenugreek leaves). Optional, but I strongly recommend it.
- Salt to taste
For optional tadka finish
- 15 ml avocado oil or any neutral oil
- 1 tablespoon ginger (julienned)
Instructions
- If you’d like to bake or air-fry the tofu cubes before adding them to the recipe, do so in advance.
- Make cashew cream by blending the cashews with 3 tablespoons water until very smooth. Set aside.
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the cloves, cardamom and cinnamon and, when they start to color, add the cumin seeds. When the cumin seeds begin to darken and become aromatic, add the onions and the garlic. Add a pinch of salt. Saute for a few minutes until the onions start to turn golden-brown.
- Add the ginger-garlic paste, saute for a couple of minutes, then add the tomatoes. Add the turmeric, cayenne, cumin and coriander powders and mix well. Cover and let the tomatoes cook until they are very soft and pulpy.
- Add the kasoori methi, if using, and mix well. Add the spinach puree, mix, and let the sauce come to a boil. Lower the heat and continue cooking the spinach for 10 minutes. Add some vegetable stock or water if it looks too thick, but don’t add too much liquid at this point– you want the spinach to cook thoroughly and lose any raw flavor.
- Add the garam masala, then stir in the tofu cubes. Let the sauce simmer a couple of minutes. Add the cashew cream, add salt, stir in, and turn off heat.
Make optional tadka
- In a small skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the julienned or grated ginger and saute for a minute, stirring constantly. Carefully pour over the cooked palak paneer. Serve.