Palak Tofu (Vegan Palak Paneer)

• porzioni: 5 servings
• tempo di preparazione: 20 minutes
• tempo totale: 1 hour 5 minutes

Ingredienti

2-3 tablespoons vegetable oil (divided)

1 (16 oz) block super-firm (high protein) tofu (cut into small cubes)

1/2 teaspoon whole cumin seeds (optional)

1 medium onion (finely diced)

4-6 cloves garlic (minced)

1" thumb fresh ginger (peeled and minced or grated (about 1 tablespoon)

1-2 serrano peppers (finely diced; see notes about spice level)

2 small Roma tomatoes (seeds removed, diced)

2 teaspoons ground coriander

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon garam masala

1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric

1/2 teaspoon kashmiri chili powder (optional - can sub paprika (mild) or cayenne (spicy)

10 ounces fresh spinach

1/3 cup full-fat coconut milk (can sub vegan yogurt or cashew cream)

kosher salt (to taste)

Istruzioni

Pan-Fry the Tofu

Brown the tofu: Add 1-2 tablespoons vegetable oil to a skillet over medium-high heat. When oil shimmers, add in the cubed super-firm tofu. Season generously with salt and allow to fry on one side for 2-3 minutes, until deep golden brown. Flip the tofu, season with a little more salt, and continue to pan-fry, giving the tofu a toss every few minutes, until evenly golden brown. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Blanch the Spinach

Note: I typically use one 10 ounce bag of fresh baby spinach. If using bundles of fresh spinach, I recommend trimming off the stems, as they can be a bit stringy. Give them a thorough wash.

Prep: Bring a pot of water up to a boil. In the meantime, prepare an ice bath for the cooked spinach.

Blanch spinach: Add fresh spinach to boiling water and cook for just about 30-60 seconds, or until wilted. Transfer the cooked spinach to the ice bath to stop the cooking. (This will help it preserve its vibrant green color.) Strain out the spinach and set aside.

Make the Spinach Gravy

Cook the aromatics: Wipe down the skillet if needed, then add more vegetable oil (1-2 tablespoons) and heat over medium. When oil shimmers, add in the whole cumin seeds and allow to sizzle for about 30 seconds. Then add in the diced onions, minced garlic, minced ginger, and diced green peppers. Add a generous pinch of salt and sauté until deep golden brown. (This usually takes 10-15 minutes depending on your stove and how heavy your skillet is.) You can deglaze with splashes of water as needed to keep things from sticking to the skillet.

Cook the spices and tomato: Add in the diced tomatoes and all the spices (ground coriander, ground cumin, garam masala, ground turmeric, and kashmiri chili powder). Stir and cook for 3-5 minutes, or until the tomatoes break down and become jammy. Again, add splashes of water as needed if anything is sticking to the pan.

Add spinach and blend: Remove the pan from the heat temporarily and transfer its contents into a blender, along with the spinach we blanched earlier. Blend until it's as smooth as you prefer, adding in water as needed until everything blends. Pour the entire mixture back into the pan.If you favor more texture in your palak sauce, you can blend only the spinach, leaving the tomato and aromatics mixture as-is. In this case, blend the spinach with water as needed, then pour it into the pan with the tomato mixture.

Finishing touches: Fold in the pan-fried tofu pieces and bring the mixture back up to a gentle simmer to heat everything through. Give the sauce a taste and add extra salt as needed — you will most likely need to add quite a bit. To finish, stir in as much coconut milk as you like (or vegan yogurt, or cashew cream).

Enjoy: I love to serve this with fresh basmati rice and homemade vegan naan. Enjoy!