Nutrient-Rich Palak Paneer - Vegan!

A Heart-Healthy Vegan Indian Spinach Recipe

Prep time 15 minutes | Total Time 45 minutes

When I first started eating a vegetarian diet 30 years ago, I was thrilled to discover the incredible flavors of Indian food! So many Indian dishes are naturally vegetarian. When I switched to a vegan diet I really missed the many paneer/Indian cheese dishes I had grown to love. Then I went to a vegan Indian restaurant that used tofu in the place of paneer. I worked on this recipe for weeks until I got the tofu to a texture and flavor that reminds me of real Indian paneer.

This dish is packed with iron-rich spinach, has zero cholesterol, is super heart healthy, and, most importantly, it is especially delicious, and filling. Every time I make this Indian spinach recipe I eat the entire pan in a few sittings - it is that good!

This vegan spinach dish is inspired by traditional palak paneer but is pretty simple to prepare, making it a great introduction to vegan Indian recipes and offering a delicious way to incorporate more greens into your diet.

Ingredients

• 1 block tofu (use firm or extra firm), press to remove liquid

• 1/4 to 1/2 cup oat milk or any non-flavored, sugar-free, and dairy-free milk. I also like cashew or macadamia nut milk for this recipe

• 1/2 cup of coconut milk (you can replace this with cashew or macadamia nut milk)

• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast 

• 1 large bunch of spinach, rinsed very well

• 1/2 medium yellow onion, rough chopped

• 2 teaspoons ginger 

• 3 cloves of garlic 

• 1/2 to 1 1/2 cup of quality vegetable broth 

• 1 teaspoon cumin

• 1 teaspoon garam masala 

• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon turmeric 

•  1 to 3 teaspoons salt 

• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne 

• 2 to 4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

• ½ to 1 cup freshly chopped cauliflower 

Instructions

1. Press your tofu (I press mine for about 30 minutes) and cut into 1 inch cubes

2. Mix oat milk, nutritional yeast, and about 1/2 teaspoon of salt together in a bowl

3. Place your tofu into the bowl with the nutritional yeast and oat milk mixture. Let it absorb the marinade while you work on the rest of this recipe and toss occasionally to be sure it is evenly coated

4. Place the spinach, chopped onion, garlic, and ginger in a food processor and process until finely chopped - you may have to add the spinach in batches

5. Add about 1/2 cup vegetable broth to the food processor and blend until the mixture is very, very smooth

6. Heat a saute pan over medium-low heat and add in a small amount of the tofu marinade

7. Add the tofu to the pan and let it just slightly heat up. You do not want it to brown - keep it soft for this recipe

8. Sprinkle the tumeric over your tofu and toss to coat well

9. Add your spinach mixture the pan

10. Add in your chopped cauliflower florets and stir well to coat with the spinach mixture - be gentle though, you do not want the tofu to crumble

11. Add in about 1 more cup of vegetable broth - you can adjust this as it cooks and based on how thick or liquidy you like it

12. Add the remainder of your spices (cumin, garam masala, and cayenne) to the spinach mixture. Then, salt to taste (I used about 1 teaspoon) and mix well

14. Simmer your tofu, spinach, and cauliflower mixture over medium-low heat, partially covered, for about 15 to 20 minutes until some of the liquid cooks off and the cauliflower is tender

15. Add in 1/2 cup of coconut milk

16. Add in juice of 1/2 of a lemon, about 1 tablespoon

17. Stir to mix in the coconut milk and lemon

18. Remove from heat, and let cool slightly. Serve over basmati rice and enjoy!