Quick Saag Paneer with Tofu

It was an hour from dinnertime, and all I had to work with was some frozen spinach, a block of tofu, and a few good spices in the cabinet.  Reaching back into the dim recesses of my culinary career, I came up with a version of a (vegan) dish we used to sell vats of in Minneapolis.

Saag paneer is the popular and delicious North Indian stew of creamed spinach with spices and chunks of fresh homemade cheese. 

Ingredients:

1 onion, diced small

Spices: 1 tsp  each of brown mustard seeds, turmeric, curry powder, cumin seeds, coriander.

1 c heavy cream

salt

20 oz thawed spinach

lemon juice to taste

1# tofu, cut in 3/4" cubes

A pinch of asafetida, 1 T each chili powder, turmeric, salt,  and enough canola oil to make the dry spices into a loose paste.  Toss with the tofu.

Method:
Roast the tofu with the second group of spices at 325 until firm and dry on the outside.  (about 20-30 minutes)

Heat 2T of butter or ghee with the Mustard Seeds.  When the seeds start to pop, add the onion, turn the heat down, and cook until translucent.   Add the remaining spices and stir until fragrant.  Add the Spinach, with any juice it gave up during the thaw.  Cook on med-low until most of the liquid is gone, then add the cream and some salt.  Bring to a simmer,  adjust the salt until it tastes good to you, then add a tsp or so of fresh lemon juice and taste it again.

(For an extra silky texture, put an immersion blender in the pot and blend the spinach until there are no more large pieces identifiable.)

Now add your tofu, stir it in well, and remove the pot from the heat.

You can serve it immediately, but it will be better the next day.

My toddler loves this dish, and I hope you will also.

Namaste!

Roasted Napa Cabbage: Simple Pleasures

If you like Brussels Sprouts roasted caramel brown, then you should consider the other members of the cabbage family. They're cheap, quick to prep, and cook in about the same amount of time.

Recipe:
Set the oven to 400.
Cut a head of Napa into lengthwise wedges, trim out the toughest part of the core.
Toss or brush liberally with olive oil, salt, and pepper.  Lay cut-side down (so the outer leaves will act as a tent, keeping in some steam to soften the leaves as they roast) and cook until tender and caramelized. Mine took about 20 minutes.