Creamy Vegan Saag Paneer (With Tofu) Recipe

Saag paneer—greens cooked with new cheese curds in a creamy sauce—has progressively seemed variety of like Indian Meals 101 to me. It be on each Indian-restaurant menu within the US, or no longer it’s manufactured from factors we’re aware of, and, extra progressively than no longer, or no longer it’s handiest mildly spiced. Whereas I’ve eaten a honest deal of extra aggressively flavored bowls, and remember seen writing about and recipes for variations made in a starker, cream-free methodology, there would possibly be unexcited one thing pleasantly comforting about the richer, subtler model I grew up eating.

The various immense ingredient about saag paneer is that, in my abilities, or no longer it’s practically universally beloved by vegetarians and meat-eaters alike. But what if we wished to diagram a actually dairy-free model, so that vegetarians, meat-eaters, and vegans can all abilities a meal together? I knew there’d be difficulties alongside the methodology, however the conception turned into so appealing that I would possibly per chance now not flip down the sigh.

A Pan-eerie Resemblance

I made a decision to form out the toughest section of the recipe first: the paneer. Paneer is a new cheese that has a uniquely dense, practically rubbery texture and a salty, tangy, umami-heavy style. Retailer-sold vegan cheese substitutes are practically by no formulation a immense possibility, so I as a substitute tried out about a varied recipes I chanced on on-line for tofu-primarily primarily based mostly paneer substitutes. Essentially the most a success had been those that mixed effectively-drained extra-company tofu with a flavorful citrus-primarily primarily based mostly marinade—like this one from Food52—however none of them had that umami style or richness I turned into seeking out.

The resolution turned into so that you just may per chance add a limited bit of miso paste and vegetable oil to the combo. No longer handiest did whisking them together alongside side lemon juice and zest invent a creamy, emulsified marinade, it moreover helped the tofu cubes brown better when I tossed them within the oven for colour. The resulting cubes are magnificent when eaten on their very remember, even though no longer perfectly paneer-like, however I figured: Toss them with a flavorful spinach nefarious, and no one is going to bitch.*

*Let’s be right, even though—there would possibly be progressively any individual who complains. The trick is to remind yourself that you just’re the one eating the magnificent spinach and tofu, no longer them.

Greens

The open of my spinach nefarious turned into a snap. I’ve been making saag paneer for years, so I remember a methodology that I’ve at ease-tuned thru trial and mistake. I open by heating some fats in a saucepan, including some finely grated or minced garlic, ginger, and chiles because it starts to shimmer. As soon as that garlic and ginger hang on a marginally of colour and let off a candy aroma, I add some spices. Some recipes dawdle hog wild on the spices, however I select to aid them dialed relief comely a limited bit, using handiest cumin, coriander, turmeric, and a single overwhelmed cardamom pod, all of which I add to the sizzling fats to bloom and invent their style.

Next, in goes the spinach. This is where I believed my recipe would possibly perchance perchance use some tweaking.

I attempted a series of assorted spinach forms, including toddler spinach comely for the sake of completeness. (I enact no longer counsel toddler spinach for cooking, since it turns tender; reserve it for salads.) In the previous, I’ve chanced on that the capable vary to make use of is ragged curly spinach, which you may per chance perchance perchance presumably also progressively uncover within the bagged-greens share of the supermarket. But since I moved out west to the Bay Subject, I’ve rarely seen it, so the capable I will be capable to enact is bunches of flat-leaf spinach or frozen curly spinach.

Neither possibility is immense. Flat-leaf doesn’t remember the unlit inexperienced colour or style of curly, and frozen spinach would possibly perchance even moreover be refined (even though it would enact in a pinch). So how would possibly perchance perchance I derive extra style into my greens?

As is so progressively the case, the inimitable Felicity Cloake has executed many of the backbreaking research work for me. Her articles are a wealth of immense hyperlinks and sources, and they gave me a clue as to easy how one can clear up my spinach problems. She aspects out that saag paneer is in level of truth no longer basically made with spinach. Palak is the notice for “spinach,” however saag is a extra generic notice for “greens.” This purchased me thinking: If the spinach I’m getting is now not forever flavorful ample, why no longer enhance the dish with varied, extra flavorful greens?

I took a same near in my spinach manicotti recipe by changing half the spinach with arugula, and it worked a cope with then. It turned out equally fantastic in my saag paneer. I would counsel a mixture of spinach, arugula, and/or mustard greens, even though I wager you may per chance perchance perchance presumably also diagram magnificent diversifications with comely about any medium-gentle inexperienced.

Cream

Most veganized variations of saag or palak paneer simply use boxed nut milks, like cashew or almond. This works okay, however it indubitably by no formulation delivers the prosperous creaminess that I query in a immense saag paneer. It be simply no longer moderately thick ample.

As soon as you happen to had been a fan of High Chef relief accurate thru season 1, you may per chance perchance perchance presumably also take note my buddy Harold Dieterle snagging the hang within the series by making a model of creamed spinach that he sure with puréed sunchokes. I progressively beloved that conception (and the model he served in his now-shuttered restaurant Perilla), so I made a decision to stumble on how it would work in my saag paneer. Other than using sunchokes, which remember a in actuality definite style and come in handiest seasonally, I as a substitute dilapidated cauliflower, which I simmered in almond milk until entirely gentle forward of blending into a delicate, creamy purée.

As soon as added to my greens nefarious and folded with the browned tofu cubes, it felt like precisely what the dish important, including a comely creaminess and prosperous texture with out distracting from the style I would built up with the aromatics and spices. For all you vegans who prolonged for the style and texture of creamed spinach, this would possibly per chance perchance even very effectively be comely the answer you’re after.

March 2017

• 12 oz. (350g) extra-company tofu

• 1 tablespoon (15g) yellow miso paste

• 3 tablespoons (forty fiveml) lemon juice, divided, plus 1 tablespoon (5g) zest, from 2 to three lemons

• 3 tablespoons (forty fiveml) vegetable oil, divided

• Kosher salt and freshly ground murky pepper

• 6 oz. almond, soy, rice, or cashew milk (2/3 cup; 170ml)

• 6 oz. cauliflower florets or peeled sunchokes (170g; about 1/3 of a dinky head of cauliflower)

• 4 medium cloves garlic (about 20g), finely minced

• 1 (1-dawdle) knob ginger (about 20g), peeled and finely minced

• 1 to 4 inexperienced or red Thai chiles (relying on your warmth preference), stemmed and finely minced

• 1 teaspoon ground coriander seeds

• 1 teaspoon ground cumin seeds

• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric

• 1 cardamom pod, smashed

• 8 oz. (225g) ragged spinach, curly if accessible (gape notes)

• 8 oz. (225g) arugula or mustard greens, refined mustard inexperienced stems eradicated and discarded (gape notes)

1. For the Tofu “Paneer”: Adjust oven rack to center role and preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Press tofu firmly between paper towels to recall extra moisture. Gash into 1 1/2–dawdle cubes and enviornment aside. In a medium bowl, stagger together miso paste, 2 tablespoons (30ml) lemon juice, lemon zest, and 1 tablespoon (15ml) oil. Season generously with salt and pepper. Add tofu and toss to coat. Unfold tofu evenly over a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet. Situation in oven and bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Sauce would possibly perchance even darken a limited bit in opposition to the foil; here is okay. Subject tofu aside.

2. Meanwhile, for the Cauliflower Purée: Combine nut milk and cauliflower in a dinky saucepan. Season with salt and carry to a simmer. Cook dinner until cauliflower is gentle, about 10 minutes. Purée mixture using a hand blender or countertop blender. Subject aside.

3. For the Spinach: Warmth final 2 tablespoons (30ml) vegetable oil in a immense saucepan or saucier over medium warmth until sparkling. Add garlic, ginger, and chiles and cook, stirring, until fragrant and evenly browned, about 1 minute. Add coriander, cumin, turmeric, and cardamom pod and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add spinach and arugula or mustard greens one handful at a time, stirring and including extra because the greens wilt (gape notes).

4. Gash warmth to low and cook, stirring infrequently, until greens are absolutely wilted, about 5 minutes. Plug in cauliflower purée and continue to cook until greens are very gentle, about 5 minutes longer. Plug in tofu cubes and warmth thru. Plug in final lemon juice, season with salt, adjust consistency with a limited bit water if mandatory, and back.

Special Equipment

Countertop blender or immersion blender, rimmed baking sheet

Notes

Former curly spinach works worthwhile for this dish, because it has a extra sturdy style and extra gentle texture when braised. Flat-leaf spinach will enact. Reduction away from toddler spinach, which turns tender when cooked. As soon as you happen to cannot uncover ragged new spinach, you may per chance perchance perchance presumably also moreover use frozen spinach: Defrost and drain it effectively, then add it with out notice in Step 3, as a substitute of a handful at a time. As soon as you happen to make a selection, you may per chance perchance perchance presumably also use 100% spinach as a substitute of a mixture of spinach and arugula or mustard greens.

Learn Extra

• Sarson Ka Saag Recipe
• Palak Paneer Recipe
• Grilled Naan Recipe