Hola friendos! Idriss here and our recipe today is one that is 100% vegan, so rejoice! It’s delicious and it’s my take on a beloved classic indian dish, vegan palak paneer !
Little fun facts.
Palak paneer is a dish that has originated in the Punjabi region in the subcontinent of India. However, many other variations of this same dish exist all over the country. Palak essentially translates to spinach and paneer, well it’s a type of cheese that is super popular in India.
But get this… It has been reported that Paneer cheese has been linked to the Indus Valley Civilization that essentially existed between 3300-1300 BCE!
How cool is that! This probably one of the oldest cheeses ever.
But we’re not using it today. Psych.
The Vegan Palak Paneer
Let me get something out of the way right now. This is not an authentic palak paneer dish. Okay? You good with that?
We don’t always do authentic on this blog, because we like to do simple things. What this is a vegan palak paneer that will give you the same level of satisfaction of eating the classic dish, without the use of any animal products, or the technical aspect that comes with a classic palak paneer.
With that being said, let me add this, this will cost a lot less as well. So yay!
The end result is pretty damn satisfying, especially if you pair it with some delicious basmati rice, or homemade naan.
This is probably one of the easiest recipes I have ever made in my life. It’s straightforward, and it will take you probably 30 minutes to get done. Once you taste it, you’re probably going to have a huge smile on your face.
Also, get a beer. Just saying, this is better with a beer.
So without further ado, here is the vegan palak paneer recipe
Vegan Palak Paneer
Ingredients
Sauce
- 1 Small onion
- Thumb size piece of ginger
- 2 Cups of frozen spinach
- 1 Tbsp Coconut oil
- 350 g pack of extra firm tofu
- 2 Tbsp of coconut cream
- Juice from 1 lemon
Spice Mix
- 1 Tsp of cumin seed
- 1.5 Tsp of Coriander seeds
- 1 Tsp mustard seeds
- 1 Tsp of Turmeric
- 1/2 Tsp of chili powder
- 1 tbsp of nutritional yeast
- 1.5 Tsp of garam masala
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
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Start by melting your coconut oil in pan at medium heat. Chop your onion and ginger very finely. You can use a food processor for this step to speed things up. Add your onion and ginger to the pan and cook for about 3 minutes. Add all your seeds (cumin, coriander and mustard) to the pan and sauté them for about 2 minutes. Then add all your spices (Turmeric, chili powder, nutritional yeast and garam masala). Salt and pepper to taste.
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Cut your tofu block into 12 pieces and add it to your pan. Cook until you see a nice brown crust on its corners. This should take about 5 minutes. Beware not to over do it, you might burn your spices.
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While your Tofu is cooking, microwave your frozen spinach for 4 minutes on high heat. Once defrosted, add your spinach to the pan and stir. Cook for 3 minutes and then add your coconut cream. Stir and remove from the heat. Add half of your lemon juice and taste. If you feel like it needs to be more acidic then add more. This is entirely up to you.
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Serve with some basmati rice or naan.
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Enjoy.
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Idriss
Food blogger
From-scratch-recipe-enthusiast
Endlessly curious hipster
Vegan dabbler (I try !)
Health-food-celebrator
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Love that you used tofu instead of cheese. It makes it alot easier!
Absolutely! You should give it a go 🙂
I heard that this was an absolutely delicious dish, and I am curious. Isnt it wonderful that there are so many ways in the world to make food. Is your recipe hot? meaning you put red pepper or hot palak? This Indian dish combines fresh spinach and ricotta in a creamy palak paneer. Use paneer if you can find it! It is absolutely wonderful with basmati rice or naan.