Vegan Saag Paneer with tofu (Spinach tofu curry)

Do you want to sneak more greens into your meals? Make this easy, delicious saag tofu with simple ingredients in no time. This gluten-free and vegan saag paneer will surely please your taste buds.

Who doesn't love quick meals? This spinach tofu curry is easy to make and takes little time. You can make saag sauce in large quantities and freeze it.

Ingredients

• Green leafy veggies - I used only spinach to make this saag tofu. But traditional saag uses different leafy greens like mustard greens, spinach, fenugreek leaves, and radish leaves. You can even use swiss chard, kale, and collard greens. You can use frozen spinach also to make this vegan saag.
• Tofu - We need a firm or extra firm tofu for this recipe. If we extract excess water from the tofu, the tofu will become crispy after baking or frying. So drain the tofu and press the tofu with heavy weight for 10 to 20 minutes to remove the excess water.
• Spices - Simple spices like cumin powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, and garam masala powder are used in this recipe. I also used green chili to make the curry spicy, and you can skip it or use jalapeno. 
• Aromatics - Onion, ginger, and garlic are used to flavor the curry. I used fresh ginger and garlic in this recipe. Still, frozen ginger garlic paste or ginger and garlic powder will also work here.

Instructions

Here, I am making the spinach sauce first, and then I will add tofu to the sauce.

Make saag sauce

Here are the simple steps to make the saag sauce. If you want to make the sauce for meal prep, I have a detailed recipe on saag. Please check that recipe to make basic Indian saag and how to use it.

• Heat a pan and add oil to it.

• Now goes the chopped onions, garlic, and ginger. Let it cook for a couple of minutes.

• Next goes the roughly chopped spinach, slit green chili (if using) and let the spinach wilt.

• Take the pot out of the heat and let the spinach mixture cool down.

• Once you can handle it, transfer the spinach mixture into a mixer jar.
• Add maize flour to the spinach mixture and make a smooth paste. Keep this saag sauce aside.

Shallow fry the tofu

• Drain the water from the tofu and wrap it using a cloth. Now place a heavy weight for 10 to 20 minutes on the tofu to remove the excess water. If you are out of time, you can press the tofu with both hands and try to remove the water.
• Heat a pan or skillet and place the tofu slices. Add a teaspoon of oil and fry the tofu for 3 to 4 minutes or until they turn light golden brown.

• Turn the tofu slices and let them brown on another side as well. I have sprinkled a little salt on both sides to season the tofu.

• Cut the tofu into the desired shape and keep it aside.

Make saag tofu

• Add saag sauce into a pan and cook it over medium heat for about 5 minutes. As we are using maize flour, you should cook it properly. However, if you use roasted chickpea flour or cashews to thicken the saag, you can cook for a couple of minutes.

• Add spice powders - cumin powder, coriander powder, garam masala powder, turmeric powder, and salt to this spinach mixture and mix it well.

• Simmer the saag sauce on medium to low flame for 3 to 4 minutes.
• Add the fried tofu to the saag sauce and switch off the flame. The delicious vegan saag paneer (saag tofu!) is ready to serve with naan bread or basmati rice.

Recipe Notes and variations

• I sometimes use roasted Bengal gram powder (Sattu) to thicken the saag curry. 
• Instead of maize flour, you can use around ten cashews while making spinach puree to thicken the saag sauce. Or you can use cashew cream also.
• Don't like the taste of spinach? Then, add a handful of cilantro or mint leaves while making the spinach puree. You could even use tender cilantro stems.
• If you don't like tofu or paneer, then chickpeas are the best alternative. Add cooked chickpeas to the spinach puree and simmer it for 4 to 5 minutes, and your spinach and chickpeas curry is ready. You can check my Saag chana recipe.
• Instead of adding protein like tofu, paneer, or chickpeas, you can add any steamed veggies to make a light version of this saag curry.
• Though traditional saag curry doesn't use any milk, you can use full-fat coconut milk to make the curry rich and creamy.
• Instead of pan-frying the tofu, you can bake the tofu till the edges turn light brown.
• I have used carrot and ginger-flavored tofu while making this recipe. However, plain firm tofu will work just fine.
• You can use an immersion blender to make the saag sauce. And the consistency of the sauce need not be smooth. I sometimes finely chop the greens using a food processor and skip blending the sauce.

Serving & Storage

This vegan palak paneer tastes best when served with Indian flatbread like naan bread, chapati, or paratha. But you can serve it with flavored basmati rice, quinoa, or millet.

You can store the leftover curry in the refrigerator for a day. However, freezing is the best option if you make the curry in large quantities.

I use leftover curry as a sandwich spread. Try it once, and you will not regret it.

FAQs

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