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Palak Tofu

A lot of Indian recipes are already vegan, or are super easy to veganize. Palak paneer is usually made with cottage cheese, so how do we turn palak paneer into a vegan dish? Simple! Replace the cottage cheese with tofu and turn it into palak tofu instead.

Palak tofu isn’t that much different from palak paneer. It looks the same, and even the texture is pretty similar. I also added a little bit of coconut cream to make this spinach curry a bit creamier. Personally, I really enjoy this dish with some basmati rice and Indian bread (try it with this gluten-free garlic roti).

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Ingredients for palak tofu

  • Spinach, 14.1 oz (400 g)
  • Tomato, 1
  • Tofu, 13.2 oz (375 g)
  • Chili peppers, 3
  • Garlic, 8 cloves
  • Red onion, 1
  • Ginger, 1 inch
  • Coconut cream, 5 oz (150 ml)
  • Cooking oil, 3 tbsp
  • Nutritional yeast, 1 tbsp
  • Cumin seeds, 2 tsp
  • Turmeric powder, 1 tsp
  • Chili powder, 1 tsp
  • Ground cumin, 1 tsp
  • Ground coriander, ½ tsp
  • Garam masala, 1 tsp
  • Salt, 1½ tsp
  • Pepper, ¼ tsp
palak tofu vegan indian tofu spinach curry
Sprinkle some nutritional yeast, salt and pepper over the tofu before putting it into the oven
palak tofu vegan indian tofu spinach curry
Start cooking the spinach
palak tofu vegan indian tofu spinach curry
Fry the cumin seeds, onion, garlic, ginger and chili peppers for a few minutes
palak tofu vegan indian tofu spinach curry
Add one tomato and cook some more
palak tofu vegan indian tofu spinach curry
Let the spinach cool down in cold water
palak tofu vegan indian tofu spinach curry
Blend everything together
palak tofu vegan indian tofu spinach curry
Add the spices to the pan with some oil
palak tofu vegan indian tofu spinach curry
And mix it together
palak tofu vegan indian tofu spinach curry
Then, add the spinach and tomato paste
palak tofu vegan indian tofu spinach curry
Stir well
palak tofu vegan indian tofu spinach curry
The tofu is ready
palak tofu vegan indian tofu spinach curry
Add the tofu to the pan
palak tofu vegan indian tofu spinach curry
Ready to serve!

how to make palak tofu

  1. Preheat the oven at 400°F (200°C). Cut the tofu into cubes, place them on baking paper and sprinkle some nutritional yeast, salt and pepper over the tofu. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes, or until they have a light golden brown color. Turn them over halfway.

     

  2. Meanwhile, bring a pot to a boil and add the washed spinach leaves. Cook for about five minutes, take the spinach out, rinse with some cold water and set aside.

  3. Cut the onion, garlic, ginger and chili peppers. Heat 2 tablespoons of cooking oil (I used coconut oil) in a frying pan. When heated, add the cumin seeds together with the onion, garlic, ginger and chili peppers.

  4. Cook for about 3 minutes on medium high heat. Next, add the chopped tomato and cook it until the tomato gets soft. Remove from heat and let it cool down.

  5. Once cooled down, put everything in a food processor or blender together with the spinach and a splash of water. Mix into a smoothe paste.

  6. Using the same frying pan, heat 1 more tablespoon of oil and add all the spices and salt. Mix it all together before adding in the spinach paste. Also add the coconut cream and let it simmer for about 5 minutes.

  7. When the tofu is nicely baked, mix it well with the curry and remove from heat. Serve with basmati rice or Indian bread. Optional: garnish the palak tofu with a swirl of coconut cream and some chili flakes.

palak tofu indian spinach tofu curry
palak tofu indian spinach tofu curry

Palak Tofu

4.67 from 6 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine Indian
Servings 5

Ingredients
  

  • 14.1 oz spinach (400 g)
  • 1 tomato
  • 13.2 oz tofu (375 g)
  • 3 chili peppers
  • 8 garlic cloves
  • 1 red onion
  • 1 inch ginger
  • 5 oz coconut cream (150 ml)
  • 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
  • 3 tbsp cooking oil
  • 2 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 tsp tumeric powder
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp cumin powder
  • ½ tsp coriander powder
  • 1 tsp garam masala
  • 1½ tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp pepper

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven at 400°F (200°C)
  • Cut the tofu into cubes, place them on baking paper and sprinkle some nutritional yeast, salt and pepper over the tofu (you can also add a bit of oil if you want to). Bake in the oven for 30 minutes, or until they have a light golden brown color. Turn them over halfway.
  • Bring a pot to a boil and add the washed spinach leaves. Cook for about five minutes.
  • Rinse the spinach with some cold water and set aside.
  • Cut the onion, garlic, ginger and chili peppers.
  • Heat 2 tablespoons of cooking oil (I used coconut oil) in a frying pan. When heated, add the cumin seeds together with the onion, garlic, ginger and chili peppers.
  • Cook for about 3 minutes on medium high heat. Next, add the chopped tomato and cook it until the tomato gets soft. Remove from heat and let it cool down a bit.
  • Put everything in a food processor or blender together with the spinach and a splash of water. Mix into a smoothe paste.
  • Using the same frying pan, heat 1 more tablespoon of oil and add all the spices and salt. Mix it all together before adding in the spinach paste.
  • Also add the coconut cream and let it simmer for about 5 minutes.
  • When the tofu is nicely baked, mix it well with the curry and remove from heat.
  • Serve with basmati rice or Indian bread. 
  • Optional: garnish the palak tofu with a swirl of coconut cream and some chili flakes.

Notes

TOFU
  • Make sure to press the tofu first to remove some of the moisture.
  • Instead of baking the tofu in the oven, you can cook it in a frying pan with some vegan butter. I really recommend trying it this way too! Season the tofu with salt, pepper and nutritional yeast. Heat 1 tbsp of vegan butter in a frying pan, and cook the tofu until all pieces have a golden brown color.
SPICY
  • If it's too spicy, add more coconut cream.
Keyword Curry, Indian, Spinach, Tofu, Vegan

PIN IT FOR LATER:

palak tofu vegan indian spinach tofu curry easy gluten-free

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9 thoughts on “Palak Tofu”

  3. Danielle

    5 stars
    We made this pretty much exactly as written but halved the recipe and air-fried our tofu. We tossed some sauteed broccoli into the sauce with the cooked tofu at the end and served it over potato wedges. This was a such a lovely dinner. Will make again for sure. Thank you for sharing.

    Reply
    1. Josca Wuis

      Hi Danielle, what an interesting twist you gave to the recipe! Sounds lovely. I’m glad to hear you enjoyed the recipe! 🙂 And yes, air-frying the tofu is also a really nice & easy way to prepare the tofu. Thanks for your comment!

      Reply
  4. Samantha

    5 stars
    This recipe is amazing! Right as I was about to start cooking I realized I didn’t have a tomato, but I had a 10 oz can of diced tomatoes, so I used that instead, and skipped the splash of water for blending. My non-vegan husband loved it too, he even licked the serving spoon.

    Reply
  5. Abbey

    5 stars
    I followed the recipe closely except only used one chili pepper since I’m a baby with spice. It was amazing. It’s going in our recipe book!

    Reply

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josca my green passion

Hi there!

My name is Josca.

I am a Dutchie who is obsessed with plant-based food, sustainable living and exploring our planet.

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