I love love Indian food. I don’t make it often, especially with my partner not liking it. But some nights when he’s working late, I get to whip some up! So tonight, I borrowed a recipe from one of my favourite food blogs, hotforfood, and made some Butter Chik’un (I used Farm Boy chickenless nuggets) and made this Saag Paneer dish to go along with it . Saag is a a leaf-based dish; Paneer is an Indian cheese, which obviously as a vegan, I couldn’t use that!! So I subbed for tofu. Which makes this dish full of nutrients, iron and protein!

Ingredients:

• 1 (360g) block of extra firm tofu, drained and pressed
• 2 C fresh spinach
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp minced ginger
• 2-3 tsp garlic, minced
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 C veggie broth
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp sriracha
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1/4-1/3 C coconut milk, full-fat

Directions:

1. Cut tofu into 1″ pieces. In a large pan, heat oil on medium heat, then add tofu. Cook it for about 10 minutes, but remember to turn it so each side gets darker.
2. While tofu is cooking, put spinach, onion, ginger, garlic into a food processor and pulse until chopped fine.
3. Sprinkle turmeric on tofu and stir around so the spice coats the tofu cubes. Add spinach mix, lemon juice, broth and the spices. Mix well.
4. Cook on low for another 10-15 minutes, until most of the liquid is absorbed.
5. Add coconut milk and mix in. Add 1/4 first, but if it doesn’t thicken up the way you like it, add a bit more (totalling 1/3). Cook a few more minutes on low, allowing the mixture to get creamy.
6. Serve with naan bread or basmati rice!