lunch box: palak not paneer

contents:

palak not paneer (tofu instead of cheese)
brown rice
cherry tomatoes
melon


I am going to attempt real palak panner one of these days, but this past Sunday I was not in the mood to try and make cheese for the first time. I looked at a bunch of recipes before settling on a combination version for my lunch. The tofu substitution was recommended on Epicurus and turned out surprisingly well.

ingredients:

1 block tofu
1/2 cup or so of flour
1 16oz bag of frozen spinach
2 garlic cloves chopped
2 small dried red chillies or chili powder to taste
2 tbs ginger powder (or fresh)
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp salt
1 medium onion chopped small
2 tsp garam masala
3/4 cup plain yogurt
vegetable oil

Heat a thin layer of vegetable oil in large frying pan

Cut tofu into 1 inch square chunks. Roll in flour until covered on all sides.

Fry tofu pieces until crispy and golden.

Remove from pan and drain on paper towel

In your food processor or blender, combine cooked spinach, garlic, and chillies. If you're using fresh ginger add it here. Puree until smooth (or close to it). I personally could not bring myself to totally blenderize the spinach to baby food, but it needs to be slightly creamy in order for the recipie to work. There's a compromise texture I think.

Reheat frying pan and add more oil if necessary (you should have a couple tbs worth in the pan).

Fry onions until clear. Add ginger (if powder) and turmeric, stirring well to keep from burning.

Stir in spinach mixture and tofu. Cook for a few minutes before adding garam masala and yogurt.