Y’all, I have been on such an Indian food kick lately! I mean, I am Indian but I don’t usually make a lot of Indian food during the week because most of my favorites are quite labor (and time!) intensive. But a few weeks ago I was toying around with my (now infamous) Vegan Palak Paneer recipe, trying to figure out a way to make it oil- and nut-free, and I thinkkkkk I’ve nailed it! The not-so-secret ingredient? Pumpkin!
This is the second installment in my series of savory pumpkin dishes, which I’ve decided to take on because I love pumpkin and I really want to shift the narrative around it. (Go check out my Instant Pot Pumpkin Dal if you haven’t already!) Pumpkin is more than just pie or cheesecake or soup! It’s also curry, sauce, and in this case, saag.
Saag is a creamy spinach gravy that is commonly served over cooked paneer (a hard cottage cheese). The complete dish is called Saag Paneer, or Palak Paneer. I already veganized this dish once but now I’m going to do it once more for my oil-free and nut-free peeps! And don’t worry, I promise the pumpkin won’t steal the show! ;)
Oil-Free Pumpkin Saag "Paneer" (Vegan and Nut-Free)
Ingredients
- 14 oz extra firm tofu, drained, pressed, and cut into small cubes
- 1 tsp nutritional yeast
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 16 oz baby spinach
- 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp curry powder
- 1 cup vegetable broth or water
- salt, to taste
Instructions
- To transform the tofu into vegan paneer, add the cubes to a clean bowl and toss in nutritional yeast and lemon juice. Salt to taste and allow the tofu to marinate for at least 10 minutes.
- Preheat your oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. If you are using an air fryer, skip this step for now.
- Add the remaining ingredients (spinach through vegetable broth) to a high speed blender and blend until smooth and creamy. You may need to adjust the consistency with more broth or water for easy blending.
- Bake the tofu at 450 degrees for 10 minutes, flipping halfway through. If you are using an air fryer, preheat it to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and air fry for 5 minutes, shaking the basket halfway through.
- Heat a medium saucepan on medium low heat and add the saag to the pan. Bring the sauce to a simmer and cover. Cook for 5 - 7 minutes on low heat.
- Turn off the heat and add the tofu paneer to the saag. Serve warm over rice or with flatbread.