Story time: I developed a pea allergy during early childhood and couldn’t eat anything that contained peas until very recently. I’m not exactly sure what happened or when or how but I was about a week into a new bottle of vegan gummy vitamins when I just happened to glance down at the ingredients and saw ‘pea extract’ right there. Could it be that I had outgrown my pea allergy?!
I tested out the hypothesis over the next month by trying out dishes and products made with peas in various forms. For my friends with food allergies, I certainly do NOT recommend experimenting on yourself if you can help it but a) my pea allergy was not life-threatening or even nearly as severe as some of my other food allergies and b) I did not have access to an allergy specialist at the time.
Once I knew I was in the clear, I didn’t even have to think twice about which pea-based dish I’d make first: it had to be mattar paneer. I only ate a handful of times as a kid for obvious reasons but from what I remembered, it was creamy, spicy, and full of texture. The vegan version retains this richness of flavor and texture while swapping out the traditional paneer for extra firm tofu. Here’s how you make it!
Vegan Mattar Paneer (Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free)
Ingredients
- 15 oz extra firm tofu, drained and pressed
- 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 tbsp coconutmilk
- neutral oil
- 1 large red onion, roughly chopped
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 tsp minced ginger
- 1 1/2 cups crushed tomatoes
- 1/4 cup raw cashews, soaked in water for 2 hours
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1 green chili
- salt, to taste
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
- 1 tbsp dried coconut
- neutral oil
- 2 bay leaves
- 3/4 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/2 tsp red chili powder
- 1 cup green peas, fresh or frozen
- 1/3 cup coconutmilk
- 1 tsp fenugreek leaves
- 1 tsp garam masala
Instructions
- To make the paneer, cube the tofu and toss with apple cider vinegar, nutritional yeast, and coconut milk. Set aside for 30 minutes to absorb flavors.
- Prepare the gravy in the meantime. Start by sautéing onion, garlic, and ginger in neutral oil until onions are soft and translucent (3 minutes). Add crushed tomatoes and cook for an additional 2 - 3 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a blender along with cashews, turmeric, green chili, and salt. Blend until smooth and creamy, adding water as necessary.
- Dry roast cinnamon and fennel until fragrant. Add dried coconut and roast for an additional minute or so, until coconut is browned. Add the mixture to a food processor and pulse into a fine powder.
- Heat about a tablespoon of oil in a large saucepan on medium heat. Add bay leaves and cumin seeds and sauté until sizzling.
- Add tofu and gently stir until coated in the cumin seeds.
- Once the tofu starts to brown, add red chili powder and roasted aromatic spice powder. Continue stirring gently to coat.
- Add green peas and stir for a couple minutes, until softened. The tofu should be golden brown at this point.
- Pour in the cashew-based gravy and coconutmilk. Once the mixture begins to bubble, reduce heat and cover to cook for 5 minutes.
- Uncover the saucepan and stir in the fenugreek leaves and garam masala. Turn off heat.
- Serve warm over rice or with roti (Indian flatbread).
