This recipe is aligned with the objective of my blog to share delicious recipes that are nutritious and can be ready in around 30 minutes. I offer nutritive value of the dish, how to complement it and vary it for different occasions. Here is one such dish to add variety to the usual palak paneer craze. Yummy tofu pakoras immersed in palak gravy infused in the beautiful spices and preserving the bounty of nutrients, is a dish worth trying.
Indian cooking takes food to a whole new level with the mix of spices and fresh produce. It is a great contribution to global cuisine. If balanced well keeping in mind the nutritional value, it can help everyone lead a happy and healthy life! I would like to promote Indian cuisine for its health benefits as more global citizens turn toward using spices in their cooking.
Ingredients:
Ingredients (6 servings):
For Palak Curry:
5 cups of chopped spinach, tightly packed
1/2 onion, diced*
2 medium tomatoes, diced
1″ ginger piece, diced
1 large clove of garlic, diced
1/8 tsp turmeric powder
3/4 tsp red chili powder
1/4 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp kasuri methi
2 tbsp oil
salt to taste
* 1/2 medium yellow onion in US= 1 medium red onion in India
For Tofu Pakora (2 per serving):
12 slices of firm tofu, 1 cm thick slices of 2″X 2″ cubes
1/2 cup chickpea flour (besan)
1/2 cup water
1/8 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp red chili powder
salt to taste
1.5 tbsp oil for pan frying
Method:
Procedure:
For the palak curry, heat oil in a non-stick pan and then add the diced onion. Allow it to caramelize on medium heat. In the meantime, wash and chop your spinach and tomatoes. Chop the ginger and garlic.
Once the onions turn medium brown, add the tomatoes, ginger, garlic and the dry powders and saute on medium heat for a minute or two.
When the tomatoes have softened add the spinach and mix well. Cover the pan and let the spinach cook on low heat for about 5-7 minutes.
Cut the tofu slices and prepare the chickpea flour batter. In order to avoid a lumpy batter, add water slowly and beat it well into a smooth paste. Then add the remaining dry powders.
Heat oil for the pakoras in a large non-stick pan. If you are using a small pan, use oil according for each batch you make, not exceeding 1.5 – 2 tbsp of oil for whole batch. Dip each slice of tofu in the batter, coat it well and transfer to the pan. Flip the pakoras when one side is done.
By now, the spinach will be cooked. Allow the spinach to cool down a bit and then blenderize it to make a smooth, homogeneous puree. Add 1/2 to 1 cup water gradually. From my previous attempts I have realized that the taste isn’t as great if the puree is not homogeneous.
Heat it up again in the same pan that you used for cooking the spinach and serve with hot pakoras. Add some ghee for your kids.
Enjoy with warm phulkas and a side salad of vitamin C rich foods. Refer the GOOD TO KNOW section.
Read full post: Palak with Pan-fried Tofu Pakoras