Life in New York City makes certain indulgences seem normal behavior. Â Such as ordering in (you don’t even need to talk to someone to get your meal – thank you, Seamless). Â Such as ordering in…Indian food (which I can easily prepare). Â Such as ordering in Indian food…at least once a week.
That was the trajectory my husband and I were on until my beloved J Brands started getting more difficult to wiggle into. Â Curses.
Rather than order in from the “healthy” options on Seamless, I took a hard look at the fridge and freezer, did some Googling, and managed to come up with an incredibly healthy, and quite tasty, version of one of our Basera Indian Bistro favorites – palak paneer.
Except, strictly speaking, it wasn’t all palak (I used a combination of kale and baby spinach)…or paneer (I used firm tofu instead of the Indian cottage cheese).
But the taste is the same, and that is delicious. Â I would know – it’s become our new weekly tradition.
Healthy Palak Paneer
Ingredients
4 cups of baby spinach and kale
1 can of coconut milk (alternatively, use 1 small cup Greek yogurt and 1/2 cup milk)
1 onion
1 inch of fresh ginger root, sliced
4 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon turmeric
Salt & pepper, to taste
Directions
Slice the tofu lengthwise into four blocks. Â Sandwich the blocks between paper towels & cutting boards, and place a heavy object on top of the tofu. Â Leave for 30 minutes, or until all water is drained.
Heat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and cook the tofu until crispy. Â Remove tofu from pan and allow it to rest.
In a food processor, blend the ginger and garlic with a touch of olive oil until pureed.
In the pan, heat some olive oil on medium high heat and add the onions. Â When translucent, add the ginger/garlic paste and combine well. Â Add the spices to the onion-garlic-ginger mixture and combine.
Add the leafy greens to the pan and allow them to cook down.
Open the can of coconut milk. Â Spoon out the heavy cream sitting on the top and place aside. Â Add the milk to the pan and stir to combine.
Upon combination, pour the mixture into a glass bowl and puree using an immersion blender (or allow mixture to cool before pouring mixture into a food processor or blender, and puree). Â Puree until mixture is more creamy than chunky.
Add mixture back into the pan with the coconut cream. Â Stir vigorously until cream is well combined into the mixture, and it is creamy. Â Add tofu to the mixture, and cook to preferred temperature.
Serve with rice, naan, or eat it right out of the pan. Â For leftovers, the palak paneer (if there’s any left) is the perfect addition to a pita with some crunchy lettuce!
Note – add/decrease amount of spices based on your taste preferences.  Add jalapeños or Hungarian paprika to the dish if you like some more heat.
