Quick & Easy Tofu Saag for Kids

 

I've recently started menu planning to bring down my weekly cost of organic foods.  Organic can get quite expensive when you just go up and down the aisles of Whole Foods or even Trader Joe's with no agenda.  This dish is super cheap if you use frozen organic spinach, sprouted organic tofu from TJ's and have spices on hand.  WFs seems to have the best prices for organic spices that I have found so far.  The Indian store has super cheap spices not usually organic.

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon cayenne

1/2 teaspoon store-bought or homemade garam masala
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin 

1 block of sprouted TJ's tofu
1 (16-ounce package) frozen TJ's chopped spinach
1 medium onion, finely chopped  or food processed
1 teaspoon garlic/ginger paste (or just chop up some ginger and garlic)
1 pepper (I had jalapeno on hand and removed seeds for kids)

2 tomatoes

1/2 cup plain yogurt, stirred until smooth

Directions:

First, slightly  brown one block of bite size sprouted tofu in a bit of coconut oil.  You can always use paneer but I like the sprouted tofu.  Set the crispy tofu aside.

Then make the gravy or curry base.  In a large skillet, add a wee bit of coconut oil & add cumin seeds.  Let the seeds sizzle for 30 seconds or so.  Then add onions and cook until the onions are soft and brown (if the onions start sticking -- add water).  Then add garlic/ginger paste  and stir for a minute followed by the finely chopped pepper.  Next add the tomatoes until they cook.  Finally, dump the rest of the spices until everything gets fragrant.

Dump frozen spinach into the skillet.  Once the spinach has cooked slowly add plain yogurt for creaminess.   Add quite a bit of salt to lift & brighten the flavor.  Once the "saag" tastes right, add the tofu.

Serve with either brown rice or quinoa.  I personally think the brown rice works better with this dish.  This dish is loaded with veggies.  My soon to be four year olds and 1 year old love it!