PVHPIDME.

Cooking made easy.

Indian cooking made easy?

Vegetarian cooking made easy?

(Pseudo) vegan cooking made easy?

High-protein vegetarian/vegan cooking made easy?

All of the above.

That's right, today's recipe is pretty ballin'. If I say so myself.

But first I'd like to ask a general question: is it me, or does the rec seem more packed these days? I think people are realizing spring break is right around the corner. If you have any friends who fall into this category, please refer them to my blog for some healthy eating options to pair with their workouts! (Heh).

Speaking of friends, my own friends have such strange perceptions of me. They think I'm someone who never goes out to eat and dances/jumps around in front of my webcam all day to make Zumba videos.

Sigh. It's not true!!!!!!!!!!!

Back to today's recipe. 

After opening a package of paneer yesterday, I realized I actually had to finish it quickly. As I noted in response to an anonymous commenter, paneer is a fresh cheese. This means it doesn't last as long as other cheeses! (By the way--to all of you anonymous commenters, don't be afraid to let me know who you are!). 

Anyway, I somehow had to incorporate paneer into my meal today. In addition, I also had to incorporate broccoli (seeing as it's broccoli week, and I still have lots of broccoli to use). On top of that, I had a bag of spinach that needed to be used quickly as well. 

And my pseudo-vegan-high-protein-Indian-dish-made-easy was born. (Hence the title of this post). 

Saag Paneer--Tulika-fied

Ingredients:

• 1 small broccoli floret, chopped
• ~3 cups fresh spinach
• 3/4 cup cashews
• 2 cloves garlic
• ~1 inch ginger, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth (I recommend low sodium)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
• 1/2 teaspoon coriander powder 
• salt/pepper to taste
• paneer

Cook the broccoli by steaming or boiling. 

In a pot, heat olive oil with garlic and ginger. Add turmeric, cumin powder, and coriander powder. Add the spinach. 

After the spinach has wilted a bit, set the pot aside. 

In a food processor or blender, combine 1 cup vegetable broth with the cashews. Blend.

I can't believe it's not cream!

Add the spinach mixture and the broccoli to the food processor. Blend until consistency is smooth. 

Pour the mixture back into the pot with the rest of the vegetable broth. Then add the chopped paneer. 

The best part!!!

Simmer for a several minutes, season with salt/pepper, and serve with chapati (basically Indian tortillas) or rice. Pitas or whole wheat tortillas will also work well.

Note: This recipe is pseudo-vegan is because of the addition of paneer at the end. If you want to make this completely vegan, tofu would be a good substitute for the paneer.

Enjoy! 

I served mine with a paratha...a fluffy, crispy, flaky "tortilla." 

If you are heading over to your local Asian or Indian store to purchase some paneer, I also recommend purchasing parathas. Once you've had a paratha, you'll never go back to eating tortillas. (They're whole wheat, too!)