creamy tomato curry with spinach & tofu paneer

i love me some indian food, but i especially love curries.  mine usually end up being totally made on the fly and consist of me throwing various spices & vegetables into a pan with puréed tomato & coconut milk.  it's always super delicious, but sometimes i take the time to really focus on the delicate mix of spices.  in these cases i usually start with one of vij's recipes.  my thoughtful brother jamie sent me one of his cookbooks a few years ago and when i want the spices to be just so - it's my go to.

this recipe is from one of his other books but it's also well published online and it's one of my favourites!  it's surprisingly subtle in its tangy spicing but it's impossible to stop at one serving, especially if there's some soft bread around to mop up the sauce.  it's almost vegan too as is with the exception of the paneer.  no problem here though - the best part of making vegan paneer is that there's nothing to it: cubed firm or extra-firm tofu does the job perfectly!

creamy tomato curry with spinach & tofu paneer adapted from this recipe
serves 4
1/4 cup raw cashews
1 pound bunch of organic spinach
6 tbsp canola oil
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp black mustard seeds
1 tbsp sea salt
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 - 1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 28 oz can organic whole tomatoes, puréed
3/4 cup water
1 2/3 cup coconut milk {a little less than 1 can}
1 cup cubed firm or extra firm tofu

start things off by toasting the cashews either in a dry pan or in oven - careful not to burn 'em!
heat the oil in a large pan.  add cumin seeds and allow them to sizzle up for 30 seconds.  then add in the rest of the spices, the tomatoes and the tofu.  stir and reduce the heat to low, cover the pan and let it simmer for 5 minutes.  when you take the lid off the top of the tomatoes should be oily, if not, let it continue cooking for a few minutes.  stir in the water, bring it to a boil, then reduce heat to low again and simmer uncovered for 5-10 minutes.  add the coconut milk, increase to medium and then continue to cook it for another 5-6 minutes and it begins to boil.  at this point add in the washed and trimmed greens and stir them in to wilt.  garnish with cashews and fresh cilantro.  serve immediately with rice & vegan naan to mop it up.

i also went for the full on popeye version and stuck strictly with spinach - but i've made it with arugula too which is equally amazing.

now if you'll excuse me, i think i need to take care of these left overs...