Since the first time trying my first Indian dish, which of course was Chicken Tikka Masala, I’ve branched into other dishes, including sabzi (Indian vegetable based dishes), bean, chickpea, and (lentil) based dishes. Since we’ve been cutting meat out of our diets, we’ve been experimenting with a lot more of these sabzi dishes to give us a variety in our diet.

We visited the in-laws, and at our last longer visit, we also visited grandparents and one of my husband’s aunt and uncle. They made us a whole array of traditional Punjabi food, which is the part of India they are from. If you have not tried Punjabi food, you really should. It’s to die for. Growing up in North Dakota, I never thought I’d be such a fan of food so foreign to what I was raised eating, but it’s quickly become my favorite. I even got my mom hooked on a few different dishes.

With that being said, I got the idea for this dish when we were visiting my husband’s family for dinner. There were several similar dishes, but not something I’d ever seen at a buffet or even on a menu before. I’ve seen several dishes that use paneer, which is small cheese blocks, but trying to find a better alternative. That’s when I thought of tofu.

I’ve never been a huge fan of tofu in the past, being the texture is strange, and the flavor is bland. But that’s because I’ve never had it prepared very well. The more I look on Pinterest for ways to prepare tofu, the more I thought I should give it a shot. I’m glad I did, because this dish turned out great!

Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

1 medium onion, diced (yellow work best)
1 12 oz bag of green beans (or sub for french beans) cut into 1.5″ pieces
1 block of firm tofu, cut into 1″ blocks
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp turmeric
2 tsp coriander-cumin powder
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper powder (omit for less spicy option)
1/8 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp black pepper
salt to taste
2 tbsp oil

Directions

1. Heat oil in pan and fry tofu blocks until they get golden brown, or desired texture
2. Put fried tofu on plate 
3. Add onion to pan and sauté until translucent
4. Add garlic and cook until fragrant
5. Add green beans and tofu and cook until beans are tender
6. Mix in the spices and ensure they’re evenly distributed
7. Cook for about 10 minutes on low heat
8. Serve over rice, with roti, or naan. 

If you want to use paneer instead of tofu, it’ll add a bit more flavor to the dish. Also 1 tsp of garam masala gives this a bit of a different flavor. Let me know if you enjoyed this dish or if you have any suggestions!

– Cassie