Tofu v. Paneer

 

Boo! I'd like to take the occasion of the spooky season to inquire whether you find tofu scary. I did, back before I came to terms with the impact of animal agriculture on the environment. I never chose tofu over a meat or dairy option.

One of the best qualities of humans, however, is our adaptability. When I learned that animal agriculture is responsible for a large portion of methane emissions that are warming the planet (see, for example, this 2021 UN report), I explored how I could reduce my consumption of foods that come from animals. One of my strategies is substituting tofu for meat or paneer (a cheese used in Indian cooking), and it turns out that tofu isn't scary at all.

Mattar Tofu in the making

You can use tofu in a recipe like "Mattar Paneer" (NYT Cooking), as its author acknowledges. I have found that tofu always turns out well when you press the water out of it gradually over half an hour or so, rather than just patting it dry. I use a tofu press that I tighten a little, every few minutes, as I'm working on something else, but you can also press it under heavy objects. 

My pressed tofu took a while to brown on the stove for this recipe, but it got there. I made some alterations to the recipe based on what I had on hand. I used peanut butter instead of cashew, cumin powder instead of seeds, and regular tomatoes rather than plum. I also pureed it all in the blender before adding in peas and tofu, and the resulting texture was delightful: creamy without cream. The taste was a little bland, though, so I added some red curry paste and that worked well, but when I make this again I will just increase the quantities of ginger, garlic, chili powder, etc.

Mattar Tofu plated

Still not convinced that tofu is a good substitute for paneer? Consider this: a couple weeks after making the Mattar Tofu, I cooked "Paneer and Broccoli Masala" (Epicurious) with paneer, not tofu. I thought of the paneer as a treat--less healthy but perhaps more satisfying than tofu. But guess what? My backup dancers thought they were eating tofu. So choose tofu, for your health and for the environment.

My backup dancer chopped the paneer

Paneer and Broccoli Masala

Note that I felt that this, too, was a dish that needed additional flavor, especially salt. Be generous with your seasonings, and don't let plant-based foods scare you! They're a weapon against the climate crisis, which truly IS terrifying.