Submitted by Geoffrey Journeay-Kaler, NOLS Rocky Mountain
Intern
No matter where your pack takes you, you can enjoy the foods of the
world over a Whisperlite Stove. This version of the Indian dish saag paneer replaces
the paneer with tofu, but if you have brought a white cheese into the
backcountry, using that instead of tofu would be a great option as well. The
Mexican cheese, queso fresco, is a great replacement for paneer.
A backpacking version of saag is surprisingly easy, far easier than
making it indoors, actually.
Tofu:
¼ cup water
¼ tsp curry powder
2 pinches salt
1 slice dried tofu
2 tsp oil
Saag:
1 ½ cups freeze-dried
spinach
1/3 cup freeze-dried
tomato chunks
¼ cup powdered whole
milk
¼ tsp cumin
¼ tsp coriander
¼ tsp turmeric
¼ tsp ginger powder
1/8 tsp cayenne
1/8 tsp garlic
powder
1 ½ Tbs oil
Mix together the
curry powder, salt and water. Add in the tofu and let it soak up all of the
liquid. While the tofu is rehydrating, put
the spinach into a bowl. Add in the tomato chunks and whole milk power.
Back to the tofu: heat the 2
tsp of oil on medium heat. Add the tofu. Fry on all sides until it is browned and crispy. Chop the fried tofu up and set it aside for later.
Heat the 1 ½ Tbs of
oil, add all the spices at once, and fry them briefly on medium low heat. Don't
let them burn!
Add in the rehydrated spinach,
tomatoes and milk.
Stir the saag up, break up any
clumps of spinach that did not fully rehydrate with your spatula and distribute
the saag evenly across the pan.
Cover and cook on medium low
heat for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Uncover and add the tofu. Stir
together. Cover and cook for 2-3 more minutes allowing the tofu to soak up
some of the liquid.
Serve over basmati rice, on
bread or solo. Serves 1-2 with the rice.
