Vegan Saag with Tofu

As someone who spent years cooking and eating Indian food on an almost daily basis (while living in ashram), there was a long time that I would not go near a pack of curry powder. I always enjoyed Indian food, but lets just say I needed a break. These days, I enjoy cooking Indian again, and always look forward to eating out at our favorite Indian restaurant. Saag has always been one of my favorites. This recipe easy and quick, it can easily be made up in the time it takes to make a pot of basmati rice. We had it along with the veggie masala burgers from Trader Joe's (love those!), and some apple chutney from last fall. I used frozen spinach for this, but fresh would only make it better, and is in season now!

1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tbsp chopped ginger
1/4 tsp cayenne
1/4 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1 lb frozen chopped spinach, or a large bunch of chopped fresh greens
1/2 cup cashews (ideally soaked, but it will work either way) to make cashew cream
1 block of tofu, diced
salt, pepper to taste

Heat a small amount of oil, and saute onion until translucent. Add garlic, ginger, and all the spices, and saute for a minute more. Add the spinach, and 1/2 cup water, cover, and simmer until spinach is cooked. Meanwhile make the cream. Add 1 cup of water to the cashews, and blend for several minutes, until smooth and creamy. (You only need half of this, but it is difficult to make a smaller amount. Just save the rest for another use.) Add half of the cashew cream, tofu, salt and pepper, and simmer a few minutes more to let the tofu soak up the flavors.