Spinach, Yogurt & Baked Tofu Curry Recipe – aka Cheera Moru Curry

Cheera moru curry is one of those dishes that, for me, earned a permanent spot in my “quick, easy, tasty” and regular meals. Oh wait. Healthy too. I spent a good part of my time in Bulgaria right now and so being able to use locally grown produce is important. And let me tell you that the Bulgarians are rightly proud of their yoghurt and I eat it daily. This adds it to my dinner menu too. This recipe is light but satisfying, only gently spiced, and exactly the kind of food you want when you’re craving something comforting without heaviness. In Kerala, a moru curry (yogurt curry) is a daily staple — always served with rice, always soothing, and endlessly adaptable depending on what vegetables are around. Here’s my recipe for Spinach, Yoghurt and Baked Tofu curry.

THIS POST MAY CONTAIN COMPENSATED AND AFFILIATE LINKS. MORE INFORMATION IN OUR DISCLAIMER

My version of this cheera moru recipe uses spinach and baked tofu, which gives the dish a bit more substance while keeping everything fresh and balanced. Traditional cheera moru recipes don’t include tofu, but its a great source of plant based protein. The key thing to remember with any yogurt-based curry is heat control. Once the yogurt goes in, low and gentle is the name of the game — rush it, and it splits. Treat it kindly, and you’ll be rewarded with a creamy, tangy curry that tastes far more complex than the effort involved. Ready? I’ll include links to my quick wins on making this even easier to cook, and also, of course, my growing guides for what’s in this recipe. This recipes serves two people as a main meal.

Ingredients For Spinach Yoghurt Curry

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 1/4 teaspoon of fenugreek seeds
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped (or use garlic paste like this
• 3 dried red chillies (see my guide to drying chillies here)
• 10 curry leaves (fresh or dried)
• 1 red onion, finely chopped – my guide to growing onions is here
• 3 fresh green chillies, slit lengthways
• 2.5 centimetre (1 inch) piece fresh ginger, finely chopped – don’t use ginger paste in this recipe)
• 2 large tomatoes, finely chopped – my guide to growing tomatoes is here.
• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
• Salt, to taste
• 200 g spinach, ripped – just rip it as you’re putting it into the pan – learn how to grow spinach here
• 300 g rams plain yogurt

Plus:
1 (250 gram) pack firm tofu, cut into cubes.

Equipment Needed

You’ll need:

• A large frying pan or wok with a lid. I use these pans from Tower, because the removable handle makes them extremely useful.
• Chopping board
• Chef’s knife
• Wooden spoon
• Rice Cooker

How to Make Cheera Moru Curry with Baked Tofu

This is a very low stress recipe to make. And it doesn’t take long, about 12-15 minutes from starting, so you’ll want to get your rice on the go (I recommend using a rice cooker) before you start.

1. Bake the tofu

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Cut the tofu into bite-sized cubes and spread them out on a baking tray in a single layer. Bake for 15 minutes, until lightly firm and just starting to turn golden at the edges. Set aside. You can also bake the tofu in an airfryer for speed (and cost savings).

2. Make the curry base

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat and add the mustard seeds. Once they begin to pop, add the fenugreek seeds, followed by the garlic, dried red chillies, and curry leaves. Sauté for about 1 minute, until fragrant.

Add the chopped red onion, green chillies, and ginger. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion softens and starts to turn lightly golden.

Stir in the tomatoes, turmeric, and salt to taste. Cook until the tomatoes break down and everything is well combined.

3. Add the spinach and tofu

Add the torn spinach to the pan. Cook for about 5 minutes with the lid on to help steam the spinach, stirring occasionally, until the spinach has fully wilted, then stir in the tofu until its coated and mixed in.

4. Finish with yogurt

Remove the pan from the heat. Gradually add the yogurt, stirring slowly and constantly to prevent splitting. Once fully incorporated, return the pan to a very low heat and warm gently for 3 minutes, stirring continuously.

Serve warm with rice. I find the easiest way to cook rice is with a rice cooker. And if there are just two of you, then this is the perfect rice cooker.

You can’t store this curry effectively, it just goes to mush, so you’ll want to make it fresh each time you want it, but to be fair its not hard is it?

Final Words on this Baked Tofu Spinach & Yoghurt Curry Recipe

I do love this recipe, its so easy and simple to make. It’s one of those dishes that we make regularly because it tastes to fresh, but not bland. It uses fresh ingredients, has a good source of protein and it fills you up. We’ll occasionally have it without Tofu (when we can’t find any), and if anything I always add more spinach and tomatoes, because, well why not they’re good for you!!

LetsGrowCook is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com, amazon.co.uk, amazon.ca. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates