Hot and Spicy Coconut Tofu

Colourful enough?

When I say ‘tofu’, my family members tend to stuff their fingers in their ears, and then slip out the door.  But I recently tasted yet another tofu dish at a gathering, and was pleasantly surprised.  I picked up a block of the most solid type I could find, and got creative.

This spicy and creamy dish is easy to make and actually tastes luscious.  If I were to serve tofu to guests, this is what I’d make.  This can be made in the time it takes to cook the rice and it serves four people very generously, nay gluttonously.  While the combination of ‘glutton’ and ‘tofu’ sounds absurd, the coconut gravy allows the oxymoron.  If time isn’t a factor, the tofu can be marinated for 24 hours ahead of time, ensuring the spices permeate every tofu molecule, although it isn’t necessary.

Marinate ahead of time or that day!

3 cloves fresh garlic, finely diced

3 Thai chilies, finely diced (or to taste)

1 x 2” ginger root, finely diced

1 block tofu, diced

1 stick cinnamon

2 tablespoons canola oil

1 teaspoon cumin seed

½ teaspoon mustard seed

12 fresh curry leaves (frozen okay)

1 medium sized red onion, diced  

1/3 cup water

½ cup powdered coconut milk

½ teaspoon salt (or to taste)

15 grates fresh black pepper (or to taste)

1 sweet red pepper, diced

1 bunch asparagus, trimmed and cut into manageable pieces

Combine the garlic, chilies, ginger and tofu.  Set aside.  (You can marinate a day early if you desire.) 

The seeds sizzle up so fast!

Pour the oil into a large non-stick pan along with the cinnamon stick.  Turn the heat to high. When the oil seems hot, sprinkle in the cumin seed and mustard.  Within moments the seeds will sizzle, and when the mustard seed looks greyish, add the onion.  Turn the heat down to medium, and cook till the onion starts to become translucent and golden at the edges.  Add the tofu mix. 

Do not stir!  Instead, just leave the tofu to brown on the side it landed on.  After about five minutes, use a spatula to gently turn the tofu pieces over, and mix things up a bit.  When those sides get golden, turn over again, and let get golden.  (Each side takes about three minutes.)  Add water, coconut milk powder and red pepper.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Use a large pan to get tofu golden on all sides.

Gently stir to mix coconut and water into a creamy gravy.  Don’t worry about those lumps, as they’ll dissolve quickly.  When that’s heated through and the red pepper is almost tender (in a couple of minutes) add the asparagus and cook another minute or two till that’s also tender.  Then you can serve the creamy, spicy tofu over basmati rice.  If you like your gravy thicker, sprinkle in a bit more coconut milk powder.  This stuff is miraculous! 

I got the idea for this tofu dish from my recent pollock recipe.  Instead of fish, which might not be an environmentally thoughtful choice, this vegan meal is delicious yet responsible, especially if you’re hankering for something luxurious and elegant to serve to guests.  Earth Day is coming up soon, what will you be eating that’s good for the planet?  

Actually I made my recipe for saffron basmati rice, but used turmeric, since it was just 'us'.

Almond, asparagus and red cabbage subji (vegetarian main dish)



Almond, asparagus and red cabbage subji (vegetarian main dish)

In my eternal quest for high protein vegetarian dishes, I stumbled upon creating this one. 

What happened was that while grocery shopping, I was admiring the asparagus when I experienced the dimmest memory of buying asparagus the week before and leaving it in the bottom drawer of the fridge. 

Yikes, I didn’t buy any more, and instead hurried home to see if I had a droopy and mildewy mess to break my heart.

Luckily, the asparagus was just as perky as the week before, and anxious to be turned into something delish.  You can’t go wrong with almonds, and since I had a nice red cabbage on hand, I decided to try this:

The Masala

1 teaspoon cumin seed
¼ teaspoon black cumin seed
¼ teaspoon ajwain seed
3 cloves
½ teaspoon black peppercorns
½ teaspoon fennel seed
2 green cardamom pods, bashed
3 pieces cassia bark
½ teaspoon coriander seed

½ teaspoon turmeric powder
½ teaspoon black salt
½ teaspoon amchur powder (powdered unripe mango)

¼ cup raw almonds

Gently roast the first group of ingredients in a large non-stick pan, on medium heat.  As soon as they darken slightly and give off a good fragrance, slide them into a spice grinder, along with the next three ingredients, and blend to a powder.  Add the almonds to the same pan, and roast till they’re slightly browned, shaking the pan often.  Slide them into the ground masala, and briefly grind to coarsely chop the almonds.  Set aside.

                                                                                                  The Rest

1 tablespoon grapeseed oil
½ teaspoon dark mustard seed
½ teaspoon cumin seed
1 small red onion, halved and quartered, then sliced finely
1 inch ginger root, cut into matchsticks
3 cloves fresh garlic, chopped
3 small chillies, finely diced
2 fresh tomatoes, chopped
up to a half cup of cold water
2 cups red cabbage, finely sliced into bite size pieces
1 bunch asparagus, tough ends snapped off, cut into pieces

It's so gorgeous at this stage!

Heat the oil to medium high.  Add a few mustard seeds, and when they splutter, add them all.  Then add the cumin, then the onion and ginger, stirring to cool the pan.  Turn the heat down to medium and cook till the onion is transparent and golden. 

Add the garlic and chillies and cook for a couple of minutes, stirring often.  Add the masala and almond mixture, and stir.  The pan will be quite dry, so add the tomatoes, being sure to scrape the left over juice into the pan as well. 

Next toss in the cabbage.  If the mixture is really dry, add a bit of water, and cover.  After about five minutes, open and stir.  If more water is needed, go ahead and add it. 

Separate the asparagus pieces into stems and tips.  Add the stems, stir and cover.  Cook about five to seven minutes.  Toss the tips in at the last minute.  Stir and cook for less than two minutes, till tips turn green and are tender, but not limp. 

This could be a vegan dish if you served it as is.  It’s rare to find a vegan dish this luscious, but I didn’t quite manage the vegan angle as I served this with ghee kissed chappatties.  I suppose you could try making the chappatties without the ghee, but me, I don’t think I’m that virtuous.  You could serve this main vegetarian dish with rice, of course, or better yet, quinoa.  

When you have meals this rich and tasty, healthy and easy, you will feel indulged.  Try it and let me know what you think!  Do you really need to be nibbling on some old carcass?  Really?  Opinions please!

Roasted Squash, asparagus and shrimp too!

Roasted Squash, asparagus and shrimp too!

This is almost a one dish meal, and it’s straightforward to prepare.  One dressing for all three items!

¼ cup mustard oil
10 or so slices of fresh ginger, using a potato peeler, finely chopped
4 fresh garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 to 2 Thai chilies, finely chopped
pinch of coarse salt
1 acorn squash, halved, seeds reserved
bunch of fresh asparagus, tough ends snipped off
enough shrimp to eat for this meal (shrimp won’t reheat well.)
7 curry leaves
1 tiny lime, juiced

Preheat oven to 350F.  In a microwave proof glass cup, combine the oil, ginger, chillies, and garlic, and cook on high for one minute.  Add salt.

On a cookie sheet, place the two squash halves facing upward.  Poke the squash cavities with a fork and baste generously with the oil mixture, making sure to get lots of ginger, garlic and chili onto the squash.  You’ll have lots left over, which you’ll use later.  Because I’m a pumpkin seed lover, I keep the squash seeds, and baste the cookie sheet under where I’ll put them, then I baste them too.

Roast in the oven for about forty minutes, till they are fork tender, but not quite completely soft.  During this time I checked on them a couple of times, and basted everything again.  Remove the sheet from the oven, and baste the sheet where the asparagus will go.  Place the asparagus on the cookie sheet, and baste it generously.  (You’ll still have lots of the mixture left over.)

Put the sheet back in the oven for another five minutes.  Check the asparagus to see if it’s a little tender.  You don’t want to reduce it to mush.  If it’s almost done, turn off the oven, and put the heat on medium under a non-stick skillet.  At this point, there won’t be much oil left in the mixture, but don’t worry.  Add the mixture to the pan and cook gently for a minute or two.  Add the shrimp and curry leaves, watching very carefully.  Flip each shrimp as soon as it pinks up on the first side.  Remove from heat as soon as they are all cooked through.  (This takes very little time!)  Pour lime juice over the shrimp.  I had basmati rice on hand, as husband person likes rice with everything, but I found the squash removed my desire for rice.  On the other hand, I got to have some of my roasted squash seeds, a type of vegetable caviar, as far as I’m concerned.

This recipe is easy to prepare, and the vegetables have a mild but sweet flavour.  The roasting time leaves the cook with ample opportunity to read a book or, in my case, watch a few missed episodes of Coronation Street.  Oh, oh, did I just admit to that? 

Curry Leaf Asparagus

Curry Leaf Asparagus--really easy!

Curry Leaf Asparagus 

Today in the supermarket we saw a lady march past with her cart heaped with pounds and pounds of asparagus.  We stopped wondering when we turned the corner and saw the asparagus on sale, looking fresh and wonderful, and this is the result.  Now I’m regretting we didn’t buy as much as she did!

1 tablespoon mustard oil
1 teaspoon dark mustard seed
1 teaspoon cumin seed
1/3 red onion, sliced thinly and long pieces chopped
2 large fresh garlic cloves, chopped
10 curry leaves (I buy this fresh in an Indian grocery store, and I put it in a freezer bag and freeze it.)
1 Anaheim pepper, diced
¼  inch fresh ginger, chopped
1 bunch asparagus, cleaned with bottoms removed
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
salt to taste

Put the pan on medium high heat and when it's hot, add the oil.  When the oil seems hot, toss in a few mustard seeds, and if they sizzle and turn white, add the rest of the mustard seeds.  Add the cumin seeds, and then the onion and ginger.  Stir to cool it down, and turn the heat down to medium.  After the onions have caramelised a bit, add the garlic and curry leaves and cook for a few more minutes.  Add the chopped pepper and asparagus, stir and cover.  Continue to cook for about seven to ten minutes, stirring from time to time.  They are done while they’re still a pretty green, and somewhat soft, but still a little tender.  Just before serving, add the lemon juice and stir to coat the asparagus.  Oh boy, spring has almost sprung!