Tofu in a spicy gravy!

You are either a Tofu lover or you simply hate it- I have seen strong followers and avoiders of Tofu. I love tofu and believe that it can be cooked to make an avoider into a follower. My husband does not like tofu. So what do I do? Masquerade Tofu as paneer and cook it in a good spicy gravy and pass it on as paneer gravy. Verdict? Clean bowled! The dish was a huge success-

Ingredients-

200 grams Tofu- not firm, a little crumbly (cut in cubes)

2 large onions- chopped 

1 tsp grated ginger

1 tsp minced garlic

1 tomato- chopped

1 green chilli (cut in pieces)

1/2 cup yoghurt

coriander leaves - chopped finely (about 11/2 tbsp)

salt according to taste

cooking oil

Spices used-

1/2 tsp garam masala

1/2 tsp red chilli powder

Freshly ground pepper

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

2 green cardamom

1 bay leaf

Preparation-

In a wok, add oil and once hot, add cardamom and bay leaf. Allow the oil to soak in the flavor of cardamom & bay leaf. Add onions with green chillies and fry them for couple of minutes. As the onions turn golden brown, add tomatoes with garlic and ginger. Cook them on a low flame for 5-8 minutes (till the tomatoes become mushy). Add garam masala, turmeric powder, red chilli powder and mix well. Add 1/2 cup yoghurt and cook on a low flame for few minutes. Allow the yoghurt to absorb the spices and blend well with the mixture. Adjust salt according to taste. To make it into a good gravy consistency, add 1/2 cup of water and cook it on a medium flame. Add Tofu and allow it to absorb the gravy with spices. Gently mix it and cook for a couple of minutes. Don't over mix it as the tofu will crumble completely and become a paste. Add freshly ground pepper and sprinkle coriander leaves for garnishing. Serve hot!

Vegetable Jalfrezi

This one is a simple and easy to cook recipe-Vegetable stir-fry with Indian spices. Bring on the vegetables and saute it with coriander powder and garam masala to create a perfect infusion. You can vary the vegetables for this dish and spice it up with red chilli powder.

What do we need? 


Vegetables used


Cauliflower florets - 1 cup
Peas - 1/2 cup
Potatoes - chopped in cubes - 1 cup
Carrot- chopped in slices - 1 cup
Green bell peppers - 1/2 cup
Green chilli - 1 (chopped) or Broken red chilli pieces
Onions - 2 medium (sliced)
Tomato- 1 (blanch it, remove the skin, deseed it and then chop to bits)

** Note, the cup size measurement usually varies from household to household. I used a small sized serving cup, you could use a small soup bowl or cup. what matters is the spice level- if you can handle good spice, notch it up a bit higher and vice versa.

Spices used


Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Garam Masala powder- 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp
Ginger (minced)- 1/2 tsp
Garlic (minced) - 1 1/2 tsp
Salt according to taste-

Preparation-

• Step 1 will be to blanch the chopped vegetables (cauliflower, carrot, potatoes). All the vegetables take different cooking time, so you will have to be patient with each vegetable. For example, potatoes take longer time to cook whereas cauliflower takes lesser time and carrot takes medium time. Get the water boiling and boil the potatoes first- a word of caution, don't over boil anything- the vegetables should be tender and cooked not mushy. Once the potatoes are cooked to a medium level, add the carrots and after a few minutes add cauliflower florets and in the end peas-
• Alternatively, you can microwave the vegetables till tender/soft (not mushy).
• In a wok add oil (about 2 tbsp) and once hot, add cumin seeds.
• As the cumin seeds start to sputter, add green chillies/broken red chilli pieces, onions and cook them till onions become golden brown.
• Add minced garlic and ginger and cook for few minutes
• Add tomatoes and cook the ingredients on a medium flame for a couple of minutes.
• Add the boiled vegetables and green bell pepper.
• Spice it up with red chilli powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder and garam masala
• Add salt and about a tablespoon of oil and toss the vegetables together with the spice.
• Saute the vegetables for 5-8 minutes- Add chopped coriander leaves for garnishing and serve!