Tofu Tikka Masala

WHAT IS THIS TOFU STUFF?

Tofu is a great meat replacement used mostly by vegans and those looking to reduce their meat consumption, its also been consumed in Asia as an essential ingredient for hundreds, if not thousands of years. Tofu is made by coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into solid blocks of varying softness; it can be silken, soft, firm, or extra-firm. You'll be using extra-firm for this tofu tikka recipe. 

Tofu is very healthy plant-based source of protein that is low in calories and fat. For each 100kcal serving, tofu has 11 grams of protein. By comparison, 100kcals of ground beef provides 8.9 grams of protein with half of those calories as fat, with a load of artery-clogging cholesterol.

One of the things I love about tofu is how extremely versatile it is and, with the right flavours it can be oh so delicious! I love it with spices, in a thick creamy sauce alongside fresh coriander, sweet mango chutney and fresh lemon rice, this combination is so far my all time favourite!

The sauce to this curry packs a flavourful punch, it can be made medium spicy or as I prefer it, hot! If you haven't tried a tofu curry recipe before, the why not give this one a go?

YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED ABOUT THIS TOFU TIKKA CURRY

• How many calories in this curry per serving? There are a around 569Kcals in this recipe per serving. Excluding garnish or rice
• Can you reheat this curry? Yes! You would need to reheat in a pan with a little water to moisten. However, bare in mind it's best served straight after cooking.
• Is it really spicy? If you don't like the heat, then feel free to remove the chili. Then, the curry will be medium heat. To make it non-spicy replace the curry paste with a mild paste or curry powder.
• If you like it really spicy, you can add extra chili flakes to top, or additional chili powder to suit your preferences.

Tofu Tikka Masala

Serves 2

INGREDIENTS

• 280g block of extra-firm tofu, pressed
• 1 small red bell pepper
• 3 small shallots or 1 onion
• 1 tsp chopped ginger
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1 chilli pepper, sliced (optional for extra spice)
• 1 tsp oil, for frying
• 1 small carton of chopped tomatoes
• 1 tbsp tikka curry paste
• 2 tbsp corn starch
• 30g cashews
• 1 cup basmati rice
• mango pickle or chutney

METHOD

1. First cut your pressed tofu however you like, alternatively you can rip into large chunks. Mix tofu in with the corn starch until well coated. 
2. Place your tofu on an oven tray and bake until crispy (20 mins). 
3. Whilst your tofu is cooking add the rice to two cups water in a medium saucepan. Bring to the boil for 5 minutes, place a lid on and turn off the heat. This will steam your rice until it's perfectly cooked and fluffy. Alternatively, cook in a rice cooker.
4. Finely chop shallots/onion and bell pepper. Then, add the shallots, pepper, garlic, ginger and chili, fry 5 mins. Stir in spices and curry paste. Cook 1 min. Turn off heat.
5. Add the cooked onion spice mix with the chopped tomatoes and cashews, blend well.
6. Add the sauce to the frying pan with 1/2 - 3/4 cup of water depending on your preference for thickness, cook 3-5 mins or longer to reduce before adding the crispy tofu. 
7. After adding the tofu, cook a further 2-3 mins to heat it through, then turn off the heat.
8. Serve with the rice and mango pickle or chutney.

Enjoy!

Recipe by Rose Wyles - The Vegan Nutritionist

For professional assistance with adopting a healthy and nutritious plant-based diet, go to https://www.thevegannutritionist.co.uk/work-with-me