Indian style scrambled tofu masala curry ( vegan )
Quick, easy, nutritious and delicious Indian style scrambled tofu masala curry is a perfect dish for tofu haters. Scrambled tofu cooked with a creamy cashew and poppy seed sauce with an onion and tomato base along with green peas gives a delicious flavor to the usually tasteless tofu.
Ingredients
- 1 to 2 tbsp oil
- 2 medium-size tomatoes
- 1 big onion diced small
- 1 green chilli slit serrano pepper or jalapeno or Thai chilli will work based on your spice level
- ½ cup green peas fresh or frozen
- curry leaves optional
- 16 oz extra firm tofu
- cilantro for garnishing
Whole spices
- ½ tsp cumin seeds
- 2- inch cinnamon stick
- 4 cloves
Ground Spices
- ¼ tsp turmeric powder
- ½ tsp coriander powder
- ½ tsp cumin powder
- 1 tsp ginger garlic paste
- ½ tsp chilli powder
- ½ tsp garam masala
- salt to taste
For masala paste
- ¼ cup cashews
- 2 tbsp poppy seeds
- 2 garlic cloves
Instructions
Prep
- Remove the tofu from the package and place it on a flat surface in between clean paper towels with heavy weight on top like a cast iron skillet for 5 to 10 mins until most of the water is squeezed out of the tofu with the help of the weight.
- Dice the onions and tomatoes into small pieces and slit the green chilli
- Blend ¼ cup cashews, 2 tbsp poppy seeds and 2 big garlic cloves into a smooth paste with some water (If you have time, soak the cashews and poppy seeds in hot water for 5 to 10 mins, this ensures a smooth paste especially if you have a low powered blender). You can do this step while the onions and tomatoes are cooking to save time.
- Now take the tofu and chop it into a really fine scramble kind of crumbles(added a picture above for reference). It should look like kheema (ground meat ).
Cook
- Heat 1 to 2 tbsp of oil in the pan and then add the whole spices (cumin seeds, cinnamon stick and cloves) to the hot oil along with curry leaves and turmeric powder and fry for few seconds
- Now add diced onions and slit green chilli along with little salt( helps onions cook faster) and saute them well uncovered until the onions are translucent.
- Now add ginger garlic paste and mix well. After a min add coriander powder and cumin powder, mix well and cook for a min.
- Next add tomatoes along with little salt , mix well and cook until the tomatoes are well softened ( they don't have to be cooked until they are mashed up).
- Now add the ground cashew, poppy seed and garlic cream and mix really well. Add little water to the blender to get out any left over sauce and that water to the pan. Cook for around 3 to 4 mins until the sauce is well cooked and raw flavor is gone.
- Now add the scrambled tofu along with salt and mix well until well combined. Cook for around 5 mins, add little water if required. We are looking for a thick consistency, so don't add too much water.
- Now add frozen green peas, stir and cook for 5 to 6 mins. Check the taste for salt and to see if it is cooked well. If you have kids or anyone who eats very less spice then at this stage you can garnish with cilantro, take it off the heat serve. This will be very mildly spiced at this stage.
- If you eat little more spice then now add red chilli powder and garam masala and stir well.
- Now add cilantro to garnish and serve hot with roti or naan or paratha with sliced onions on the side and enjoy !!
Notes
- Chop the tofu into really fine scramble as this helps tofu absorb all the delicious flavors.
- Do not add too much water with the cashew cream as we are looking for a thick consistency at the end. Only add enough to cook.
- To save time, first put tofu under weights, then chop veggies, start cooking and then chop the tofu and blend the cashew cream while onions and tomatoes are cooking.