Main Course Meals

Baked Tofu

Tofu (Soy bean curd) is rather bland, but easily takes the flavour of the sauce it is cooked with.
Serves 6 – 8

  • 2 lb Tofu, cubed
  • 1 piece of ginger, finely chopped
  • 150 ml tamari (soy sauce)
  • 50 ml maple syrup or a tablespoon of raw cane sugar
  • 3 tablespoon balsamic vinegar or the juice of 2 lemons
  • 1 small pinch chilli powder (optional, omit for Pitta)
  • a handfull of sesame seeds
  • 2 tablespoons sunflower oil

Prepare the marinade by mixing the ginger, the tamari, the maple syrup, the balsamic vinegar (or lemon juice) and the chili powder with 150 ml hot water. Place the cubed tofu into a bowl and pour the marinade over it. Leave for an hour or two, turning one or twice.
Oil a large flat oven dish. Drain the marinade and keep it aside. Preheat the over to 200
Put the sesame seeds in a flat dish and coat the marinated tofu pieces with them, then place them in the oiled oven dish. Bake for 45 mn, turning over once. Serve with rice, stir fry and the marinade as a sauce.

 

Aloo Khadi (potato in spicy yoghurt sauce)

A classic Indian dish.
Serves 6 – 8

  • 2 large onions, chopped small
  • 3 lb potatoes, diced
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
  • 1 piece of ginger, finely chopped
  • 1 very small  pinch Asafetida (called hing in Indian stores)
  • chilli powder to taste
  • 500 ml yogurt
  • 500 ml water
  • 100 g gram flour
  • 2 tablespoons ghee or sunflower oil

Mix the yogurt, water, gram flour, asafoetida, turmeric and chili powder thoroughly in a large bowl. Heat up the ghee or oil in a heavy bottom pan and add the cumin and mustard seeds. When the seeds start popping, add the onion and the ginger and stir fry for a minute on medium heat. Add the yoghurt mixture and cooked on medium heat, stirring constantly, until it starts to thicken. Add the potatoes turn the heat down to low, cover and cook, stirring occasionally. until the potatoes are soft (about 25 minutes). If need be, you can add a glass of water to keep the khadi from thickening too much. Serve with rice or chapatis.

 

Rice Pulao

Fast food at its best! A handy meal in one go.

Serves 6

  • 1 lb white basmati rice
  • 1 onion
  • 1 lb of chopped mixed vegetable (carrots, peas, french beans, broccoli, pumpkin, sweet corn, etc…)
  • 1 tablespoon black cardamom
  • 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
  • a pinch of whole black pepper
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 tablespoons ghee or sunflower oil

Get the cardamom seeds out of their shell and grind them coarsely with the black peper corn and the cumin seeds. Measure the volume of rice and prepare twice that volume of boiling water.
Heat up the ghee or oil in a heavy bottom pan and add the onion, spice mix and cook for two minute on medium eat. Add the other vegetables, and cook for another two minutes, then add the rice and stir fry for a minute or two . Add the water (or vegetable stock for a richer flavour) and the bay leaves, bring to the boil, give on last stir, then cover and cook on low heat until the rice has absorbed all the water (about 15 mn). Serve with dahl, sambar or chutneys.

 

Leftovers can be reheated the following day as:

Spicy Refried Rice

  • left over rice pulao (see recipe above)
  • a handful of sunflower seeds, peanuts or broken cashew nuts (optional, but gives an interesting crunch texture to the dish)
  • a pinch of chili powder
  • a pinch of tumeric powder
  • tamari to taste
  • ghee or coconut oil for frying

Heat the oil or ghee in a wok and when hot, add the seeds or nuts (if liked). Stir fry for a minute, then add the left over Pullao rice and the spices. Stir fry until hot, then add the tamari, stir once more and serve immediately.