Recipe: Roasted tofu and veggie curry with coconut gravy

Here is another super easy recipe I found in the book “Big Vegan” by Robin Asbell.  I found all but one of the ingredients for this dish, at the local supermarket. Brown mustard seeds were not available (they only had yellow) so I had a look elsewhere.  Gourmet type stores, international food stores such as Kakulas, and perhaps health food stores, are probably your best bet if your supermarket does not stock this variety of mustard seed.

This recipe calls for 4 cloves of garlic, sliced. I have omitted this, as I am not a fan of garlic, and found this dish to still be delicious without it. But if you are a fan – go for it.

The recipe also instructs to press the firm tofu.  This is a certain technique used to give the tofu a tougher, chewier texture. Quite frankly, I am lazy and did not bother and this dish still turned out fine. Just make sure you use firm and not silken firm tofu. There is a big difference.

What you will need:

340g firm tofu, cubed

170g cauliflower, cut into florets

1 medium turnip, cubed

1 large carrot, thickly sliced

1 parsnip, thickly sliced

120ml coconut milk

1 tsp curry powder

1 tsp cumin seeds or a dash or two of ground cumin

¼ tsp salt

½ cup fresh coriander, chopped, for garnish (optional)

Method:

Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius. In a large roasting pan, combine tofu, cauliflower, turnip, carrot, parsnip, coconut milk, curry powder, mustard seeds, cumin, and salt. Toss to coat.

Cover with foil and roast for 20 minutes. Uncover and stir. Pierce vegetables to check for tenderness. If soft, put the pan back, uncovered until vegetables are browned slightly. (approx. 10 minutes more.) If vegetables are still hard, roast for another 15 minutes, covered, before uncovering. These times may vary, so see how you go.

When vegetables are tender, stir and then serve.