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Tamarind tofu ghee roast
In this south Indian inspired tamarind tofu ghee roast recipe, nuggets of tofu are pan roasted in ghee until crispy & then tossed in a tangy tamarind sauce before being seasoned with aromatics like ginger, garlic, chillies & curry leaves.
Ingredients
- 1 pound block of firm tofu
- 1 tablespoon ghee divided,
Here's the one I use. - 2 tablespoons corn starch (or potato/tapioca starch)
- ½ lime for serving
For the tamarind sauce
- 2 tablespoons tamarind paste
Here's the one I use. - 2 teaspoons jaggery powder or brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce (optional)
- kosher salt to taste
- ½ teaspoon black pepper finely powdered,
Here's the one I use. - ¼ cup water
For the tadka/seasoning
- ½ teaspoon mustard seeds
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
- 2 dried red chilies
- 15 curry leaves
- 20 cashews split in half
- ¼ cup red onion/shallot finely minced
- 5 cloves garlic finely minced
- 1" knob ginger finely minced
- 2 spicy green chilies (Thai green peppers) finely minced
Instructions
- Remove the tofu block from the package, discarding any water and place it on a rimmed plate. Place a heavy pot or pan on the tofu for a minimum of 15-30 minutes to get rid of all the excess moisture in the tofu. (See notes)
- After the tofu has drained well, discard the water and dry it well with a napkin. Cut the tofu block into ½" pieces and set them in a shallow bowl/plate.
- Mix together all the ingredients for the sauce and pour half of the sauce over the tofu cubes. Toss them gently to combine and let the tofu marinate until you prep the seasoning.
To make the tadka/seasoning
- Heat 2 teaspoons ghee in a frying pan on medium heat. When it gets hot, add it in the mustard seeds. When they start to pop, reduce the heat slightly and add in the cumin seeds, dried red chilies & curry leaves and stir fry for about a minute or until the curry leaves turn crispy.
- If you are using raw cashews, add them in now and toast them with the rest of the spices for about a minute or until you see them turn light golden brown in color.
- Now add in the onion, garlic, ginger and Thai chilies along with a pinch of salt and toss everything together. Cook this mixture for about 3-4 minutes or until the onions turn translucent and the garlic is cooked. Turn off the heat and transfer this mixture to a plate.
To make tamarind tofu ghee roast
- By now the tofu would have marinated well. Sprinkle the corn starch all over the tofu pieces and toss them gently to combine.
- Heat the same pan on medium heat and add in 1 teaspoon of ghee. When it gets hot, Add in the tofu cubes in a single layer and cook them on medium heat flipping the pieces every minute or so, or until the tofu is nicely browned all around. This should take about 8-10 minutes.
- Now pour in the other half of the tamarind sauce all over the tofu. It will immediately start to bubble and get absorbed into the tofu. Mix well to combine. Within a minute or 2, you will find all the tofu nicely coated in the sauce.
- Now add in the previously prepared seasoning mix and stir everything together. Stir fry this mixture for just 1 minute to bring the flavors together. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed and turn off the heat.
- Squeeze some lime juice all over the top and serve it hot with steaming rice.
Notes
- If you don't have enough time to let the tofu sit with a weight on top, you could hold it over the sink and gently squeeze it with both your hands to get rid of some of the moisture.
- This recipe is super versatile and will work really well with other types of protein like tempeh, seitan, paneer, chicken, fish or prawns.
- If you'd like to make this dish vegan, you can replace the ghee with any flavorless oil of your choice.
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