Sunday, March 27, 2011

better late than... even later: curried vegetable and tofu sauté!



who's the worst at posting?! i'm the worst at posting!!

coincidentally, i also happen to be the worst at having any good reason or excuse for my irresponsibility. indeed, one month has passed since i last bombarded you with yet another muffin recipe. and since then, poor time management and a lack of prioritization have reared their ugly heads. so here i am now, standing before you (soooorta....) and asking for forgiveness! please consider this post the most sincere, not to mention delicious, peace offering i can think of.

no, not another muffin recipe. not to worry, just hang around for a few more entries and one/five are sure to pop up.

today's post is an incredibly flavorful and quick curry sauté that you could make using whatever veggies you have laying around. the key is the combination and timing of the spices you use. of course, you don't need the tofu here - you could always just throw in more vegetables - but if you're a baked tofu fanatic like myself, it's worth it to take the extra time to throw it in the oven beforehand.



ingredients:

3 T olive oil
2 onions, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 1/2 t cumin seeds
1 large zucchini, chopped
1 1/2 cups cooked broccoli (or frozen broccoli that has been left out to thaw)
14 oz firm tofu, chopped
1 T salt
2 t cumin
1 t curry
1/2 t turmeric
1/2 t ground ginger
1/8 t cinnamon
large handful cilantro, chopped

1. chop your tofu into cubes and place on a baking sheet. put in the oven at 300 degrees fahrenheit to bake for 30 minutes.

2. in a large pan, heat oil over medium high heat. add onions, garlic and cumin seeds. cook for a few minutes, until the onions become translucent. stir in the zucchini, salt, cumin, curry, turmeric, ginger and cinnamon. cook 3 -4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until zucchini is tender and begins to brown.

3. remove tofu from the oven and add to the saute. also add in pre-cooked broccoli (i used thawed frozen broccoli and just ran it under warm water for a minute before adding it to the pan). let cook for another 3-5 minutes on low heat, covered.

4. remove from heat, and stir in cilantro. eat alongside basmati rice, naan, or if you're weird like us, japanese noodles.