Ceylon Style Tofu Curry
Submitted by Steven House
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| prep time: 10 Minutes | cooking time: 1 Hour | makes 4 Servings |
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While working in a vegetarian roadshow cafe, I was asked to come up with dishes that would appeal to veggies and non-veggies alike. So with curry being one obvious choice I decided to make a vegan Ceylon style curry that went down well with every one.
This dish is usually served with basmati rice. |
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Equipment:
Medium Sized Sauce pot
Pestle & Mortar
Ingredients
500g Onions, chopped
4 Cloves of Garlic, crushed
3 Green Chillies, deseeded & finely chopped
40g Fresh Ginger, peeled & finely diced
300g Tofu
6 Cardamom Pods
3cm Piece of Cinnamon
6 Cloves
1 tsp Coriander Seeds
1/2 tsp Cumin Seeds
1/2 tsp Fennel Seeds
1/2 tsp Fenugreek Seeds
1 tsp Mustard Seeds
1 tsp Turmeric
Juice of 1 Large Lemon
100g Creamed Coconut
500ml Vegetable Stock
Seasoning to taste
Directions
1. Drain the tofu and wrap in kitchen paper for 20 minutes to absorb excess mosture.
2. Saute the onions for a few minutes until lightly browned.
3. Add the chillies, garlic and ginger and fry for a few more minutes.
4. Lightly toast the coriander, cumin, fennel, fenugreek and mustard seeds. Then grind them into a powder with a pestle & mortar.
5. Add the ground seeds into the sauce pot with the cadamom, cinnamon, cloves and turmeric and mix in well.
6. Add the lemon juice with the stock and melt in the creamed coconut.
7. Chop the tofu into cubes and add to the curry.
8. Bring to the boil and then simmer gently uncovered for about 45 minutes or until the sauce has thickened.
9. Serve with rice. |
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Reviews (add your own)
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| psycho wrote on Sunday March 20th, 2005 09:15 PM |
 four soybeans |
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Hey!!!!!,
I live for curry! This curry is from Ceylon which if memory serves me correct is Sri Lanka. A lot of curries from this part of the world use Shrimp Paste as one of the base ingredients......Yaaaa-aaaaay - this one doesn't which ya gotta admit is a good, good thing!!!!!!!
So whats this one like? Its um.......coconutty like certain types of Korma (Korma=sweet and creamy curry sauce), however this is a damn site spicier.........
But.......not THAT spicey. Which knocks off brownie points for me, but then I eat currys with SILLY levels of chilli as a rule - so ignore me!!!! My flatmate thinks this is one of the best things I've ever made.
However, if I was gonna invite someone round and make an indian dish - I'd definitely consider this. Its got a good allround taste and certainly not bland. The cardamons and cloves definitely add a little something in the taste stakes. It ticks all the important curry checkboxes (aesthetics/taste/ease of making/texture) apart from intense nuclear chilli tastebud death!!!!!
Which is why for the most part it won't make me mend my Madras and Vindaloo soaked ways........but as a damn fine meal its....erm.....damn fine?!?
a couple of final points........
Use two de-seeded red peppers and two de-seeded green peppers. This makes the finished product look a tad more colorful and doesn't really affect the piquancy level particularily.
With Tofu, the way the recipe is put together seems about right, as stirring stuff in with Tofu tends to break it!!!! But if you're using veggies/TVP types stuff instead I'd tend to add the creamed coconut about 20 minutes into the simmering process and I'd end by adding the lemon juice at the very, very end of the cooking process (sorta keeps the lemon juice that little bit sharper). Also stirring in fresh coriander (cilantro) at the end, if available would probably add a little extra........but then again the curry is better, just as presented, than I've had at certain dodgy restaurants in the past........
This is a good recipe to keep around though. And if you've never cooked indian food or worse still never tried it......I order you to make this.......NOW!!!!!!! |
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| Rachmouse wrote on Wednesday May 25th, 2005 10:49 PM |
 three soybeans |
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I am giving this only 3 soybeans because I had to change it a bit so I didn't follow the recipe exactly as written. But it was very, very good. I used 1/2 can Light Coconut Milk instead of Creamed Coconut. I also didn't have fenugreek or green chilis - in the case of the latter I used some red chili flakes. I added a sweet red pepper as suggested by another reviewer as well as a medium eggplant, some mushrooms and green beans - all sliced. I hope to make it again very soon with all the spices as written. |
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| Myriam Larose wrote on Thursday November 10th, 2005 03:13 AM |
 two and a half soybeans |
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This wasn't bad, but I would not make it again. I found it to be too rich (if there is such a thing!) Maybe it's the creamed coconut. It went down well, but I could not stomach the idea of eating the leftovers... |
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| LP wrote on Saturday April 29th, 2006 04:43 AM |
four soybeans |
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The sauce is absolutely delicious, although I'd rather use golden (deep-fried) tofu, as I prefer its texture and it's less likely to fall apart during cooking. It also holds the sauce really well. Some eggplant or sweet potato might work too. Serve it with some basmati rice steamed with cumin seeds - gorgeous! |
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| Luke Spadavecchia wrote on Sunday November 26th, 2006 05:32 AM |
four soybeans |
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Coming from Birmingham (UK: where Indian food was invented?), I feel well qualified to rave about this lovely dish: It's the shizzle dizzle! I cooked this last night for me and a couple of friends who are death breath omnivores; described at best as dubious about my recent choice to go vegan. Everyone came back for more, and we polished off the whole lot in one go! This was one of my first forays into vegan cooking, and it went amazingly well. It is absolutely delicious, pretty cheap and really easy to make. Would definately recommend it to a friend. Top curry. |
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| Tess wrote on Tuesday April 17th, 2007 09:58 PM |
four soybeans |
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So good! |
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