| By Dr. Sirisha Potluri Delicious Restaurant style curry we can make at home vegan and oil-free. Ingredients Tofu ( for 3 blocks)Tomatoes ( 6 tomatoes)Orange and yellow bell peppers (1 each)Onions 2 big Green Peas ( optional )4-5 green chillis. 1cupRaw cashews 1 cup( soaked overnight in plenty of water)1-2 bunches cilantro. Spices( ginger garlic paste, red chili powder, coriander seed powder, cumin seed powder, garam masala powder, whole spice Kasuri methi, 2-3 teaspoon date sugar, or 5-6medjool dates, and salt to taste. Procedure Tofu- I buy organic firm tofu from Costco. After opening the wrap and draining the water, put weight on tofu to remove more water from tofu. For 30-45 minutes, draining water 2-3 times in between. Now cut them into cubes. I air-fried cubes for 5 minutes, checking in between. We don’t want it to be too dry. ( sometimes I use without air frying) We can prepare tofu ahead and keep them in the fridge. Sauce-In a big saucepan, simmer 3 chopped tomatoes, 1 onion, chopped, 1 orange bell pepper, 1 yellow bell pepper. Cook all these together, we don’t need to add any oil, just add little bit salt, while cooking. It takes 10-15 minutes to simmer and cook everything well. This sauce can also be made ahead. After the mix cools down, add soaked dates and 2 teaspoons of soaked cashews and grind everything into a smooth paste. Grind the rest of the cashews into a very smooth paste. This paste can be made and kept in the fridge for a week. Once we have tofu, tomato, and bell pepper sauce and cashew paste ready, it’s very easy to make the curry. we can don’t need to add Heat a thick bottom pan, now add 1-2 bay leaves, 3-4 cardamom pods, 1-2 teaspoons of cumin seeds ( shah jeera) 1-star anise, and 1-2 inches cinnamon stick, and a teaspoon of fennel seeds. Let them release the aroma, now add thinly diced onions and 4-5 thinly chopped green chili. Sautée these on low flame and a tablespoon of freshly made ginger garlic paste . after 30 secs add 3-4 thinly diced tomatoes and sauté these for few seconds. Put the lid on and cook for 5 minutes on low flame. Now add 1 tablespoon of red chili powder, a teaspoon of cumin seed, and a tablespoon coriander seed powder. Mix everything nicely. Now add tofu pieces and let all the masala coat the tofu pieces. Add 2-3 tablespoons of cashew paste and let everything cook for 5 minutes. Now add the sauce made of bell peppers and tomatoes and cook for few more minutes until everything comes together. Now cook all this for 5-7 minutes, then add the frozen peas(optional) that are thawed for 10 minutes. Cook for 5 more minutes. now add 1-2 teaspoons of garam masala. Taste and adjust the salt and spice, we can add a little bit of black pepper powder too if it’s too bland. I finish every dish with a big bunch of thinly diced organic cilantro. |