Tofu Pasander (Totally vegan!)

Hello friends!

A few years back I had the priviledge of spending two months in Nepal. While there I tried a tofu curry that I haven't been able to find or recreate since; until now. Pasanda is literally the Urdu (modern Hindu) word for favourite, and boy is this curry a favourite of mine.

A dish from the Northern India/Pakistan area, Pasanda is traditionally a meat dish. I also had a lamb pasanda while away and it was amazing, however the recipe I found was from a cookbook I received for my birthday, and was completely vegan. And no, you won't care that there isn't any actual meat in this dish.

The book (which you will see me pull a lot of recipes from) is called Vegan Richa's Indian Kitchen: Traditional and Creative Recipes for the Home Cook. I love cookbooks and collect quite a few, and must say this one is excellent. Well written, easy to follow, and so far the recipes have worked (I have had a few cook books where this isn't the case! Yikes!) I can't recommend it enough. 

So this was the picture I saw, and my mind was all "gee, that reminds me of the tofu curry from the Yoga Hotel. I have to try that"... This is what happened.

First you start with Tofu: firm tofu is best, as you will be pressing and draining it. Pressing and draining you say? What you talkin' bout Lola? Well, tofu can have a high water content that can cause it to lose its integrity when cubed; that is, I want it to stay in cube form. Also, excess water when frying something can cause all kinds of mess. Soo what you want to do is remove the tofu from the package, sandwich it between two CLEAN kitchen towels (I know most of you don't need to be told that but you would be surprised by how many don't think about the grossness of their kitchen towels!). I actually use paper towel. 

Here is how I do it: tofu between multiple sheets of paper towel, a plate on top with something heavy (in this case a jug of vinegar) to help the pressing. Do this for about ten minutes (change the paper towel once or twice). Then you are ready! Cube that tofu up!

Add some garam masala  and fry in some light oil (this is safflower but you could use coconut or whatever).

Cook until the tofu is coated in the spice, it has browned slightly and the edges are just slightly crisp. Not burned, but cooked. Remove from the pan. I didn't bother cleaning the pan, I just added a bit more oil and started on the sauce.

The base of the sauce, the delicious  gravy of the curry starts with this weird mix of spices and seeds. Included is ginger, garlic, coriander, fennel, cumin, onion and pumpkin seeds. Cook em all up until the onion is translucent. 

Now time for tomatoes! I have some issue with many tomato dishes, but never with curries that contain tomatoes. Weird. I don't think too deeply on it, I just give thanks that I can eat so many yummy curry dishes! Here I added a chopped tomato, allowing it cook down until it made a slightly saucy mixture. 

Time to purée! I used an immersion blender- let cool about ten minutes, add a couple tablespoons of coconut milk (or almond milk or soy milk) and blitz away. You can see the thick, unblended mixture in the first picture, then the smooth consistency of the second picture. That is what you are looking for.

Add the cooked tofu and the puréed sauce, add some extra milk and water (I used coconut milk) and bring to a low simmer. Cook a couple minutes to heat the curry through and voila! Time to eat!

Here you can see it served with a rice pilaf. This makes a lot of sauce so I saved some and cooked up a chicken breast and put a container away for another meal. Mister, my vegetarian Beast, said it was a tasty meal and I have to agree- it isn't exactly like the curry I fell in love with at the Hotel Himalaya Yoga, but dayum it is yummy. 

You could use meat in place of the tofu, I would keep the pieces small tho. I think the consistency of the gravy in this curry really lends itself well to tofu; it matches the soft and smooth texture. You could of course use lamb, beef or chicken, just don't feel obligated. If you are worried about soy (some people are) then try finding a hemp tofu- if you do you don't need to press and drain it! Happy cooking!

xoxo Lola