Baked Tofu – Indian Style

Madhuram — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 10:35:28 +0000

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Next to cauliflower and broccoli, tofu is my husband’s favorite. Actually he would eat anything vegetarian if it’s healthy. For me the criteria is, it has to taste good. So I experiment with tofu to satisfy both our needs. So far our favorite is tofu paratha. I drain the tofu well, grate it, add some Indian spices and divide the mixture into small balls. Then proceed to prepare the parathas as usual, using the tofu stuffing.

The Tofu Mango Pudding did not get his vote. The truth is he is not a “dessert” person. My son, my mother and myself loved it so much.

Recently I was going through Mallika Badrinath’s cookbook and found a recipe for paneer tikkis. Again paneer is my most favorite and his least favorite. He doesn’t eat it because of the fat content and calorific value. I wish I have the self control like him, I would be 30 pounds lighter! I remembered having a packet of extra firm tofu in my fridge, so decided to used it instead of paneer and changed the seasonings to suit our taste.

Ingredients Extra Firm Tofu – 1 packet (14oz)

For the marinade:

Oil – 3 tablespoons

Curry powder – 1 tablespoon

Red chili powder – 1/2 teaspoon

Turmeric powder – a pinch

Salt – 1/2 teaspoon (as per your taste)

Lemon Juice – Juice of 1/2 lemon

Red Food Color – optional

Procedure 1. Open the tofu packet and drain the water. Wrap the tofu in paper towels and place some weight on it and leave it for 30 minutes. After draining the water cut the tofu into cubes of 1cm thickness. I got around 20 pieces.

2. Take a 1 gallon ziploc bag and add all the ingredients required for the marinade in the bag.

3. Whisk it with a fork and add the tofu cubes in the bag. Remove the air out and close the bag and toss it well to coat all the tofu pieces with the marinade.

4. Leave it in the fridge for 30-45 minutes.

5. Meanwhile preheat the oven at 425F/220C for 15 minutes.

6. Grease a baking sheet lightly, place the tofu pieces and bake it for 25-30 minutes, turning once in the middle.

7. To have a crispy outer, broil it for another 8-10 minutes.

This can be had alone as an appetizer, snack or can be added to salads.

My Notes 1. If you are a paneer fan like me you are not going to like the tofu tikkis immediately. For those who have not tasted tofu before, though they both look alike, the taste is totally different. So don’t expect the taste of paneer tikka. Try to appreciate the taste of tofu and then you would love it. After eating 3-4 pieces, I started liking it. Now this is my husband’s favorite.

2. We don’t eat very spicy foods. So taste the marinade to check the spices and add accordingly to suit your taste. Since tofu is bland, it definitely requires more seasoning than you would normally use.

3. The marinading can be done in a bowl too. I saw the ziploc bag method in Food TV, so I thought of giving it a try. It’s definitely easy and no clean up. Simply toss the bag in the trash later.

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Baked Tofu – Indian Style