Vegetarian Spanish Paella

This recipe turned out pretty good and tasted really nice to my surprise. True spaniards may disown this recipe but it tasted, looked and smelled nice on my dining table. Ofcourse, I had to use some local ingredients as I could not find the spanish rice and spanish peppers but it was still totally worth it.

Lots of fresh vegetables, exotic herb like Saffron and some tofu makes this dish a complete healthy meal and. fragrance of saffron and cooked Basmati is truly to die for!

Ingredients ( For 4 )

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1-2 green or red hot Peppers ( if you have Sapninsh Pecquillo peppers use that)

1 large onion, chopped
1 large red bell pepper, cored, seeded and chopped
1 large green bell pepper, cored, seeded and chopped
3 large cloves or garlic, peeled and finely minced
1 - 1/2 tsp paprika

5 - 10 strands of good quality saffron
1 medium zucchini or thick cucumber, trimmed and cubed
4 large ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 cups Basmati rice
3 cups warm vegetable stock or warm water

1 Lemon wedge for garninsh

100 grams tofu cubes ( optional)

Steps:

 - In a thick bottomed pan, heat the extra virgin olive oil over medium high heat.

- Add the peppers, onion and bell peppers. Reduce heat to medium low and cook for 10 minutes or until the vegetables are tender and the onion is translucent.

- Add the garlic, paprika, saffron, zucchini and tomatoes and simmer for 10 minutes more.

- Add Chopped

- Stir in the rice and mix it nicely with the veggies so that it catches saffron colour evenly

- Now add warmed stock or water and bring to a boil. Lower heat to medium low and simmer for 10-15 minutes, until most of the stock is absorbed. Do not stir.

- Cover with a lid and let it cook for another 10 minutes at medium low heat or until all the liquid is absorbed.
- Do not stir.
- Serve immediately after you garnish with lemon wedges.

Enjoy!!

Tofu Masala

This is an adaptation of an Indian recipe of Paneer Masala where I have replaced paneer with Tofu. This recipe came about more out of desperation after a long period of resisting to alter classic Indian recipes with local ingredients such as Tofu. But my hubby and I love this recipe now and it is a regular feature on our dining table.

Ingredients ( recipe for 2)

- 200 gms firm tofu, cut into small cube or triangle shape of your choice

- 2 small tomatoes, puree it in blender

- 1/2 medium sized red onion chopped fine

- 1/2 Green bell pepper ( capsicum) cut small

- 1/2 cup skimmed milk ( add cream if your prefer)

Masala

- salt to taste

- 1 tsp red paprika / chilli powder

- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder

- 1 tsp corriander and cumin powder

- 2 full cardomon

- 1 med sized cinnamon

- 1 tsp oil

- 1 tsp ginger and garlic minced or paste

Garnish

- chopped corriander or cillantro

- lemon wedge

Steps: 

- Heat oil in a pan, add ginger and garlic paste till done and oil is freagrant.

- Add onion this oil and cook till its transperent

- Split the cardomon and add it to the oil with the cover, add cinnammon and rest of the masala and stir in the hot oil for a 30 secs

- Gently add the tomato puree and mix it well. Let the puree come to a boil

- Add the milk ( or cream) now and mix it at low flame. Your gravy is ready now.

- Add chopped tofu and green peppers to the gravy, cover the pan and let tofu soak the flavour for 8-10 mins on med flame. 

- Serve it in a bowl, garnish with cillantro and lemon/lime. 

- Enjoy it hot with Roti / naan / paratha or simple steamed rice. 

Braised Tofu with Ginger and Tomatoes

This is a nice salty and sweet tofu recipe with aromatic flavors of ginger. 

I am a big fan of ginger for its flavor, smell and medicinal values and I never miss an opportunity to use it in my food and drinks.

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=72

Ingredients

200gms firm tofu

2 small tomatoes chopped or 8-10 cherry tomatoes whole

1 big piece of fresh ginger sliced finely

1 small cup carrots sliced

1 tsp sugar

1 table spoon dark soy sauce

1 tsp (rice) vinegar

2 tsp oil

Paprika to taste

Salt to taste

75ml water

Steps

Cut the tofu into 1/2 inch thick rectangle / square slices.

Take oil in a pan and shallow fry the tofu. Once they are brownish on both sides remove the tofu and quickly pat dry them on paper towel. 

In the remaining oil, put the ginger slices and let it fry for few mins until your kitchen is filled with nice smell of ginger;) Now add tomatoes and carrots and stir fry them until tomatoes blister nicely. Add sugar to this and notice that it will quickly start to caramelize in the hot oil, add dark soy sauce, paprika to this and continue stiring gently. Add 1 tsp vinegar and salt to taste ( note that soy sauce is salty so you can completely skip the salt if u like). Now slowly add water to the pan and bring to a boil. Now slowly slide tofu into the brown sauce, cover the pan and slow cook the dish for 15 mins.

Serve it hot with steaming rice (white, brown, multi-grain) and enjoy :)

Silken Tofu Tropical Parfait

Delicious protein packed dessert or breakfast!

I particularly like this recipe as you can throw in whatever tropical fruits that you may have at home. This dish is very refreshing and irresistible with fresh fruit that explodes in your mouth with creamy silk tofu.

Ingredients: for 2

1/2 Cup bite sized chopped nicely ripe tropical fruits - mango, peach, papaya etc

300g Silken Tofu

2 tsp honey

2 tsp sugar

1 tsp shredded coconut / dessicated coconut

2 tsp of water 

Steps
Take a heavy pan, add water and 1 tsp of sugar and heat it on a low flame. Stir the mix until sugar melts completely. Add chopped fruits and gently coat them in the sugar syrup. Keep it on the low heat for couple of minutes until fruit softens a little. Switch off the heat and let the fruit sit. You can also prepare this in advance and keep it in fridge for couple of days for later use.

For the tofu cream, put the silken tofu in the blender with honey and 1 tsp of sugar. blend it for 1-2 minutes, it will become smooth and fluffy in no time.

Now place few spoons of fruit in two transparent bowls or broad based glasses till they are 1/3 full. Gently pour the tofu cream over the fruit and fill the glass just below the rim. Top it again with some fruit cubes, cover it with some plastiwrap and keep it in the fridge for at least 1 - 1.5 hrs.

At the time of serving, sprinkle shredded coconut. You can beautify the dish further with a sprinkle of some chopped mint or basil if u like.

Enjoy!

More about Tofu:
Tofu is a low calorie, high protein Asian cheese. Chinese discovered tofu 2000 years ago and have been a staple source of nutrition in Asian kitchens in form of amazing recipes from soups, salads, main course to dessert. Now Tofu is popular worldwide and an excellent choice of nutritional food worldwide.
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=111
http://vegetarian.about.com/od/healthnutrition/p/tofunutrition.htm

Peaches:
I think Taiwan has one of the best quality peaches. They are big, luscious, succulent and super sweet!
Tracing back the history I found that peaches actually originated in China ( not in Persia, not in US) in as early as 10th century BC! This was an emperor's fruit for centuries and only immortals were to eat this fruit. Only in recent era this fruit was made available to the local people. Once Persians brought this fruit to Europe, it quickly spread across the world and gain popularity. It is the second largest commercially produced fruit in US after apples.
Even today, peach has a significant place in Chinese culture and still holds its status for longevity. Friends and family exchange peaches in the summer time to wish each other long life in Taiwan. I was lucky to receive a huge box of peaches from a local friend. Even peach blossoms are very beautiful, I can definitely say that they are as pretty as cherry blossoms. There are festivals held to enjoy the beauty of these blossoms which still does not fail to inspire artists and poets.There are very famous paintings, plays, poems and art in Chinese cultures with peach blossoms as its central theme.
Another interesting fact about this Asian fruit - Young and beautiful new bride was often called peach in China as a slang because of fruit's velvety, smooth and sweet characteristic. Apparently, in English, word peachy came from this slang.
Hope you feel peachy when you enjoy this emperor's fruit next time:)