This last Father’s day my family and I celebrated the occasion by firing up the barbecue and enjoying the warm summer weather. As my family munched on an variety of burgers, sausages, tuna pasta and lamb, I sat happily chewing away at my vegan quarter pounder and french fries. Although I’m quite use to attending family events and not eating the same dishes as them, I felt a slight tang of jealousy watching them eat; but let me explain why.
Because I really enjoy cooking and baking, I don’t limit myself to making only my own meals, I also prepare dinner for my meat eating family as well. Sure, this probably makes me a crappy vegan, but I’m not going to stop caring for my family just because we don’t share the same diet!
But despite adopting this normalcy in my situation, I felt left out. Big time. When I was a meat eater (oh, the guilt!), my family use to make tandoori lamb chops to put on the barbecue- and boy did I love them. It was such a simple recipe, and yet it came together so perfectly. I don’t know why it didn’t dawn on me Sunday to make a vegan version of this dish, but today I woke up with a wonderful idea to give this recipe a vegan make over.
The original ingredients feature lamb, yogurt, and honey, so I cleverly replaced them with tofu, vegan plain yogurt, and agave. However, if you consume honey feel free to keep it and forget the agave.
I ended up loving the marinate so much, I saved it as a dipping sauce for later! One of the pros of eating a vegan meal: You don’t have to worry about cross contamination ;).
To make this you’ll need to press the tofu, and then marinade it for about 40 minutes to an hour in the refrigerator.
Side note: If you do not own a proper tofu press machine, fear not! I have a very simple, yet effective method down below.
This recipe makes 2 servings. Or 1 – if you’re greedy like me.
Ingredients:
- 400grams Organic extra firm tofu – I used Cauldron
- 1C plain vegan yogurt
- 1TB tandoori powder
- 1TB agave syrup
- 1 1/2TB Piri Piri sauce
- 1/2tsp salt
- 1TB olive oil for cooking
- * Paper towels, kitchen cloth, and something wide and heavy for pressing the tofu.
Instructions:
- First, you’ll need to press the tofu to remove some of the moisture. You can do this by splitting the tofu down the middle, then cutting the halves again like pictured here
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You will then need to lay them on four sheets of paper towels, then place four more sheets on top of them. Now take a kitchen towel and wrap the tofu completely, but be sure to keep the towel neat and flat. Next you’ll need something heavy to place on top of the tofu. I normally grab my marble cutting board, which has some good weight on it; but a pot, large book, or anything heavy will do as long as it has a flat bottom. Leave the tofu for 20-40 minutes to press; the longer you leave it the better it crisps up when you cook it later.
2. To make this marinade, simply add all the ingredients in a medium sized bowl and mix thoroughly. Once your tofu is done being pressed add in the slices and coat both sides with the marinade, but be sure not to stack them on top of one another. Now cover the bowl with cling film or foil (or a well sized plate!) and allow the tofu to rest in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
3. To cook the tofu, heat a non-stick pan on a medium setting, drizzle in the olive oil and then place the tofu inside; but be sure to space them fairly apart. Cook each side for 5-8 minutes or to your preferred crispiness, and walla! You’re ready to eat!
This recipe pairs great with roast vegetables, grains, and/or salad.
Enjoy!
Jilliana's Glow 