We've always been fans of Richa Hingle's Vegan Richa blog. Anyone who's tried to cook Indian knows it can be a challenge to master, and her vegan recipes make it seem totally doable. (Her non-Indian dishes, like these Pinto Bean Broccoli Lentil Burgers, are also spot-on.) She always includes plenty of options for those who are gluten-free, have food allergies, or who avoid soy or oils, which is a big bonus for vegans and non-vegans alike.
Personally, I'm kind of in love with Indian food and I'm nearly always disappointed when I try to wing it. So Richa's new book, Vegan Richa's Indian Kitchen: Traditional and Creative Recipes for the Home Cook, was a godsend when it arrived. It's great for aspiring Indian cooks; it's divided into handy categories like Lentils and Beans, Dry Vegetable Curries, and One-Pot Meals, and includes an informative primer on the spices, grains and flours of Indian cooking. In order to minimize specialty-store shopping, Richa gives a basic Indian-cooking shopping list divided into "must have," "good to have," and "nice to have" ingredients—most of which can be found at your supermarket. For a lot of people, one of the biggest barriers to exploring any world cuisine is specialty ingredients, so this shopping list was super helpful.
The Kidney Bean Curry (which tastes like an Indian version of chili), Gluten-Free Chia Flatbreads and Pistachio Spoon Fudge were all excellent, as was this Mango Tofu Curry recipe, which she has been kind enough to share with Oh My Veggies Readers!
Richa's notes on this recipe:
Ingredients
For the Tofu:
- 14 ounces firm tofu
- 2 teaspoons safflower or other neutral oil
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon Garam Masala
- ¼ teaspoon salt
For the Curry:
- ¾ cup chopped red onion
- 1 1-inch knob of ginger
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 teaspoon safflower or other neutral oil
- ¼ teaspoon cumin seeds
- 2 bay leaves
- 4 cloves
- 1 ¼ cups canned or culinary coconut milk
- ¾ cup ripe mango pulp or puree unsweetened or lightly sweetened canned
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- Generous dash of black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon Garam Masala for garnish
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro for garnish
Instructions
For the Tofu:
- Cut the tofu slab into ½-inch slices. Place them on a clean kitchen towel. Cover with another kitchen towel. Place a 10-pound (approximate) weight on top and let sit for 10 minutes. (Alternatively, you can use pressed tofu.) Cut the tofu slices into ½-inch cubes.
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When the oil is hot, tilt the skillet so the oil coats it evenly. Add the tofu and cook until lightly brown on some sides, stirring occasionally, 4 minutes. Add the cayenne, cinnamon, garam masala, and salt and mix well to coat. Cook for another 2 minutes and set aside.
For the Curry:
- In a blender, combine the onion, ginger, and garlic and blend into a smooth puree with 2 tablespoons of water. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the cumin seeds, bay leaves, and cloves. Cook for 1 minute. Add the pureed onion and cook until
- the onion mixture is dry and does not smell raw. Stir occasionally to avoid sticking, 13 to 15
- minutes. Add the coconut milk, mango pulp, salt, and vinegar and mix well. Add the tofu and all
- the spices from the tofu skillet to the sauce skillet. Add a dash of black pepper.
- Mix, cover and cook until the sauce comes to a boil, 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and
- cook uncovered until the sauce thickens and desired consistency is achieved, about 15 minutes. Taste and adjust the salt and tang. Add ½ teaspoon or more sugar if the mango pulp was not sweet. Garnish with cilantro and a dash of garam masala and serve hot.
Notes
Copyright © 2015 by Richa Hingle. Used by permission Vegan Heritage Press, LLC.
Emma {Emma's Little Kitchen} says
Oh, this sounds so heavenly. I adore curries with a little fruit, and so does our baby son! Can't wait to try this 🙂
Meg @ BeardandBonnet says
This looks SO good!!! I am going to have to check out Richa's book. Love the addition of mango here.
Richa {VeganRicha.com} says
Thank you for the wonderful review Dana! I am so glad you are enjoying cooking up Indian dishes!
The book is currently half off on amazon for anyone who is interested in getting a copy 🙂
Jennifer @ Delicious Everyday says
I really love the Indian spices especially curry recipes and although I'm not a big fan of tofu I think I'll have to improvise to try this one 🙂
Richa {VeganRicha.com} says
you can use chickpeas or chickpea tofu or veggies. almost all the sauces from the mains chapter can be made with tempeh, tofu, soy-free chickpea tofu, veggies or chickpeas/beans!
AnnieG says
Rather lacking in veggies. I wonder what would complement it to make a complete meal.
Richa {VeganRicha.com} says
Hi Annie, The mains chapter is basically 25 awesome sauces which can be used in many ways. There are a few recipes that use tofu, a few that use tempeh, chickpea tofu, a bunch that use vegetables in various forms, a few that use chickpeas or beans, And all sauces can be used with any of the protein or veggies and there are suggestions on what works well. Veggies or Chickpeas in this sauce work beautifully as well.
Anna says
Hiya
Would it be ok to use Almond milk instead of coconut milk? i have a reaction to coconut milk.
A
Tally says
I am so glad I got this cookbook. After stocking up on the basic spices needed to cook Indian food, I've been cooking 3 or 4 recipes a week from this book....all delicious! And getting easier and easier. Super healthy and really don't miss the meat, etc., because of the full flavor of these recipes. (But if you want, you can easily add different proteins instead of tofu or tempha.) Highly, highly recommend!!
Haley says
After the work of pureeing a mango, I couldn't really taste the mango. Also, I was confused about the "4 cloves" ingredient, so I used a teaspoon of cloves, and I'm wondering if that's why it turned out a muddy brown, not the pretty yellow/orange in the picture. I like the sauce overall, but 1 package of tofu didn't go far with the amount of excess sauce, so I'd say use 2x the tofu or add something else like veggies.