Receta Recipe | Fresh Plums and Tofu Kofta Curry with Tawa Pulav – My race against time
“Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough” ~ Oprah
Back then I had loads of time in hand. My home and life was well organized and I never knew what ‘racing against time’ meant.
I was happy, but still felt a void in life and was searching for ways to fill it. As they say, change your perspective when you think your life is incomplete without something.
And then, food blogging happened.
And yes, I am racing against time…but I am content
Oh well, there is a temptation to take part in a food blogging contest by KitchenAid India on IFBM also….after all food blogging is where I belong.
1. Fresh Plums and Tofu Kofta Curry
The first time I had a savory Plum curry was when I visited my friend in Uttaranchal. She has a large farm near her house and uses homegrown Plums for making relish, chutney, dried powder similar to Amchoor (mango powder), rice dishes and curries.
Small variety of tart plums are the best for making curries and dried powder. The sweet-sour plum puree added to gravy lifts up the taste & flavor of any Indian curry.
Ingredients;
(serve 3)
- For Tofu Koftas;
- 1 cup crumbled Tofu
- 1 large boiled potato
- 1 tbsp. Plum puree
- 2 tbsp. chopped coriander leaves
- 2 tbsp. corn flour or all purpose flour
- 2 tbsp oil
- 1/2 tsp. red chilly powder
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- For Gravy;
- 10-12 Fresh Plums
- 1 large tomato
- 1 large onion
- 2 tbsp. oil
- 1 tbsp. Paav Bhaji masala
- 1 tsp. ginger-garlic paste
- 1 tsp. Kasuri Methi (dried Fenugreek leaves)
- 1/2 tsp. sugar
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- Water as required
Method; Wash and chop all the plums and remove the seeds. Puree the chopped plums.
Tofu Koftas; Mix crumbled Tofu, mashed potato and rest of the ingredients listed under ‘For Tofu Koftas’ in a large bowl.
Make small balls and dust each ball with cornflour or all purpose flour (maida).
Heat oil in a flat pan and shallow fry all the Tofu koftas for 2-3 minutes or till they turn golden brown in colour.
For Gravy; Finely grate the onion and tomato with a grater.
Combine plum puree, grated tomato-onion, ginger-garlic paste in a bowl.
Heat oil in a kadai/wok and add the above plum mixture in it. Saute for 5-6 minutes on low heat.
Add Paav Bhaji spice-mix and Kasuri Methi to the gravy and take the kadai from heat.
Serve this Fresh plum tofu kofta curry with Tawa pulav or any Indian bread of your choice.
2. Quick and easy Tawa Pulav
Ingredients;
(serve 2)
1 cup cooked Basmati rice
1 cup chopped vegetables
2 tbsp. oil
1 onion
1 large tomato
1 tbsp. Paav Bhaji masala
1 tsp. chilli-garlic paste
1/2 tsp. cumin seeds
1/2 tsp. salt
Paav Bhaji Spice-mix;
(for 2 servings)
2 tbsp. Coriander seeds
1 tbsp. Cumin seeds
1 tbsp. Black peppercorn
2 tsp. Mango powder
2 tsp. Fennel seeds
3 Cloves
3 Dry red chilly
1 inch Cinnamon stick
Method; Dry roast all the spices in a pan on low heat for 2-3 minutes.
Cool the spices completely and grind into a fine powder.
Store this spice-mix in an air-tight container. The spice-mix can be used for many Indian rice dishes and curries.
Peel and chop and all the vegetables you are using. Heat oil in a large Tawa or griddle and crackle cumin seeds in it. Add chilly-garlic paste, chopped onion, tomato and sauté for a minute. Add all the chopped vegetables (Green peas, capsicum, baby corn, cabbage, spouted moong) salt in it and cook for 4-5 minutes on high heat.
Add prepared Paav Bhaji spice-mix and lightly mash all the cooked vegetables on the tawa with the back of the ladle or a vegetable masher.
Add pre-cooked rice in the tawa and stir to combine well.
Garnish with fresh coriander leaves and serve this flavorful Tawa Pulav with Fresh Plums and Tofu Kofta Curry.
Notes;
Keep the tofu on a paper napkin or kitchen towel and remove all the moisture from it before making the koftas.
Stuff a few raisins inside the Tofu koftas while rolling it into balls.
Do not add too much Plum puree to make koftas, you will find it difficult to bind and shallow fry the same.
The colour of gravy will depend on the colour of plums used in the recipe. If you don’t get good colour you can replace a little of Paav bhaji masala with Kashmiri red chilly powder which will impart deep red colour to the gravy.
Kasuri Methi or dried fenugreek leaves imparts a wonderful flavor, the slight bitterness of leaves completely balances the sweet-sour taste of the Plum gravy.