Friday
Punjab spinach sauce over our classic tofu (tofu recipe in the comments)
Basmati rice
South Indian spiced purple cabbage (our version in the comments)
Hot tea
Candy (we're almost done!)
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It's grocery list night and we're trying a new convenience product - well, new to us: Trader Joe's Punjab spinach sauce. I saw this sauce mentioned in an article about healthy prepared foods and thought, "Indian, spinach, healthy, easy - what could be better!" This has very low sodium for a prepared food (one of my major peeves with convenience fare) and when simmered over our no fail tofu, makes an super easy dinner. I was VERY impressed with this sauce and I always love our tofu, so overall a total success. The cabbage is a new easy Indian side dish I found on a blog I've been checking lately, Raspberry Eggplant. It was mentioned in the Mark Bittman article on microwaving that I posted last week and has some great recipes. M and I are always looking for good, ethnic sides to compliment our meals. The issue is we don't want to do something as complicated as the main dish (obviously not really an issue tonight, but still), but we don't want to have the same side every time we do something, say, Indian (cucumber salad again, eh?). We have a great okra recipe, and this cabbage is a good new addition. It a tiny bit more labor intensive, but the product is excellent, very colorful, and I think it still gets filed under easy.
Prep Notes
Difficulty: Super easy main, easy side
Chopping: Tofu, cabbage
Time: 30 minutes
Make ahead: Jarred products are always "made ahead" :)
Reaction
J: "Indian food is SO excellent."
M: ""
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It's been said that the average American family is stuck in a ten dinner rut, meaning they repeat the same ten meals over and over, week after week. I can't believe that's true, so here's a forum to write about "what's for dinner?". I want to cook a wide variety of meals that are tasty, easy to prepare, inexpensive, healthy, and sustainable. Is that too much to ask? I don't think so.
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2 comments:
No Fail Skillet Tofu – M & J
Serves 2-4, depending on sauce
1 T canola oil
1 14 oz. block of water packed, extra firm tofu
Sauce ingredients
Rinse tofu and pat dry with paper towels. Slice tofu block into 8 crosswise slices. Crumble each into uneven bite size pieces. Heat oil in a large, deep skillet with a flat bottom over medium high heat. Cook tofu in a single layer, without turning, for 5 minutes or until browned. Turn and cook for 4-5 minutes until browned. Gently toss until evenly browned.
If using a simple simmer sauce, pour over the tofu and heat through.
If adding vegetables and other sauce ingredients, remove tofu. Cook sauce ingredients. Add tofu and toss to coat and heat through.
South Indian Spiced Purple Cabbage – M & J (Inspired by Raspberry Eggplant)
Serves 4
1 medium head of purple cabbage (about 2 lbs), cored and sliced into ⅛” strips
2 teaspoons canola oil
1 ½ teaspoons black mustard seeds
2 teaspoons urad dal
¾ teaspoon red chili flakes
2 pinches of asafetida powder, divided (optional)
¾ teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
6 lime leaves, torn into small pieces and placed in a large spice ball
Yogurt
Heat the oil in a large pot with a lid set over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds and cover the pot. The seeds will start to pop; after about 10 seconds of popping, lower the heat to medium, add the urad dal, chili flakes, and 1 pinch of asafetida, and cover the pot. When the urad dal is golden brown – this will take less than 30 seconds – add the cabbage, remaining asafetida, salt, and lime leaves and stir very well. Cover the pot and and reduce the heat to medium-low.
Cook covered, stirring occasionally, until the cabbage is tender but not mushy, about 12-14 minutes. Remove spice ball and add more salt if necessary.
Serve warm topped with yogurt.
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