May 19, 2010

Protein powerhouse: Tofu parathas

As vegetarians in France, we have to grab the olive branch to any decent ingredient out there, which is out of the ordinary. And tofu is definitely one of those ingredients we are going to pick up only outside of India. I mean when paneer is so vastly available, who’s going to pick tofu? Well, not me. But I chanced upon this really fresh, home-made tofu supplied to us by our cafeteria manager lady (she is Vietnamese) and I took a kilo (that means you are likely to be receiving tofu recipes for a few days).  And so, I made a dish I’ve made many times in the past but have only been lazy to blog about – Tofu parathas.
Food 013 Pictured here with Aloo Matar.

The other reason I like making tofu parathas  is that I face the perpetual problem of making the really bland ingredient taste interesting. And I came up with a couple of recipes before. You can see them here. As for this recipe, because it’s so ordinary, I am not making any hue and cry of it.

Stated simply, knead in the tofu (about 300g) with your hands to about 2.5 cups of atta. Make a smooth dough, adding 1 tablespoon of oil, salt-to-taste, a pinch of turmeric powder, red chili powder and dhania-jeera powder and sufficient water to knead into a soft, non-sticky dough (similar to chapathi dough). Let it sit for about an hour and roll out like chapathis but tava-fry them like parathas (without exposing to the naked flame). And this is a particularly good dish because the blandness of the tofu is masked by the typical blandness associated with the savoury Indian bread varieties and the side-dish is what spices it up. Plus, all that protein! So, no waiting.. Bon Appétit!

PS: The Aloo Matar was truly divine. If anyone needs a recipe, holler!

16 comments:

Parasuraman said...

i like the new blog color and foto selections keep it up

Jaya said...

Thanks Appa! :D

starlove said...

that looks amazing.

Jaya said...

Thanks da Hamsa :)

Shantal said...

Nice....
Will try experimenting with them on Omkar....

Jaya said...

Sure Shantal. Let us know how it turns out! Bon appétit :)

Unknown said...

Hey, Nice recipe. Does it turn out soft though? Once I added tofu and my parathas were a bit hard as opposed to adding paneer which makes them really soft. But then maybe it was just me :)

Jaya said...

Aruna-> Yes yes, they turned out super soft (like any other parathas) but you can make them "kadak" if you keep them on the tave for browning for a long time. If you keep switching sides to cook them evenly on both sides, they end up soft. These had a very soft texture, almost like a layered paratha (though I did roll them out pretty thin). Good luck and let us know how they turn out! :) Thanks for the comment on FB as well. Wow, you were one of my "12" voters. Thanks! But I really really wanted to change it. And now I realize that the poll was misleading. Hehehe. Thanksa bunch again and keep visiting!

Madhumathi said...

Hey..if u still have tofu left, why not also try the tofu tikka ala panneer tikka or just have them grilled with some sauce..it should turn out good... I have tried the Panneer version...well tofu is not so readily available here...

Jaya said...

Madhumathi-> I've made tofu skewers like kebabs. They were pretty yummy. I do have some tofu left but I have other plans for that. Wait n watch :) Thanks for the comment. And is the blog to your liking now?

preethi said...

I really like the idea of a low fat spicy alternative to paneer. I've always only made scrambled tofu or used it in sabjis, and unsuccesfully once in a skewer. I'm sure this one will go down well with my little one.
On that note, your pics are always so appealing, send them in for masterchef france! Enna camera use panre?
I must admit though - I did prefer the previous layout of the blog. But it's your blog, if you like it, that's all that counts :)
Keep blogging, some of us are regular readers and look fwd to more each day!

Cheers..

Jaya said...

Preethi-> Thanks so much! Yes yes, definitely try it. And do let us know how it turns out. :). I use a Canon Rebel XT and it does a pretty decent job. This particular pic though isn't one of my better shots. At the end of the day I was too tired to go back and check what mode I was shooting on and so out of 10+ odd pictures, this is the only one that's halfway decent. And after seeing the bad turnout, I've sworn to be more diligent in picture-taking.

As for the blog layout, well yeah, it was always going to be difficult to upstage a favourite such as the previous one. But I really did need a motivating change. For everyone reading, it might be sometime adjusting, but as the one writing it, seeing the same layout on my Windows Live Writer just got to be after a while. And now when it's revamped and done, I feel like while it may not have the earthen welcomeness of the previous template, it does have a springy aura to it and I hope it grows on everybody. It's already grown on me. Thanks for the comment and please do keep visiting!

Musing Gal said...

I am a fan of Tofu :) I have made some Tofu Briyani and grilled Tofu, Thai Tofu curry etc., but never tried Parathas! Thanks to you that silken tofu in my fridge is going to roll tonight :)

Madhumathi said...

Hey...Jaya..cant wait for whts cooking now...
BTW..i have always liked your blogs....am hvg teething trouble to adjust to this new template...
I was so used to ur ealier version...its like drinking coffee in the same mug..however old it is... just that "apnapan". Now i will have eventually start getting used to this...unless u change your mind again on a new template ;)

Jaya said...

Musing Gal-> Both of us are blogging away to glory! Let's keep it going :D. Did you try out the silken tofu parathas? I have one last third of the tofu remaining and I have grand plans for it as well. Watch this space :D.

Madhumathi-> Thank you.. I completely understand and appreciate your sentiments. Hehe. But yes, no more template work for a while. It's a lot of work and add to that the mental tension of people welcoming it and stuff. Hehe. So since this has struck a neutral tone with everyone, I will stick with it for a while. If I could I would let you read the GTalk messages of outrage I got when I briefly made the header a bright fuchsia. Short of calling me a sexist (restricting readers to girls), it was thrashed (though I admit I did like it). Hence, the neutral purple which seems to have appeased many. So lets stick with this for a while, shall we? As for the second third of the tofu, they rolled into koftas as you can see above. I have further grand plans for the last bit of tofu I have remaining. Watch for MindBlogging updates. :) Thanks for visiting and commenting regularly!

Neetu's kitchen said...

Hi! I am a new blogger. I visited first time your blog. I like this recipe. Now I have good reason to eat paratha.

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