tofu sweet n sour with almonds...

Being busy and sweating out was never so pleasant. I am counting down the last few days before i leave for a very exciting biking expedition . A group of 100 women is biking through the most grueling passes in the Himalayas to reach the highest motorable road to Khardung La. I am a part of this wonderful group and will be cycling with them , starting from Kullu , going up to Khardung La and then back to Leh. It is a 600km ride to be covered in 17 days.

Isn't that exciting?

I have been working out and eating well. Cooking quick meals for us and freezing the leftovers for my husband so that he can have healthy food all this while.

This tofu dish was such a quick success when i made it and it seems to be a quick enough recipe to share too. I wanted something very short n sweet to share before i leave and i found this sweet n sour tofu i made a couple of weeks ago. Perfect.

ingredients...
tofu 200 gm cubed
garlic n green chilly paste 2 tbsp
corn flour 1 tsp
minced ginger 1 tbsp
diced onion 1 cup
salt n pepper to taste
soy sauce 2 tsp or a bit more
tomato ketchup 2-3 tbsp
oil to shallow fry the tofu 2 tbsp
roasted almonds 2-3 tbsp

procedure...

Press the tofu between the sheets of kitchen towels to drain out excessive water from it.

Cut pieces and mix with salt to taste, 1 tbsp of green chilly n garlic paste and 1 tsp of the corn flour.





Shallow fry the tofu cubes and drain on kitchen paper . This makes a nice snack by itself and we enjoy a few pieces like this too...

Once fried like this the tofu can be kept in the fridge till the time of assembly so this recipe is suited for large gatherings too . Just make the sauce at the last moment and enjoy a great dish made in a jiffy.

These fried pieces of tofu can be added to soups instead of bread croutons , keeping them in the fridge can be very convenient , take note of that :-)


To make the sauce , mix the soy sauce n tomato ketchup with the remaining garlic n green chilly paste , minced ginger , salt n pepper and 1/4 cup of water . Keep aside.

In the same pan you shallow fried the tofu , tip in the diced onions. There is no need to add any additional oil as the pan is already greased to allow a quick roasting/shallow frying of the onions. Just a few tosses and the onions will be slightly sweaty .That's the time when you pour the sauce in it and the shallow fried tofu too.

Toss and mix well . Add the roasted almonds and serve immediately.

Look at this , the onion still looks almost raw . The onion is actually half cooked and provides and nice texture along with roasted almonds. This is a nice way to make a recipe low on oil too.

Tofu is fried and the other things are just tossed in like a salad . The dish can actually be served well like a salad too. Think about a spring roll if you fancy.

A healthy dish which made my bones and joints stronger and my muscles more resilient for sure .
I ate other healthy stuff too :-)

eggcellent scramble ...eggs and celery and a curried scramble....

Egg scrambles are life savers in an Indian home. They make the breakfast more exciting when paired with a paratha or sandwiched in whole grain breads and sometimes they make a nice quick side dish for plain looking meals . Any meal of the day...And when you have the good aromatic greens growing in your garden you can't stay away from them for long...

Don't you worry if there is no celery growing in your garden or neighborhood . Spinach or other greens available in the stores work very well with this recipe too... I have posted a recipe with drumstick greens too and that is an oft repeated egg scramble on my breakfast table..

This one is made whenever i have a large bunch of fresh celery...

ingredients...
(2 large servings)
eggs 4 nos.
finely chopped celery , ribs and leaves 1.5 cup
diced onions 1 cup
diced tomatoes 1 cup
minced ginger and garlic 1 tsp each ( some extra ginger if you like , i do)
fine chopped green chillies 21 tbsp or to taste
cumin and black pepper powder 1 tsp each
turmeric powder 1 tsp
 salt to taste
ghee 1.5 tbsp

preparation...

Egg scrambles are so easy to make and you can just whip up everything together and scramble them in a greased pan over medium flame. But stir frying the aromatic ingredients first makes it more flavorful as the ghee helps in extracting flavors from the herbs and spices.

Heat the ghee and tip in the onion and minced ginger and garlic , sautee for a few seconds.

As soon as the onions starts sweating , add the chopped celery , salt n all the powder spices and stir fry till everything gets well coated and aromatic.

Add tomatoes and keep stirring till they get soft.

Add the broken eggs and stir quickly and let them curdle and cook.

Everything is added step wise but the whole procedure is quite quick . if the greens and onions are chopped of course . Chopping can be a hassle for some people but in that case baby spinach can be used or chopping gadgets can be put to good use.

Good food is a result of good ingredients . Choose your ingredients fresh and be happy...

This egg scramble can be sandwiched in breads or can be had with any kind of flat breads .
Or can be a meal in itself . How would you like it?