Chickpea & Tofu Curry
Anyone else a sucker for Trader Joe’s frozen Indian meals? Yeah, me too, especially when I find myself in a busy week leaving little time to cook. After finding myself in the frozen food section more often than I’d like to admit, I figured it was worth looking into quick and easy Indian recipes I can whip together myself. I stumbled upon a Chicken and Tofu Curry recipe on Cocoon Cooks blog and was pleasantly surprised by how easy it was to make! I pretty much always modify recipes I find online to make as simple as possible, making them ideal to make in a time crunch or while meal prepping for a busy week.
Ingredients
1 tablespoon Coconut oil
½ yellow onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced (or if you are lazy like me, ½ teaspoon of pre-bought minced garlic)
1 tablespoon fresh ginger (or ginger paste if you are like me and always shopping on a budget)
2 tablespoons of curry powder (if you don’t have curry powder, combine cumin, coriander, and turmeric in a bowl in a 2:2:1 ratio and add a shake of cinnamon)
1 can (13.5oz) Coconut milk
1 can (15.5 oz) chickpeas
1 lb of tofu, pressed dry and cut into cubes
1 cup of basmati rice
3 cups of baby spinach
A few shakes of salt
Directions
- About 30 minutes before you want to begin cooking, slice your tofu into 3 blocks and press them to dry. I place a stack of paper towels on either side of the tofu and put a cutting board on top to help squeeze the water out. You don’t have to do this but it will make your tofu less soggy and more flavorful!
- Once you are ready to begin, heat the coconut oil in a medium/large pan on medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and ginger. Saute until the onion is soft and translucent.
- Mix in the curry powder and allow to toast with the rest of the ingredients for a few minutes. Be sure not to let it stick to the pan!
- Add the coconut milk and mix well.
- In a separate saucepan, add 1 cup of basmati rice and 2 cups of water on high heat. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer and cover the pan, stirring occasionally.
- Once the coconut milk is mixed in, add the remaining ingredients (except for the spinach), including a few shakes of salt. Bring it to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer for about 10 minutes.
- Add the spinach 1 cup at a time and mix in right before turning off the heat. Serve with rice and enjoy!
