Paneer dishes are my all-time favorites! A paneer dish cooked with the right kind of ingredients, at the right spice level, served at the right temperature…..YUMMY! Nothing can replace the wonderful taste of butter-fried paneer cubes in the right kind of marinade. NOTHING I tell you. Oh wait, enter the Tofu! 🙂

We all know tofu is a good, healthy substitute for paneer. Tofu is made by coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into soft white blocks. Courtesy Wikipedia. Tofu has a low calorie count and high amounts of protein, iron, calcium and magnesium, making it the ideal super-food. But let’s face it, all super-foods are not tasty, you have to make them tasty. This takes us to the world of spices!

Tofu Makhani is a delicious Indian dish with the tofu twist that contains butter, spice and everything nice. It is typically served with rice or rotis or naan. But why stop there? It can also be savored with potato chips or Nachos or Doritos or CheezIt. Sounds weird? Believe me, try using it as a dip for Nachos and you won’t stop! Ahem, I didn’t.

Tofu Makhani, ladies and gentlemen! 😀

Tofu Makhani

Ingredients

Extra-firm Tofu

For marinating tofu

Chili powder – 1/2 tsp

Coriander powder – 1.5 tsp

Turmeric powder – 1 pinch

Salt to taste

Oil – 1 tbsp

Lemon juice – 1 tbsp

For the curry

Cumin seeds – 1 tsp

Mustard seeds – 1 tsp

Cinnamon stick or  powder – 1 tbsp

Clove buds – 4 to 5

Cashewnuts – 10 to 12

Ginger-Garlic paste – 1 tsp

Chopped onion – 1 cup

Chopped tomato – 1.5 cups

Chili powder – 1/2 tsp

Vegetable broth – 1.5 cups

Light cream – 1/2 cup

Butter – 1 tbsp

Salt to taste

Finely chopped coriander leaves for garnishing

Directions

Marination

• Prepare tofu by placing it in a sieve and covering it with a muslin cloth or paper napkins. Place heavy weight on it for about an hour to release all water from tofu. Once all water is released, cut the tofu block into cubes.
• Prepare marinade by mixing all marination ingredients and marinate tofu cubes for about 30 minutes.

Curry

• Heat a tbsp of oil in a kadai and add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, cinnamon (stick or powder), clove buds and cashewnuts and roast for about 2-3 minutes.
• Add ginger-garlic paste and chopped onion to it and cook until onion turns translucent.
• Add chopped tomato and cook until it becomes mushy.  You can add a few drops of water to it if needed. Sprinkle chili powder and stir well.
• Add 1.5 cups of vegetable broth to this mixture and blend into a smooth paste (you can also use water but the broth enhances flavor of the Makhani).
• In the meantime, add a few drops of oil in a saucepan and shallow fry marinated tofu cubes until they turn golden brown on all sides (about 3 minutes each side).
• Transfer the blended mixture to a kadai and add fried tofu cubes to the mixture. Add cream and salt to it and cook for about five minutes.
• Turn off the stove, drop a spoonful of butter into the Makhani and let it melt.
• Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and enjoy Tofu Makhani hot with rice or rotis. 🙂

Thank you for reading! ❤