Chickpea tofu and pea curry

During the holidays, I found chickpea tofu in the supermarket and was curious.  Once I purchased it, I was unsure how to feature it.  A few weeks later I opened it to make this tofu and pea curry.  It stank.  At first I thought it might be off.  But I forged ahead and loved the curry.

We are very used to soy-based tofu in our house.  Sylvia often tries to swipe some of it while I cut it up to eat straight from the packet.  When she smelled the chickpea tofu, she turned up her nose and didn't want anything to do with it.  Given that the finished product was delicious, I wonder if the smell was just different to what we know.  The texture was also different.  Chickpea tofu was less rubbery and a bit more crumbly.  As it is the only packet I have tried, I really should buy it again to check it is the chickpea tofu characteristic and not just that batch.  Stay tuned!

I really loved this curry.  It reminded me of this spicy pea curry but I enjoyed the addition of tofu.  I am sure it would work with regular soy tofu as well as chickpea tofu.  The curry was very creamy and tasty.  I used less ginger, no pepper (I don't like too much spice), no bay leaf (I felt lazy), fried onion instead of raw (it was there), powdered garlic rather than fresh (as I had none).  The recipe below reflects what I would be most likely to do.

I served the curry with a lentil and sweet potato curry that was like a dal and some basmati rice.  I might have served brown rice but I had been cleaning the shower and knocked E's electric shaver into a bucket of water.  So the shaver went into a tub of brown rice rather than the brown rice going into dinner.

I ate my curry in front of the tennis.  The Australian Open is one of the few times in the year that I have any urge to watch sport on tv.   And by the time I had the curries and rice ready, Sylvia had gone to bed and E was at ukulele practice.  So I just sat back and enjoyed my curry to the sounds of summer: the thwack of the ball on raquet, the drone of the umpire's voice and sneakers squeaking on the court.  The tennis is now over and I am looking forward to some decent tv starting up again.

I am sending this curry to Meat Free Mondays, Healthy Vegan Fridays, Gluten Free Fridays and Eat Your Greens.

More easy curries on Green Gourmet Giraffe:
Banana curry (gf, v)
Chickpea and potato curry with mango chutney (gf, v)
Easy dahl (gf, v)
Spicy pea curry (gf, v)
Spinach and chickpea curry (gf, v)
Watermelon curry (gf, v)

Tofu and pea curry
Adapted from Everyday Healthy Recipes
Serves 4

2-3 tbsp vegetable oil
250-300g tofu
1 large onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tbsp finely grated ginger
1 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp each cumin powder and turmeric
400g can of diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon flaked sea salt
1 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup coconut milk

Cut tofu into cubes.  Season and fry in 1 tbsp oil until golden brown.

Fry onion, garlic, ginger, garam masala, cumin and turmeric for a few minutes.  Add tomato and salt.  Simmer for 10 minutes.  Stir in peas and coconut milk.  Once peas defrost remove from heat.

NOTES: I found the mixture quite salty when I added the tsp of flaked salt.  Once it had cooked and had peas and coconut added it tasted wonderful.  I didn't include onions when frying up spices because I had fried onions leftover from another meal and used them.  I don't like a really spicy curry but if your tastes differ, you may want to add chillis, pepper and/or coriander.  I used chickpea tofu and sprinkled it with curry powder, salt and pepper, and tossed it about before frying.

On the Stereo:
The Days of Our Nights: Lunar