photo by Kristin
I chopped both purple and white cauliflower, carrots and green beans and tossed them in about 1/4 c. olive oil and about 1 1/2 Tbs. garam masala and 1 tsp-ish salt. 20 minutes on a parchment lined sheet in a 400 oven was the longest step in this lunch, so it wouldn't be so bad to make the same day either. The baked curry tofu was a store bought item, for such an occasion. ( I'm not vegetarian, but I do like tofu.) Anyway, to assemble the rest of the dish took 5 minutes when I popped over from the studio this afternoon. I cubed the tofu and tossed it with the veggies, which were room temp. What I hadn't planned ahead for was the dressing to pull it all together. Initially I was thinking a little olive oil and lemon, but then I saw the yogurt in the fridge when I was grabbing the tofu. I simply mixed yogurt, salt, pepper and enough fresh lemon juice to thin the yogurt to a dressing consistency. Depending on the yogurt, you may only need a squeeze of lemon for flavoring. I only use the real deal, full fat European style yogurt and it takes about 1 small lemon to thin it out enough. If you prefer low or non-fat yogurt, I know it will be just as good.
The surprise of this whole endeavor was the unexpected full flavor. Tangy, toothsome, earthy, spicy and slightly sweet. Indian/style cuisine is not something that comes intuitively to me and whenever I attempt it it's usually just ok. Not terrible, but not that exciting either. So it was an even more satisfying lunch to have something so tasty. I will definitely be making this one again!
*As I was re-reading this just before publishing, I realized that I'm not entirely sure of my terminology. Curry? Is garam masala a curry or a component of? If you know, please leave a comment. I will put it on my list of things to investigate...
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