Quick: I'm cooking a simple Indian curry. How can I flavor the tofu to give it an extra kick?

Throw in a simple Indian?

@pdworkin: I’m a vegetarian.

Worsechestire sauce? any sort of hot peppers might do it, or simply some Daikon.

Damn. Well, have you an Indian grocery nearby? There is nothing quite like the aroma or flavor of freshly ground East Asian spices, but they are not easy to find in the supermarket.

Failing that, buy whole seeds of, say, cardamom, cumin, perhaps fennel, and toast them in a pan for a few minutes over medium heat until they become aromatic but not burned. Then grind them to a powder in your coffee grinder and add them to the tofu.

@pdworkin: yum. Fry the tofu in the powder, or what? I have a lot of good stuff that a friend dropped off from a recent visit to NYC. I think I can make some sort of interesting concoction—I’m just not sure about how the method of seasoning the tofu.

Also, I’m not opposed to butter and oil. Can you tell that I’m starving?

Add the tofu and the butter (with a little oil to raise it’s smoking point) simmer the tofu gently, throw in the spices and heat through before serving. Can you stir in a little tomato something? Like a chopped peeled canned tomato, or a tbsp of tomato paste? Don’t forget the salt and freshly ground pepper! And how about a clove of freshly chopped garlic?

I love to flavor tofu with ginger, tamari, rice vinegar, and a bit of nutritional yeast. I’ve never made a tofu curry though.

Straight up cyan powder. MMM. Garlic is always awesome too.

Cumin. No matter what else you do, add cumin.

If tofu is so bland try asking yourself WHY use tofu at all in any meal.

@F1 because tofu is the vegetarian’s answer to meat.

Indians would never eat a Korma so it is not a curry as curry is known.Korma is a dish created for the western pallet so in efect you are not even making a curry which inturn means that you do not have to worry about flavouring the tofu because it wont enhance the curry that your not making.(if you catch me)

Tofu is really good at picking up the flavors of things around it, right? Why not simmer it in vegetable stock and spices before you add it.

@F1 Wow, a lot of food rules! What happened to have fun cooking? What happened to enjoy your meal?

@Psychedelic_Zebra Wow!! can it be done medium rare?

@F1: Well, I won’t be inviting you to dinner anytime soon. ;)

Thanks guys! I just made a delicious paste/sauce thing for the tofu (oil, cumin, paprika, red pepper, cinnamon, and garlic). Awesome!

Thats what you think.

@F1: Seconded by my carnivorous boyfriend.

Oh erm err OK

Well ok then! {Applause!}

I see I’m a little late, but for future reference, I have learned to marinate the tofu for a good while before I use it, that helps to flavor it muchly!

Also, for future reference if you are trying Indian cooking, you usually fry the spices for a few minutes to enhance their flavors. You could fry cumin and turmeric and cardamon seeds in some oil and then add onions and the tofu. After that, throw in whatever other veggies you want and your tomato or Korma sauce. Let it simmer a bit and voila!

what are you, off your friggen rocker?

nope, just trying to curry favor…

@janbb – “nope, just trying to curry favor…” that is soooooooo good, I got it and I love it.

@rooeytoo thanks. (blushes)

@F1, don’t know where you pulled your information from, but here a recipe for Punjabi Vegetable Tofu Korma. My friend’s aunt, who is from India, and speaks no English, makes a Korma dish for me every time she comes to visit. I can’t imagine that she is deliberately “westernizing” a dish for me.

@PandoraBoxx then we disagree.

The Tofu will absorb the curry. So just add extra curry.
To make the Tofu have a texture, freeze it the night before, then cut it into cubes while its still hard, (then, optionally, frying the cubes) and then put the cubes in with the curry mix and bake.