Vegan & Gluten Free Pan fried Tofu Kebab

If you are looking for a simple, easy, and obviously a gluten free and vegan friendly starter then dont hesitate a second to check this post. Tofu, you all might have know about this vegan soya paneer. If i dont have paneer at home, soya paneer aka tofu will come in rescue. However tofu with our Indian masala makes some delightful dishes out of it. Indian spices gives a fabulous flavor to this tasteless soya paneer. I have been cooking with this tofu since a long and trust me you can replace tofu very well in any of the paneer based recipes. Tofu works awesome even in making Indian breads. If you dont have any idea to add tofu in your diet, dont forget to go through my space to get an  Tofu kebab calls for simple and pantry friendly spice powder, no need of ginger garlic paste. Obviously no grinding part. A kind of jhatpat tofu kebab which gets ready easily to please anyone's tastebuds with less efforts. If you want to replace tofu with baby potatoes or any other vegetables chunks, just go on. Anything works awesome for making this delicious spicy kebabs.

Grilled Tofu 65/Vegan Grilled Tofu 65 in Stick

Tofu, this soya cheese is replacing very well paneer in most of my dishes at home. Recently i started purchasing my chinese sauces and noodles from a nearby retail shop which is just 5minutes walk from my place. Obviously they sold many varieties of tofus, from extra firm to smoky flavored tofu. And trust me, i have never seen this much varieties of tofus, however as usual i grabbed a packet of extra firm tofu to make some succulent dish with it. You can dish many fantastic vegan or vegetarian dishes out of this extremely nutritious soya cheese. They are excellent source of protein with many health benefits in it. Tofu can be found in bulk or individual packages. Tofu is also sold in sealed containers kept at room temperature, as they doesnt need to conserve in fridge until they are opened. Once opened, all tofus needs to be rinsed, covered with water and kept in a fridge. To keep the tofu fresh for up to one week, the water should be changed often. If kept in the original package, you can freeze tofu for up to five months.

Eggless Cheesy Tofu Bombs

Cheese Bombs are extremely delicious to resist if you love some gooey cheesy centre in your bread rolls. Actually cheese bombs are small dinner rolls stuffed with any sort of cheese however mozzarella cheese suits extremely prefect to make some super cheesy bombs. If you are baking this cheese bombs dont forget to bake huge batch else you will regret later. My today's cheese bombs are extremely healthy as i used silken tofu in my bread dough. If you are follower of my space, you might have noticed that i have already baked few breads with tofu as egg replacer. Silken tofu replaces eggs prefectly in anything, especially in bread and cakes. However eggless pudding or chocolate mousse can be prepared with silken tofu as well. Silken tofu is an excellent source of protein, obviously my today's cheesy tofu bombs are protein rich and calcium rich tiny treats which will definitely please your tastebuds.

Tofu Spinach Fritters/Tofu Palak Pakoras

Though am keeping myself away from deep frying, sometime the weather or else the craving for deep fries will definitely pull you to dish some fritters atleast once a while in a month.We, blogging marathoners are running a month of blogging with Protein rich dishes as theme, obviously you might have noticed that i have been posting some delicious protein rich recipes. Actually this interesting theme is pulling us to hunt for some healthy proteinaceous foods or else to come up with unique protein friendly foods. My today's recipe is completely an interesting snack food which i prepared with some extra firm tofu, along with chopped spinach, onions and sliced potatoes. When mixed with gramflour and rice flour, trust me you will get some dangerously addictive pakoras which suits prefect to munch with a cup of masala tea or coffee. None will notice the addition of chopped extra firm tofu and trust me you can feed easily tofu to your family members by this way.

Peppered Garlic Tofu Steak

Tofu/this soybean cheese is an Asian origin. Production of tofu involves soaking soybeans in water and creating soy milk, then curdling the milk using a substance such as calcium sulfate or lemon juice. The curds are separated from the whey and usually packaged in block form. Most tofu brands offer a range of soft and firm varieties, which differ mainly in the amount of water retained. Pressing tofu can remove additional water.. Tofu is a good protein source, coz of the amount and nature of the protein it contains. The protein content is higher in firm types of tofu than in softer types. Firm tofus are used to prepare many delicious dishes while soft tofu are used in preparing desserts and bakes.

Eggless Cheese Stuffed Tofu Bread

Do you know i get tofu easily than Paneer, i have to travel atleast 30 minutes to get a pack of paneer. But just by going a walk i can grab a packet of tofu as am living in Chinatown. Obviously i do cook more often with tofu than paneer. Its been a while i baked a bread with silken tofu, yes tofu replaces eggs very well in bread or in cakes. Silken tofu gives a wonderful texture and softness to bread. Either your bread is yeasted or simple flatbread, do try to add some tofu, trust me your bread will be super soft than you can imagine. Whenever i feel like having soft flatbreads, i dont forget to add pureed tofu to my flatbread dough. One of the best way to sneak tofu is definitely adding them this way in most of our dishes just to feed picky eaters at home.

Kung Pao Tofu/Vegan Kung Po Tofu

Kung Pao is also known as Gong Bao or Kung Po is a succulent spicy stir fry made especially with chicken, peanuts, with loads of vegetables and chilly peppers. This dish is a classical dish of Sichuan cuisine which is one of the prominent cuisine of China originated in Sichuan province of South Western China . Coming to Kung Pao dish, this dish calls always for chicken or seafoods, though many variations exists and my today's recipe calls for the vegan cheese aka Tofu. This kung pao dish is served almost everywhere China,however many regions of china give their own versions depending upon the spicy level. Usually Kung Pao stir fries calls for spiciness, the popular Sichuan peppers are used to bring the spice level in this dish.

Persian Saffron Tofu Kebab

I love cooking different cuisines eventhough my favourite always goes to Thai cuisine. Today we are landing towards to the flavoursome Persian or Iranian Cuisine. This cuisine have some mutual culinary influences from many cuisine especially Indian, Central Asian. Fresh herbs are usually used along with fruits like prunes,apricots,raisins and pomegranates. Typical Persian main dishes goes for rice with meat, mostly chicken and lamb. Persian flavourings such as saffron, dried limes, cinnamon and parsley are mild delicately and used in some special dishes.

For this month  International Food Challenge ,a monthly event started by two wonderful food bloggers Sara and Shobana, Savitha of Savitha's Kitchen who is the host of this month chosed delicious and beautiful Persian dishes. From the list of recipes she gave i chosed to cook this fantastic grilled saffron tofu instead of chicken as per the original recipe went for. Trust me, this tofu is an incredible starter to enjoy simply with a pickling sauce or you can truly enjoy this saffron tofu simply with some salads. If you want to make with chicken, just go on am sure this Persion saffran chicken kebab aka Joojeh Kabab will tastes simply awesome too.

Eggless Cinnamon Swirl Brioche

One more baking event i have missed during my stay in India was Baking Eggless,a monthly event owned by Gayathri. For this month's Baking Eggless challenge, Gayathri chosed egg over loaded cinnamon swirl brioche from Barbara Bakes. Yes this brioche goes for 8 large eggs which i cant imagine in my baking, thank god i didnt broken my head to find out an alternative replacement for eggs. I replaced the eggs with custard powder and silken tofu, both worked wonder in this brioche and this fabulous bread turned out extremely spongy, delicious with a wonderful cinnamon flavour.

Bread making at home is an art and its definitely a stress buster,i seriously missed baking bread at home since three months and finally am enjoying baking variety of breads since a week at home. Thanks to each and every baking events going around in this virtual world. My kids are nt that much fan of cinnamon bakes, so i deduced the quantity of the ingredients than the original recipe went for. But seriously i regret for it, for my surprise my kids enjoyed thoroughly this bread with their cup of milk for their evening snacks.Thanks Gayathri, this challenge is seriously very interesting and i loved baking this fantastic brioche.

Vegan Greek Simiti/Koulouri

The Greek Simit are the popular sesame crusted bread rings sold on the street corners and bakeries everywhere in Athens. This is one of famous bread which suits prefectly for a busy Athenian's breakfast. Just a cup of coffee and this sesame bread rings is quite enough to fill anyone's tummy.When i was searching something different and interesting for this month's Baking Eggless,a monthly event owned by Gayathri, i got hooked to these cute looking sesame bread rings, as the host of this month Eggless baking, i suggested this bread rings to Gayathri and she accepted immediately.

 About the baking eggless group,every month a host will challenge the group members with a baked goodies with eggs, the member of this group should convert this baked goodies with eggs to an eggless bakes with available egg substitutes,obviously this bread rings are eggless, dairy free and completely vegan. The Original recipe used an egg and whole milk which i completely skipped and went for silken tofu.The addition of tofu turned this bread extremely spongy, if you serve them with jam or any spread for your breakfast am sure everyone at home will enjoy thoroughly this incredible sesame crusted bread rings.Also the original recipe went for grape-must syrup for coating this simiti which i completely skipped and used water for it.We loved having this fantastic nutty koulouri aka Simiti with our usual breakfast beverages, beware these simitis are quite filling and addictive too.Today is the last thursday of the month and its time to post for Vegan Thursdays, an vegan event running twice a month and this rasam goes to this event too.

Vegetarian Wonton Noodle Soup & Chinese Scallion Pancakes

Sundays are always special for us,sunday means late wake up, a filling brunch,late lunch and outings. Sometimes, i would love to make a elaborated lunch for us coz twice a month during weekends my H go for work, so obviously if he is at home definitely i'll make a royal feast. Have you noticed before a week, myself and Veena announced an interesting event to give a push to your sleeping blog, we named our event as Let's Brunch On Sundays. The main motto of this event is to blog on sundays coz  most of the bloggers couldnt able to feed their blog babies during weekdays coz of their busy schedules, so we both planned to create an event to cook and post a dish which goes under Sunday brunch,lunch or dinner.

Today is the first day of our event, am posting wonderful Cantonese dishes i dished out for an another event International Food Challenge , a monthly event started by two wonderful food bloggers. Seriously i love this International  food challenge, its a wonderful platform to learn various cuisine which is not that much familiar for many of us. Thanks to  Sara and Shobana, the brain childs of this event for inviting me to this food challenge. They challenged us with 4 different dishes,i cooked three out of four. I have already posted Spiral Moon Cake and here comes my vegetarian wonton noodle soup and Chinese scallion pancakes as their accompaniment i prepared for this challenge. I served this vegetarian wonton soup with Chinese scallion pancakes for our sunday lunch before few days back. Both were super filling and we enjoyed thoroughly this Chinese foods for our lunch.

Grilled Tandoori Tofu Steak

Am running my third week of blogging marathon from today with an incredible theme ' meatless dishes', pick any non vegetarian dish and make it as vegetarian or vegan, sounds interesting and challenging na. Seriously I loved making meatless dishes with their vegetarian or vegan substitutes. You will be wondering how this tandoori tofu steak will tastes, trust me they are just wow. Even my younger one who dont like that much tofu enjoyed thoroughly his platter when i served him with some veggies for dinner. This dish tastes fantabulous even they are served as startes, a crowd pleaser definitely.

Having tofu in your fridge is a great thing, it wont spoil within few days like meat or fish, they are rich in protein, low in fat and obviously very cheaper too.Tofu marinated in tandoori paste, gives all the spiciness to the tasteless tofu. Personally i felt that this grilled tofu steak can replace very well the grilled meats and obviously meat lovers wont miss their meats.If you dont know how to feed your loved one with tofu, just give a try to this tofu steak and am sure they will definitely love this meatless steak.Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#31.Sending to Pari's Only Food for Pregnancy.

Ragi Tofu Paratha/Fingermillet Tofu Paratha

You might have cooked parathas with ragi or either with tofu,but have you ever combined these both nutritious ingredients together in parathas? if not you should definitely give a try to this health,nutritious,super softy parathas definitely.Dunno whether i can say that i prepared this ragi tofu paratha accidentally or intentionally, actually i prepared this paratha during weekend. After a simple tofu pulao for lunch, there were some leftover tofu which i finished adding it in usual ragi paratha.

Trust me, this ragi tofu paratha turned out extremely super soft,we enjoyed thoroughly this healthy paratha for our dinner with a cauliflower curry. Needless to say how healthy both ragi and tofu are, adding these both ingredients in parathas is definitely a best way to sneak this nutritious ragi and soya cheese aka tofu. I know how kids dislikes tofu, i had loads of experience in it. Dont forget to feed them atleast once a week, i love to feed my kids tofu by adding them tofu quite often in parathas.Sending to my own event Healthy Diet - Healthy Lunch Box guest hosted by Sowmya and to Pari's Only Food for Pregnancy.

Vegan Rye Dinner Rolls

Nothing will beat the aroma of freshly baked breads at home na, finally after many cakes and wonderful challenges, our this month's  Baking Eggless, a baking event started by Gayathri,  landed on dinner rolls. Priya Srinivasan suggested this amazing dinner rolls from Cooking Classy and am sure the home bakers like me who are all part of this baking event will definitely come out with different egg subsitutes and mine is silken tofu. Have you ever tried breads with tofu, if not you guys have to give a try. Tofu gives a wonderful texture and make breads very soft,spongy and definitely you need less butter or oil. Am happy that i prepared my dinner rolls with this incredible soya cheese.

I tried my hands in baking breads with rye flour few weeks back for a baking event, obviously i loved the addition of this healthy flour instead of wheat flour in my breads. Then i prepared many bakes with this super healthy flour. My today's post for baking eggles event  is a vegan dinner rolls with rye flour, silken tofu, olive oil with some red chillies flakes and herbs, yep this dinner rolls is not the sweet one. I prepared this dinner rolls few days back for our dinner and served it with some grilled meats and carrot salad. Tofu in this dinner rolls turned it out extremely soft and herbs and chilly flakes gives a wonderful flavour.If you dont have rye flour you can skip it and use very well wheat flour, mix and match the ingredients according to your tastebuds.This dinner rolls stayed prefect even after two days in room temperature.

2cups Rye flour
2cups All purpose flour
2+1/4tsp Active dry yeast
1cup Silken tofu (pureed)
1/2cup Luke warm water
1/2cup Olive oil
2tsp Sugar
1tbsp Salt
1/2tsp Dry red chilly flakes
1tsp Dry herbs (i used parsley & thymne leaves)
Sesame seeds


Mix the yeast,sugar and salt in a cup of  luke warm water and keep side for 5minutes until the yeast mixture turns foamy.

Take the both flours, dry red chilly flakes, dry herbs in a bowl, mix everything well.

Slowly add the foamy yeast,pureed tofu and olive oil and knead as a soft dough.

Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover the bowl with a towel and arrange in a warm place.

Let them sit for an hour until they double the volume..

After an hour, punch down the doubled dough and knead again..

Make 16 small sized balls from the dough and arrange one by one in a greased mould and let them sit again for an hour in a warm place..

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Brush the breads with olive oil,sprinkle the sesame seeds on the top and bake in middle rack for 20-25 minutes until a golden brown crust forms over the bread.

Put off the oven and take off the mould and let them cool..

Serve with salads,soups or with any spreads.

Palak Tofu Paratha

Palak and tofu,both are my favourite and i love anything with these two. But since few months, my lil one started saying 'no' to tofu and he is completely refusing to take tofu.During my recent visit to nearby chinese store, i didnt hesitate a second to grab a packet of firm tofu and back home, i really want to add this wonderful soya cheese in our food. Everyone at home love parathas, so obviously i'll try to make parathas quite often with anything, if you go through my recipe index , you can definitely see how we love parathas, obviously i have a huge collection of different parathas.

Finally i prepared this green parathas with spinach and tofu puree, i simply cooked some spinach leaves and  finally i grinded both the cooked spinach and extra firm tofu together to make a thick puree. I used this puree for kneading my dough, so that none will notice the addition of tofu. The addition of tofu turned out this paratha simply super soft and these parathas while cooking puffed very much like our rotis.My kids simply loved this attractive green parathas and needless to say my lil one enjoyed very much.Now i know how to feed my small picky eater with tofu.Sending to my own event Healthy Diet-Go green guest hosted by Amurta.

2cups Wheat flour

1/2cup Spinach

1/2cup Extra firm tofu

1tsp Ajwain seeds

Salt

Oil for cooking

Bring boil a cup of water, add the cleaned and chopped spinach, cook for few minutes until they shrinks.

Drain the excess of water and take the cooked spinach,tofu together in a mixer, grind as smooth paste without adding water.

Now add this puree, ajwain seeds,salt to the wheat flour, knead everything as a soft dough.(add water incase if you need else this puree will work wonder to knead the dough)

Keep aside for half an hour, make 7-8medium sized balls from the dough, dust it with enough flour and roll them as round circles.

Heat a tawa, add the rolled parathas to the hot tawa, drizzles oil and cook in medium flame until both sides gets well cooked.

Enjoy this healthy parathas with your favourite side dish.

Tofu & Mixed Veggies Samosa

Dunno wat happened to sun god here, he is showing his head very rarely and the climate is super nasty here in Paris, two days back its raining like anything and today its suddenly too hot.People who went for summer vacation to the north part of France says that they spend a chilled summer vacation as its raining there so much frequently.

I prepared this tofu mixed veggies samosa for our evening snacks two days back, while it raining outside like anything as everyone at home love to enjoy deep fried foods when the weather is too down.I tried a quick and easy filling with cubed extra firm tofu and mixed veggies like carrot,potato and bellpepper,spiced with usual spice powders. These crispy samosas tastes simply awesome when served with a cup of hot coffee.My kids enjoyed these beauties with ketchup and they just loved it.Sending to Celebrate-Olympic Games guest hosted by me and to Vardhini's Dish it Out-Paneer/Tofu & Bellpeppers guest hosted by Usha.

For dough:
1cup All purpose flour
1tsp Ajwain seeds
1/2tsp Baking powder
Salt
1tbsp Olive oil

Knead everything with enough water as a smooth and soft dough, keep aside closed with a damp cloth for an hour..

Tofu & Veggies Masala:
1cup Extra firm tofu (cubed)
2cups Mixed veggies (chopped carrot,potato & bellpepper)
1no Onion(big & chopped)
1tsp Red chilly powder
1/2tsp Garam masala powder
Few curry leaves
Salt
Oil
1/2tsp Cumin seeds

Heat enough oil,let crack the cumin seeds, add immediately the chopped onions, curry leaves, sauté until the onions turns transculent.

Add the veggies,cubed tofu,cook for few minutes,finally add  red chilly powder, garam masala powder and salt, sauté everything for few minutes.

Springle some water, cook everything in simmer until the masala turns thick and veggies gets well cooked,put off the stove and let them get cool completely..

Make tiny balls from the dough, dust with  flour and roll them as circles, cut in the middle of the circles, make two demi cricles, just fold the sides to make a cone.

Now gently put some already prepared masala inside the cone, press the sides tightly until they gets sticks.

Continue the process until the masala and dough get finished, u can get almost 15-20numbers of this samosas..Also u can stick the edges by using a simple flour and water paste..

Heat enough oil for deepfrying, gently drop the samosas, fry until they turns golden brown.

Enjoy with ketchup or with a cup of tea or coffee..

Oats & Tofu Paratha

If you are searching something quick, healthy and protein rich parathas for your dinner,this parathas suits prefectly when served along with spicy coconut chutney..Actually i was planning to make some oats paratha with ajwain seeds, while going through my fridge i saw some leftover silken tofu and used both oats and silken tofu for making this healthy parathas..Just grind the rolled oats as fine powder and blend the silken tofu as fine paste with warm water, mix both these ingredients to your usual wheat flour to turn as a soft dough and make out your rotis..Your super healthy parathas are ready..I used ajwain seeds and dry mint leaves to spice up this paratha,incase if you dont want to add neither ajwain seeds nor dry mint leaves,you can definitely skip this part..Sending to SHMY HITS-Soya guest hosted by Prabha,event by Sangee, to Healthy Morsels - Pregnancy and my own event CWS-Oats guest hosted by Kalyani of Sizzling Tastebuds.. ..

1+1/2cups Wheat flour
1cup Rolled oats (grind as fine powder)
1/2tsp Ajwain seeds
1tbsp Dry Mint leaves
Salt
1/2cup Silken tofu
Oil of cooking

Blend the silken tofu with warm water as fine puree..Make a soft dough with wheat flour, oats flour, ajwain seeds,dry  mint leaves,salt and silken tofu puree and keep aside for half an hour..make 8-10 medium sized balls from the dough, dust the dough balls with  flour and roll as flat round disc with rolling pin..

Heat few drops of oil and place the flattened paratha, cook on both side until they turns golden brown..Serve hot with any side dish..

Vegan Carrot & Raisins Smoothie

A healthy and super filling smoothie to have either for your breakfast or for a sunday brunch..I simply prepared this super thick and delicious smoothie with silken tofu,soya milk, grated carrots and black raisins..I used raw grated carrots in this smoothie,if you dont like it you can cook them either in pressure cooker or in a steamer..This smoothie turned out super smooth and creamy coz of the silken tofu i went for..You can feed easily this healthy and protein rich tofu to your kids by preparing as smoothies along with their favourite fruits..Give a try friends,you will just love it.

1cup Silken tofu
1cup Grated carrots
2tbsp Black raisins
Honey as per need
1/2cup Soya milk
Ice cubes

Soak the black raisins in hot water for few minutes, now take the silken tofu,grated carrots,soaked black raisins,honey,soya milk in a blender and blend as smooth paste, add water if needed..

Serve immediately with ice cubes.

Green Peas & Tofu Masala Rice

One more delicious and healthy one pot meal from my kitchen, again its a quick rice dish if you have some leftover cooked rice in your fridge..You can prepare this rice within less than 15minutes if you have all the ingredients we need for..Needless to say much about tofu, i never failed to buy whenever i go to our nearby chinese store and never failed to feed my teddies with them by adding them either in rice or in my bakes..This recipe goes for extra firm tofu cubes and frozen green peas,this rice doesnt need chopped onions or either ginger garlic paste..So if you are in hurry in the morning, this rice will gets ready very much quickly and suits prefectly to carry in your lunch box..Sending this catchy purple rice to to Healthy Morsels - Pregnancy,  my own event Healthy Diet-Easy & Healthy Lunch guest hosted by Jaya of Spice and Curry & SHMY HITS-Soya guest hosted by Prabha,event by Sangee. ..

2cups Cooked rice
1/2cup Extra firm tofu (cubed)
1/4cup Frozen green peas
1tsp Garam masala powder
1/2tsp Red chilly powder
1/2tsp Cumin seed powder
Few cashew nuts
1/2tsp Cumin seeds
1no Bay leaf
Salt
Oil

Heat enough oil, fry the cumin seeds,cashew nuts and bay leaf until they turns brown..Add immediately the frozen greenpeas with salt and cook for few minutes, now add the cubed tofu pieces along with garam masala powder, chilly powder and cumin powder, cook everything for few more minutes until the tofu pieces gets well coated with the spices..

Add immediately the cooked rice and toss everything gently for few seconds..Serve hot topped with spring onions or chopped coriander leaves...

Eggless Carrot & Tutti Frutti Cake

For this week of Bloghop wednesdays , i was paired with Princy vinoth of Spicy foood, i had a fabulous time  and enjoyed going through her beautiful space, with her fantastic clicks she rocks..Since am running a month of Baking marathon,it wasnt a hard task for me to choose this carrot cake from Princy's space, i got hooked immediately to this beautiful cake which i prepared few days back with few changes, yep i completely skipped eggs and replaced it with silken tofu, while for walnuts i used tutti frutti bites as didnt have enough walnuts to prepare this cake, as Princy told this cake was truly amazing and carrots as well as the tutti frutti used in this cake turned out this cake truly colourful, we enjoyed thoroughly this marvellous cake for our snacks and also for our brunch with a cup of hot chocolate,even my teddies loved it..

1+1/2cups All purpose flour
1/2cup Silken tofu
1cup Sugar
1cup Grated carrot
1/4cup Tutti frutti
1/2cup Vegetable Oil
1/2cup Milk
1tsp Baking soda
1tsp Baking powder
1tsp Vanilla essence
A pinch Salt

Preheat the oven to 350F, meanwhile grind the silken tofu with milk as fine paste and keep aside, sift the flour,baking soda,baking powder together... in an another bowl,mix the oil,sugar,vanilla essence,tofu paste,beat everything for a while..now mix the grated carrots,tutti frutti to the wet ingredients slowly..

Gradually add the dry ingredients little by little until they get well combined,dont overmix the batter, pour the batter to the greased moul,sprinkle few tutti fruti chunks on the top and bake for 30-35minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean..

Serve with a cup of hot coffee or chocolate..