THE SUPER POWERS of TURMERIC
Turmeric powder is an ancient and beloved spice in Indian cooking…it’s used in curries, dals, rice…and even milk. As an artist and foodie, I find the golden hue that turmeric provides so beautiful. This lovely spice is not just awesome for the bright color and aromatic flavors it imparts— but the health benefits of it are pretty amazing as well. I personally use turmeric almost daily in my cooking. If you’d like to learn more about the healing powers of turmeric, you can check out this post that I wrote back in 2012, Turmeric: A Wonder Herb.
Golden Spiced Tofu
A few years ago, a dear friend of mine, Chandra, had some health issues come up and she wanted to arm herself with the best defense possible. So she went on a very strict diet that eliminated all foods that caused inflammation in her body and filled it instead with an all star line up of veggies, whole grains and herbs that were aimed to be anti-inflammatory. In the process of changing her diet, she came up with a simple yet delicious way to spice her tofu using only a handful of spices. These few spices included turmeric powder which is an amazing anti-inflammatory herb. When I tried some of Chandra’s tofu, I immediately LOVED it!
Like in my usually manner, I slightly tweaked her recipe to fit my cooking :). I ended up adding asafetida + nutritional yeast to her recipe. The asafoetida adds a lovely umami flavor to the tofu, while the nutritional yeast gives the outside of it a lovely, light crispy coating…as well as additional, subtle flavor! Overall, this is a super simple but extremely tasty recipe….definitely a weeknight staple in my house. It’s also super versatile, which allows me to serve it with asian noodles, in veggie & rice bowls, on salads and in soups…..really the options are endless :).
Enjoy!
xo,
Kajal
P.S. In case you don’t have some of the ingredients…here’s an amazon link for quick ordering some of the ingredients—>> Golden Spiced Tofu Grocery List. All four items on this list are staples in my spice cabinet!
<<<— NOTE ON BUYING TOFU —>>>
The one thing I’ve really learned about tofu, is that FRESH tofu tastes so much better than regular packaged tofu that is sold in most grocery stores. Local Asian markets and even some local health food stores (like Mom’s on the East coast) carry fresh tofu that they sell in bulk in the refrigerated section. I would definitely make it a point to go the extra mile to get this kind of tofu becuase it greatly enhances the flavor, texture and overall quality of this recipe.
Golden Spiced Tofu
Ingredients
- 1 cube firm tofu
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1/8 teaspoon asofoetida, a.k.a. hing (you only need a pinch)
- 1/3 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin coriander powder (a.k.a Dhana Jeera)
- 3/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
Instructions
- Squeeze tofu gently to get rid of excessive water.
- Cut pieces into 1.5 inch cubes or 2 inch x .75 inch wedges.
- In a large skillet heat oil on medium heat and add hing, turmeric, cumin coriander power and gently mix the oil so that oil is completely infused with those spices.
- Once oil is warm, add tofu and evenly sprinkle the salt over the tofu. Gently mix tofu so that all pieces are coated with oil. Then lay them all out even and cook each side for 5-7 minutes or until lightly browned. *When cooking the tofu, I would not fuss with it a lot. Once the pieces are initially covered with oil, I would set a timer for 7 minutes, then turn. Repeat this 1-2 times so that all sides brown evenly.
- Once all sides are nicely browned, sprinkle nutritional yeast on top and gently toss.
- Enjoy!
