Creamy Butter Tofu with Banana & Coconut Sambal

Serves 4 - 6 

​Ingredients 

• ​2 cm piece of fresh ginger 

• 3 cloves of garlic 

• 1 large green chili, seeds removed 

• 1 x 400 gram tin of tomatoes  

• 1/3 cup of coconut yoghurt  

• 1 cup of coconut cream 

• ¼ teaspoon ground cloves 

• ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom 

• 2 teaspoons garam masala 

• 1 teaspoon ground coriander 

• ½ teaspoon cinnamon 

• 1 teaspoon salt 

• ¼ cup ground almonds 

• 450 grams firm tofu (This is one and a half packets of tofu - I find as tofu is the only protein or vegetable in this dish one packet is not quite enough to serve four hungry people) 

• 1 tablespoon coconut oil 

• 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds 

• 1 large onion, halved and sliced into thin crescents 

• 1/8 teaspoon salt 

• ¼ cup extra coconut cream 

• 1 heaped teaspoon honey (or raw sugar if vegan) 

• Fresh coriander to top 

​

Banana coconut sambal 

• 2 bananas 

• Juice from 1 lemon or lime 

• 4 tablespoons thread or desiccated coconut 

Method 

1. ​Begin by removing the skins off the ginger and garlic cloves and chop them finely together with the deseeded chili. Alternatively, I like to pound the ginger, garlic and chili together in a mortar and pestle to fully meld all the flavours.  

2. Transfer the chili mixture to a blender and add the tomatoes and any juice from them, coconut yoghurt and coconut cream along with the ground cloves, ground cardamom, garam masala, ground coriander, cinnamon, salt and ground almonds. Blend together into a smooth sauce. 

3. Cut the tofu into cubes roughly 2cm square, then mix them through the sauce. Place into a container and cover, then refrigerate for at least 4 hours to marinate, or overnight. 

4. Once the tofu has marinated, preheat your oven to 180.C 

5. Heat the coconut oil in a large heavy-based casserole dish and add the mustard seeds, letting them pop for 30 seconds or so. Add the onions and the second measure of salt, and fry for 5 – 7 minutes on a medium high heat, until the onions begin to brown. 

6. Carefully spoon the tofu out of the sauce and add to the onions. Gently fry ensuring the tofu doesn’t break up when turning. Cook for 5 minutes until slightly browned. The onion will be nice and coloured by now too – that is what you want as this will help to give the curry a lovely rich flavour. 

7. Add the sauce to the tofu and onions. Stirring gently bring to the boil and cover with a lid or tinfoil. Place into the oven. Cook for half an hour, stirring halfway through. Make sure you replace the lid straight after stirring to keep the steam and flavour in. 

8. While the curry is cooking make the sambal. Peel the bananas and cut them into half centimetre slices. Add the lemon or lime juice and coconut and stir to combine. Set aside. 

9. Once the curry has cooked for half an hour add the second measure of coconut cream and the honey. Stir through and place the curry back into the oven uncovered for a further 5 minutes to thicken. 

10. Best served banquet style with bowls of banana coconut sambal and fresh coriander, steamed basmati rice, plenty of roti breads, and of course a nice bottle of Merlot.