Tofu Stir-fry

Tofu Stir-fry

Tofu is made from soybean seeds. Soybeans were known to Chinese for more than 2000 years. Soybeans appear in different forms in the daily meals of Chinese people.
To make tofu, you soak the dried soybean seeds overnight and liquidize it with some water. Strain the liquid and boil it. Now you have what is called soy milk. You add a little Epsom salt dissolved in water which will let the soy milk to curdle. This will take about 5 to 10 minutes. Put the curdled milk into a fine mesh cloth and put into a mold that will give the shape to the tofu. Let all the water drip off. You can add some weight to speed up the dripping process.
Soy milk can be consumed on its own and is a good substitute for dairy milk. It can also be used in tea or coffee.

Tofu and soy milk are nutritious. Particularly for vegetarians and vegans, tofu gives the essential protein and all the amino acids that the body needs. It is used as a meat substitute not only because of its rich protein content but also because it gives a meat taste to the dish.
Tofu can be made into many kinds of recipes because it just acquires the taste of the ingredients it is cooked with. It can be fried, boiled or cooked with meats, sea food or vegetables. You can make endless variety of dishes from tofu.

Tofu

Nutrition facts.

Tofu Stir-fry

Tofu has a bland taste or has no strong taste of its own. To make it flavorful it is necessary to add suitable ingredients that give the necessary flavoring to tofu. Here we add ginger, garlic and leeks that will give a nice flavor and appetizing aroma. We add four colored capsicums to give pleasing appearance to the dish.

                                   Recipe summary
                                             For 
                                     Tofu stir fry
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Serves: 6

 1. Cut 500 grams firm tofu into small pieces

Ingredients

2. Chop  1 medium onion.  Cut 1 green chili, curry leaves, 70 grams leeks, 1 dry chili,1/2 tsp minced garlic and 1/2 tsp minced ginger. Cut all  30 grams each of red green and yellow
capsicums.



3. Heat a large saucepan or a wok. Add the oil and 1/8 tsp mustard seeds. When mustard seeds crackle add dried chilli pieces, 1/8 tsp cumin, onion, garlic, ginger, leeks and curry leaves and fry for 10 minutes or until onions become translucent.

Tofu stir fry

4.Now add chopped capsicums and 1/4 tsp turmeric powder. Add 1/2 cup water and continue frying for 10 minutes.

5. Now add the tofu pieces and gently stir the ingredients to mix well.

6. Add salt and 1/2 tsp pepper.  Fry for about 5 minutes.

   Tofu stir fry is ready. 

                                                                                  

                    Recipe follows in detail with pictures.

                     

                                 
                                    



Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 30 minutes
Serves: 6

Ingredients:

Main

 500 grams firm Tofu
Others

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 medium onion finely chopped
1 green chili chopped

1 dried red chilli cut into small pieces

1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

1/2 teaspoon minced ginger
1/2 tsp pepper 
1/4 tsp turmeric

1 spring curry leaves chopped fine

30 grams of  yellow  capsicum, finely chopped

30 grams of green capsicum, finely chopped

30 grams of red capsicum, finely chopped

30 grams of orange capsicum finely chopped

70 grams of leek, sliced into small pieces

2 tablespoon vegetable oil

1/2 cup water

Spices
1/8 teaspoon cumin seed
1/8 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/2 tsp pepper 

1/4 tsp turmeric

Ingredients for  Tofu Stir-fry

Preparation
Wash the tofu and slice horizontally into three pieces. Stack all the slices and slice vertically 4 times each side. This will give nice tofu cubes. It will not make any difference if the cubes can be bigger or smaller. You can also crumble the tofu slab into uneven small pieces and this will also give a pleasing appearance.

Method
Heat a large saucepan or a wok. I used a ceramic coated non-stick wok. When the pan is dry and hot add the oil and mustard seeds. When mustard seeds crackle add dried chilli pieces, cumin  onion, garlic, ginger, leeks and curry leaves and fry for 10 minutes or until onions become translucent.

 

Ingredients being fired in a wok

Now add chopped capsicums and tomato and turmeric powder. Add water and continue frying for 10 minutes. Adding a little water ensures that the ingredients will not get burnt and stuck to the bottom of the pan or wok.

 

Tofu added

Now add the tofu pieces and gently stir the ingredients to mix well. The tofu cubes should be evenly coated with the spices, particularly the turmeric powder which will give it a nice colour.

Stir-fried tofu

Add salt and fry for about 5 minutes.
Serve hot with rice.

This is about 4 servings of one cup each.

Nutrition data for this recipe
Nutrition content is computed by adding nutrition values of individual ingredients according to the USDA nutrition database. Water shown here is what is found in the ingredients and not the water added while cooking. This is only an approximation. For further information please read my post “Nutrition information for my recipes.”
 Click the button below to view the nutrition data. Click again to close it.

Nutrient	Value	Unit
Water	585.9	g
Energy	724.6	kcal
Protein	52.9	g
Total lipid (fat)	52.3	g
Carbohydrate, by difference	24.8	g
Fiber, total dietary	9.1	g
Sugars, total	9.7	g
Calcium, Ca	1,483.1	mg
Iron, Fe	11.5	mg
Magnesium, Mg	204.4	mg
Phosphorus, P	628.1	mg
Potassium, K	1,063.3	mg
Sodium, Na	1,030.7	mg
Zinc, Zn	5.9	mg
Vitamin C, total ascorbic acid	127.3	mg
Thiamin	0.4	mg
Riboflavin	0.3	mg
Niacin	2.4	mg
Vitamin B-6	0.9	mg
Folate, DFE	88.5	µg
Vitamin B-12	0.0	µg
Vitamin A, RAE	85.3	µg
Vitamin A, IU	1,709.3	IU
Vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol)	11.8	mg
Vitamin D (D2 + D3)	0.0	µg
Vitamin D	0.0	IU
Vitamin K (phylloquinone)	21.7	µg
Fatty acids, total saturated	7.3	g
Fatty acids, total monounsaturated	11.7	g
Fatty acids, total polyunsaturated	30.1	g
Cholesterol	0.0	mg
Caffeine	0.0	mg
Fatty acids, total trans	0.0	g
Ash	10.1	g
Copper, Cu	1.2	mg
Manganese, Mn	3.8	mg
Selenium, Se	67.8	µg
Folate, total	88.5	µg
Folic acid	1.9	µg
Folate, food	88.5	µg
Retinol	0.0	µg

Green Mango Sothi – Mango Coconut Milk Soup

Green Mango Sothi – Mango Coconut Milk Soup

When we hear the word mango what comes to our mind is the ubiquitous, tasty fruit. It is a ripe fruit.

It is healthy too. It is known to assist in prevention of cancer and reduction of cholesterol, in particular LDL – the bad cholesterol. In the field of skin care it is applied on the face to get rid of pimples. Vitamin A contained in this fruit will improve eye health. It will strengthen the immune system and lower glucose level in diabetics. It is also thought to help digestion.

In this recipe we are using unripe mango. The flesh is white where as the ripe mango will be of yellowish colour. Unripe mango has a slightly sour taste, but there are varieties that are sweet also. Young mango is crunchy and has fantastic aroma.

Green Mango

This is a very easy traditional Indian recipe. Usually served with string hoppers for breakfast or dinner and with rice especially if the side dishes are dry.

                                   Recipe summary
                                             For
           Green Mango Sothi – Mango Coconut Milk Soup

Preparation time: ten minutes. 

Cooking time: 15 Minutes.

Serves: 4

1. Wash and peel the hard skin of the green mango

Ingredients

2. Slice the mango into medium size pieces, discarding the seed.

3. Chop 1 medium onion, 1 green chilli and curry leaves

4. Add 3 cups of water to a sauce pan and bring to a boil and add onion, chili, curry leaves,¼ tsp turmeric,salt, ½ tsp salt. Cook for about 5 minutes. 

Green Mango Sothi –
Mango Coconut Milk Soup

5. Add 3  Tbsp coconut milk and let it simmer for 30 seconds.  
You can substitute coconut milk with cow's milk, evaporated milk, dairy cream or even soy milk.

6. Turn off the heat.

Green Mango Sothi – Mango Coconut Milk Soup is ready. 

                                                                                  

 Recipe follows in detail with pictures.                   

                                  

            

Green Mango Sothi – Mango Coconut Milk Soup

Sothi is a form of coconut milk soup. This is a simple recipe and takes very little time to cook and uses minimal ingredients. Please note that I am not using any oil to fry the onion or the other ingredients. Mango has super delicious taste and fantastic aroma and does not require additional ingredients to enhance its taste. I just would like to leave it to the mango to do its magic of bringing out its own taste in full glory.

Preparation time: ten minutes. 

Cooking time: 15 Minutes.

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

Main: 1 green (unripe) mango 400 grams
Others

1 onion medium

1 green chilli

1 sprig curry leaves

¼ tsp turmeric powder

3 table spoon of coconut milk

½ tea spoon salt

3 cups water

For this recipe, a slightly sour mango is preferred to a sweeter variety.

Ingredients for Green Mango Sothi – Mango Coconut Milk Soup

Method

 1. Wash and peel the hard skin

2. Slice the mango into medium size pieces, discarding the seed.

3. Chop onion, green chilli and curry leaves

4. Add 3 cups of water to a sauce pan and bring to a boil and add all the ingredients excepting the coconut milk. Cook for about 5 minutes. 

5. Add coconut milk and let it simmer for 30 seconds.  

6. Turn off the heat.
Traditionally this dish is only made with coconut milk. However you can substitute coconut milk with cow's milk, evaporated milk, dairy cream or even soy milk.

Mango is slightly acidic and therefore may cause curdling of the coconut milk. If you remove the pan from the fire soon after adding the milk, it should not curdle. You can prevent curdling by adding 1/2 a teaspoon of corn starch to the milk.

Sothi is usually served with string hoppers for breakfast or dinner and with rice especially if the side dishes are dry.

It can also be consumed as a soup.

Nutrition data for this recipe
Nutrition content is computed by adding nutrition values of individual ingredients according to the USDA nutrition database. Water shown here is what is found in the ingredients and not the water added while cooking. This is only an approximation. For further information please read my post “Nutrition information for my recipes.”
 Click the button below to view the nutrition data. Click again to close it.

Nutrient	Value	Unit
Water	453.7	g
Energy	386.7	kcal
Protein	5.6	g
Total lipid (fat)	12.4	g
Carbohydrate, by difference	72.3	g
Fiber, total dietary	9.3	g
Sugars, total	60.5	g
Calcium, Ca	79.8	mg
Iron, Fe	2.0	mg
Magnesium, Mg	69.8	mg
Phosphorus, P	134.0	mg
Potassium, K	974.9	mg
Sodium, Na	984.3	mg
Zinc, Zn	0.9	mg
Vitamin C, total ascorbic acid	178.0	mg
Thiamin	0.2	mg
Riboflavin	0.2	mg
Niacin	3.3	mg
Vitamin B-6	0.6	mg
Folate, DFE	198.9	µg
Vitamin B-12	0.0	µg
Vitamin A, RAE	221.9	µg
Vitamin A, IU	4,447.7	IU
Vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol)	3.8	mg
Vitamin D (D2 + D3)	0.0	µg
Vitamin D	0.0	IU
Vitamin K (phylloquinone)	18.7	µg
Fatty acids, total saturated	9.9	g
Fatty acids, total monounsaturated	1.0	g
Fatty acids, total polyunsaturated	0.4	g
Cholesterol	0.0	mg
Caffeine	0.0	mg
Fatty acids, total trans	0.0	g
Ash	4.7	g
Copper, Cu	0.6	mg
Manganese, Mn	0.9	mg
Selenium, Se	5.7	µg
Folate, total	198.9	µg
Folic acid	0.5	µg
Folate, food	198.9	µg
Retinol	0.0	µg

Guacamole

Guacamole

This is an old, classic and simple way of making a good guacamole. This is an ideal breakfast recipe. We use many ingredients that have strong, varied and contrasting colours. This will make the dish appealing and appetizing to all and in particular to children. These strong colored vegetable are rich in many phytonutrients.

Guacamole is easy to make. It can be served in many different ways.

                                     Recipe summary
                                                For
                                         Guacamole

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 0

Serves : 3                    

             

Cut around the seed

1. Wash and cut the avocado around the seed. Do not cut the seed.


2. Remove the seed. Then remove the skin.

Ingredients

3. Chop  the avocado, leaving a few rough chunks.Add lemon juice and mix well.

2. Stir in the remaining ingredients. finely chopped onion, 1 green chili, 20 gram each red,green and orange capsicum, 1 minced garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt and finally 2 tablespoon lemon juice 

Guacamole

 3. Serve within 30 minutes with tortilla. It can be consumed as a salad, or rolled in a wrapper and sliced into bite size pieces.

4. It is best to make just before serving.

                   
     
  Guacamole is ready.

Recipe  follows in detail with pictures.
                                

             

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 0

Serves : 3                    

             

Ingredients:

Main:

2 large ripe avocados

1 big ripe tomato chopped

Guacamole ingredients

Others:

1 onion finely chopped

2 tablespoon lemon juice

1 green chilli, seeded and finely chopped

1 clove garlic, minced
10 gram ginger
1 tomato chopped

20 gram red capsicum

20 gram green capsicum

20 gram orange capsicum

1/2 teaspoon salt

Method:

1. Wash and cut the avocado around the seed. Do not cut the seed.

Cut around the seed

2. Remove the seed. Then remove the skin. It can be done with the fingers as it comes out easily. If you have difficulty in peeling just scoop out the flesh with a spoon.

Seed removed

3. Chop  the avocado, leaving a few rough chunks.Add lemon juice and mix well. Lemon juice will prevent the discoloration of the exposed avocado.

2. Stir in the remaining ingredients.

Guacamole ingredients mixed

3. Serve within 30 minutes with tortilla or as a garnish to other dishes. It can be consumed as a salad, or rolled in a wrapper and sliced into bite size pieces.

4. It is best to make just before serving, but if you have to hold longer, place plastic wrap (cling foil) directly       on the surface of the guacamole in a plate to keep from unsightly darkening due to oxidation. 

Guacamole with tortilla

Tip
The lemon juice and salt will prevent discolouration to a great extent.

Guacamole can also be served in a pancake.

                            Guacamole in a pancake

Guacamole in a pancake

Sweet potato

Japanese Sweet potato

Sweet potato is not like normal potato. It contains starch like the normal potato and is sweet hence it takes the name. It is much more nutritious than the normal potato. It is rich in beta-carotene. One half cup of cooked sweet potato contains 12 milligrams of beta-carotene which is twice our daily requirements and twice the beta-carotene found in half a cup of carrot.

orange sweet potato

There are a number of varieties of sweet potatoes but the most common ones are with orange colored and yellow colored inner part. A Japanese variety (Satsuma-imo ) with purple outer skin and whitish inner flesh is also available. This variety is used also in some of my recipes. They have a delicate sweet taste. They are drier than the other varieties. So you need to add more water in your recipes.
Sweet potatoes are considered to be low calorie food and can help in reducing weight while satisfying your appetite. Small sized sweet potato of 100 grams will give you only 86 calories.
Choose only small to medium sized sweet potatoes that are firm to touch and relatively heavy for their size. Avoid those that are cracked, bruised and with visible soft spots. Avoid those with new sprouts or roots. If you notice dark patch in the centre when you slice the sweet potato discard the whole sweet potato. Do not refrigerate them but keep them in room temperature. They can last for up to a month but try to use it within a week after that you will see the ends getting harder and harder. You should discard this hard part.
The Japanese sweet potatoes also tend to change to brownish colour when you peel them. Try to keep them submerged in cold water and a teaspoon of lemon juice as soon as you peel or slice them. Any dark spots that appear due to oxidation can be removed with a potato peeler.
Sweet potatoes taste much like normal potatoes except that they are slightly sweeter as the name implies.They are also softer than potatoes. In many recipes sweet potatoes can be used in place of potato. It will be a healthier choice for those with diabetes and those who want to reduce weight.Sweet potatoes can also be used along with potatoes. They are not suitable for spicy dishes, but are sometimes found in commercially produced spicy snacks like curry puffs.

Nutrition facts for sweet potato

Avocado

Avocado

The oldest evidence indicates that avocado was in use around 10,000 BC  in a cave  in Coxcatlán, Puebla, Mexico.

Avocado provides nearly 20 essential nutrients, including fibre, potassium, Vitamin E, B-vitamins and folic acid. It also acts as a "nutrient booster" by enabling the body to absorb more fat-soluble nutrients, such as alpha and beta-carotene and lutein, in foods that are eaten with the fruit.

Avocado ripe

Avocado is considered as a super food and it provides mono-saturated and polyunsaturated fat, and is low in cholesterol, trans-fats and sodium while being rich in potassium.

Avocados will lower bad cholesterol and improve the lipid profile. They are also reputed to reduce the risk of diabetes, stroke, and coronary artery disease and prevent cancer. Avocado or avocado oil is found in many commercial skin care products. While improving the skin tone and minimizing wrinkles, it also maintains a healthy moisture level in the epidermal layer of the skin. This is the cause for the glow and softness of the skin when using avocado based skin care products. The anti-inflammatory property of avocado helps in relieving the pain of those suffering from acute arthritis.

Some people avoid avocados due to the relatively high fat and calorie content of these fruits. Some people call it butter fruit because it takes the consistency of butter when mashed. It can be used as bread spread with or without seasoning.  It can also be substituted for butter in some recipes. Guacamole is the most famous recipe for this delicious fruit.

A medium sized avocado contains 26 grams of fat and gives out 276 calories. It is good to get at least 30% of the daily requirement of calories from fats and the balance from carbohydrates.

A medium sized avocado contains about 6.8 grams of soluble and insoluble fibre both of which are required to keep the digestive system running smoothly. Oleic acid in the avocado makes you feel full and this helps if a person is dieting and it also reduces LDL while increasing HDL.

If you are pregnant the folate, a vitamin found in avocado, will protect your baby cutting the risk of birth defects.

It can be eaten as it is or cut into small pieces and add to salads or sandwich with meat or fish.

Buying and storing avocados

Avocados can be stored at room temperature. If you refrigerate the ripening process will be delayed. 

Unripe avocado will take 4 to 5 days to fully ripen. Unripe avocado will be greenish in colour and as it ripens it will become more and more purplish dark brown in colour. A fully ripe avocado may look even purplish black. 

Good avocado

Applying light pressure in your palm will tell whether the fruit is ripe or not. Ripe ones will be softer. It is all right to buy ripe or unripe fruit. If you need to consume urgently you need to buy fully ripe fruits otherwise unripe fruits.

Avoid avocados that are overly soft and mushy. The fruit most probably is over ripe and will be spoilt soon if you don't consume it immediately. Avoid avocados with dents, bruises, brown spots and dark blemishes. Here is the picture of a spoilt avocado. When I bought it in the supermarket it was firm and nice but when I brought it home and cut it, I found that it was spoilt.

Spoilt avocado

When you peel or slice avocado it will soon discolour. This is due to oxidation of the 

exposed inner flesh. If you apply and acidic agent such as lime, lemon, orange or tomato juice or vinegar as soon as you expose the inner surface, the discolouration will not occur. Some time putting in the salt water or plain cool water will also help.

Cutting and Peeling of Avocado

Cut the avocado around the seed horizontally and pull out one part it will come out easily.

Avocado split into four quarters

To remove the skin use a knife to lift the flesh out of the skin or just pull the skin with your fingers. It will come out easily.

Peeling the skin

You need to sprinkle some lemon juice to prevent the cut avocado from discolouring.

Squeeze the lemon on the avocado pieces to avoid discolouration

Avocado Bread Spread

To make a simple bread spread,  peel the skin, squeeze lime juice, mash the avocado and add some pepper and salt. easy and nutritious bread spread is ready.

Mash the avocado and add pepper and salt

Mashed avocado

Spread on a slice of bread