I crave Indian food, I love the flavors and creaminess of the dishes, but sometimes it's hard to find a plant-based option near me. SO, I end up making my own at home and this butter tofu recipe is insanely delicious! It's packed with flavor and nutrients!
How to Make it Vegan
To make this butter tofu vegan, there are 3 main substitutions. 1. Sub your regular dairy butter for vegan butter. Easy! 2. sub heavy cream that is traditional in butter chicken/paneer dishes for coconut cream or full fat coconut milk. You want it to be creamy to provide the closest texture. And 3. Sub your paneer or chicken for air fryer tofu. It will give a crisp texture to the dish and add in plant-based protein!
Getting Flavors for a Butter Tofu in a Short Amount of Time
As we know, the sauce/curry flavor is such a crucial component to an Indian dish. The trick to get flavors in such a short time is the first few minutes of stirring, add in your seasonings. This will coat your onions and the pot.
Then, after you add your tomato puree, bring it to a boil then simmer so the flavors can be infused in the broth. The longer you simmer, the more liquid will evaporate, infusing the broth with more flavor.
Air Fryer Tofu
While your tomato base is simmering, your tofu should be crisping up in the air fryer.
To start, tear your pressed tofu into small chunks then coat in oil turmeric and cornstarch. Mix them together and then put it in the air fryer for 15 minutes at 400F. You may need to do two batches as you don't want the tofu to be layered, as it will not crisp as much.
Once your tofu is complete and you've added your coconut milk to the tomato base, add in your tofu and stir to incorporate. Then, it's ready to be served with rice, naan, and veggies!
Butter Tofu
Ingredients
Tofu
- 1 ½ 15 oz blocks extra firm tofu
- 1 ½ tablespoon avocado oil
- 1 ½ tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon turmeric or curry powder
Sauce/Curry
- 3 tablespoon vegan butter
- 1 large onion diced
- 2 tablespoon fresh ginger
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 ½ tablespoon garam masala
- 2 teaspoon curry powder
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 15 oz can tomato puree or crushed tomatoes
- 1 15 oz can full fat coconut milk or coconut cream
- salt/pepper to taste
For Serving
- Naan/bread
- Broccoli/ green beans
- Brown or White Rice
Instructions
- Start cooking your rice!
- Tear your pressed tofu into small chunks and coat in oil, turmeric, and cornstarch. Put in the air fryer for 15 min at 400F flipping ½ way through.
- Cut your broccoli/green beans and steam for 5 minutes. Set aside.
- In a large pot over medium heat, melt your butter, add your onions and stir until translucent about 5 min. Add your garlic and ginger then stir for a minute. Add in your spices and tomato puree/crushed tomatoes then bring to a boil then simmer for 10 minutes.
- Gently stir in your coconut milk for 2 minutes then add your air fryer crispy tofu. Take out the cinnamon stick then serve the butter tofu with broccoli/green beans over a bed of rice and naan. Enjoy!
I hope you enjoyed this recipe. Don't forget to rate and review below! And if you're looking for another dish to accompany this, check out my lentil daal recipe.
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