Sweet N Spicy tofu and Pears on a bed of cabbage salad

Finally, it’s nice and warm, believe it or not I have still not planted my annuals, I don’t know where my time is going. I think I might need a book on time management. The last fortnight was a bit hectic. 2 weeks?? It has been a fortnight since I did a post on TNS??  For one, my sister was visiting with her family from India, even thou she was here just for the weekend, before that I was busy spring cleaning and getting a part of the house renovated. You know how that goes, am glad that’s behind me… Got some great props from my sister, I did put it up on FB for you all to gawk. If you missed it, here…an iPhone image. Got some great paper to use as the background, the green I have used in this post and the maroon in the prop pix too. Prop envy :) the aluminum box on the bottom right is two generations old (my mom’s)….can’t wait to use it.

  The other day I was eating some spicy tofu in salad, I thought it was missing something. I wanted to add a gooey sweet n spicy chutney to it….some pears, spice and  molasses …fell in love with the flavors. Since then we have been having this chutney with crackers, mini toasts, even in a burger. I must say the best pairing is with spicy tofu on a bed of salad. It’s a great lunch option with a bowl of soup. That’s exactly what I did today, some roasted red pepper soup with the tofu. It will pair very well with roasted chicken.

2-3 pear chopped
1 tsp blackstrap molases
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp red chilli powder
1 tsp roasted cumin powder
1tsp fennel seed (sauf)
1/2 tsp crushed yellow mustard
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
salt to taste

Cut the pears and add all the ingredients, bring to boil, on a low flame let the pears cook. Let it cool. Store in refrigerator, good for 8-10 days.

For the salad chop some red cabbage and pour a vinaigrette of honey, orange juice and toasted sesame and a tsp of sesame oil.

Cut medium firm tofu, roasted it on all sides till nice and golden, you can roast it on a cast iron skillet. Smear some garam masala, cilantro and chili powder.

Serve with salad on bottom. Tofu and the chutney on top of the tofu.

People with thyroid issues, need to watch out when they eat soy. I did not know this, thanks to my friend Viana de León for pointing that out. Am not a health expert, so please ask your health care provider. 

You can replace soy with eggs or paneer.