If you are looking for a flavorful one-pot (or pan) kind of dish that’s easy to meal prep or prepare within an hour for your weeknight lazy recipe, this Vegan Butter Tofu Masala may be for you. This is my spin on a very popular soul food Indian dish and I hope you bring in these bold flavors into your own kitchen.
I’ve featured quite a few curry recipes on this blog. If you don’t already know, I absolutely love curry and it is an essential food group in my diet. Yes, I must have some kind of curry at least once a week and ensure my pantry has staples for different kinds of it – from Japanese to Thai to Indian. And what is not to love about it? It hits all the right flavors with the use of many herbs and spices. (Fun fact: the use of different spices are actually good for you to build immunity and are great anti-inflammatory agents).
I’ve adapted this Vegan Butter Tofu Masala recipe from the popular Indian cuisine – butter chicken. Since this is a vegan recipe, I’ve made some swaps from the traditional ingredients; the use of dairy cream swapped with coconut cream and regular dairy butter to vegan butter. For the chicken substitute, I did not necessarily want to create a recipe out of textured vegetable soy protein (or any plant-based meat substitutes) so I’ve decided to use tofu which is very accessible to many and budget friendly.
The best part about this recipe is that you can also marinate uncooked tofu (chopped into cubes) with the curry sauce overnight and grill it the next day for delicious skewers. Just some recipe hacks that you may find useful.
COOKING PRO-TIP BEFORE GETTING STARTED:
- If you live on Guam, I get my spices from Pomika Sales. Not only do they have a complete selection of Indian flavors but their prices are also very affordable compared to the main grocery stores.
- Blend the sauce using a blender, food processor, or immersion blender. Why? It will create a creamy (and much flavorful) puree, which is the consistency that we are going for in this dish. If you do not have a blender of any kind, you can completely skip this step – but texture will be slightly different.
- If you are not comfortable using soy – using chickpeas (garbanzo beans) will be just as delicious. You can also use other proteins like tempeh or soy curls. If you desire to mimic chicken, soy curls will be your best bet as a substitute.
- Can you skip the butter or substitute the coconut cream to a coconut lite milk? Yes but I would not recommend it. The curry will not be as creamy or rich. My best bet is also use a full fat unsweetened coconut milk, if you desire, and reduce the amount of butter if you are not comfortable. It will not be butter tofu…without the butter.
Do you love curry or love this idea? If so, please comment in the comment section below or like this recipe OR tag The Earth Kitchen on Instagram. Your feedback is always appreciated to help me continuously improve all the content that I produce.
Vegan Butter Tofu Masala
Equipment
- sauté pan or cast iron skillet
- blender or food processor (or an immersion blender)
Ingredients
- 1 block firm or extra firm tofu pressed & patted dry
- 794 g (1 can) canned crushed tomatoes
- 1 can (400ml) full fat coconut cream
- 1 cup (150g) green peas canned or frozen
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- ¼ small ginger crushed
- ½ medium red onion chopped
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1½ tbsp garam masala
- 1 tsp chili powder
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- 3 tsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp cilantro chopped + more for garnish
- 2 tbsp vegan non-dairy butter (I use Country Crock)
- salt & pepper to taste
- lime wedges
Instructions
- Preheat your pan to medium high heat. Coat about a tablespoon of neutral-flavored oil until pan is hot.
- Pat the tofu dry and cut into bite-sized cubes. Sauté tofu on the pan on each side until slightly golden brown. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- On the same pan, toss in a tablespoon of butter and sauté the aromatics such as the garlic, onion, finely chopped cilantro, and ginger. Season with a pinch of salt & pepper.
- Add in the crushed tomatoes to pan and with the spices. Let it simmer for 2-3 minutes to open up the flavor. Pour the coconut cream into tomato sauce mixture. Add in the sugar and stir.
- Prepare your blender, food processor, or immersion blender. Pour the curry sauce into the blender and blitz the sauce until it is creamy and smooth. Pour the curry puree back into the pan.
- Add in the cooked tofu and green peas. Let it simmer on medium low for 5-7 minutes. Add another tablespoon on of butter to finish and season with salt & pepper to taste.
- Serve on a bed of rice and garnish with fresh cilantro and lime.
Notes
- Is it necessary to puree the curry sauce in a blender? Yes, in order to create a much creamier consistency and flavor of the herbs & spices will be bolder in flavor. You may, however, skip this step if you do not own any blending equipment.
- Cilantro is optional if you are not a fan of it.
- If you are not comfortable with using tofu, you can also make this recipe with tempeh, chickpeas, or soy curls. Soy curls will also be a great option to recreate “vegan butter chick’n”