Friday, May 14, 2010

Curried Yellow Split Peas with Tofu

This is such a simple dish. I'm always wondering what I can add to tofu to stretch it out for meals and vary it, and I'm always wondering if I can add tofu to such and such a dish to see how it tastes. A couple of years ago, this started out as just curried split peas (I'll post that later), and then one day, I thought, "Hmm, what if I add tofu?" And, it works great! It's become a family fave; this time when it was cooking, my oldest blessing as usual looked over the stove to offer her approval or disapproval. When she saw this pot, she licked her lips in anticipation. That's always a good sign. So, enjoy this easy, tasty dish - from our home to yours.


Curried Yellow Split Peas with Tofu

Ingredients:

1 lb. yellow split peas, sorted for grit
1 32 oz. box organic vegetable broth
3 cups of water
1 pkg. extra-firm tofu, water-packed, drained and diced very small
1 Tbs. curry powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper

Directions:

In a large pot add the peas and broth. Cook over medium heat for 30 minutes, adding water as needed to prevent the peas from sticking to bottom of the pot. Add the tofu, the rest of the water and the remaining ingredients. Cook for another fifteen minutes, or until the peas are tender. You don't want this to be super brothy, but there will be a brothlike consistency to it, which will thicken up any leftovers. If you sense that the beans are cooking too hard, or the liquid is cooking down too quickly, turn the heat down to medium-low for the remainder of the cooking time. Deeelicious. Feeds five hungry vegans.

14 comments:

  1. Well I think this looks yummy! I am a little scared of indian food....! What do you serve with your main dishes?

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  2. Tofu....one of my many food intakes. I think there is over 1,000 ways to make tofu and this is one way I would truly enjoy eating...with a nice big piece of homemade toasted bread smeared with lots of butter...ABSOLUTELY DIVINE!

    http://nuestracena-vegancuisine.blogspot.com

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  3. Brandi, You can serve this with saffron infused rice, a veggie, salad, lots of things. Don't be afraid, girl!

    Millie, sounds good. We love tofu over here.

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  4. Looks and sounds very yummy ! I would have thought that the tofu would break down in the cooking process for some reason. Can there ever be a bad outcome with a soup involving split peas ? I think not !

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  5. I followed your link when you posted on my blog and have been thoroughly enjoying reading your posts! We obviously have a similar sense of humour and your food looks delicious. I'll be trying out your ideas!

    Penny (Scottish Vegan Homemaker)

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  6. That is a great idea to add tofu to a pot of legumes. This must be soo satisfying, the tofu adding some toothy texture to the softer deliciousness of cooked split peas.

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  7. Hi, I.S.F, Penny and Rose!

    I.S.F., the tofu doesn't break down in this dish surprisingly. It's not so much a soup as it is a "loose" main dish, if that makes any sense.

    Penny, I loved your site too! Glad you came on by. :-)

    Rose, the tofu adds an interesting flavor and change of pace to the split peas, which I was a bit surprised at the first time I made it.

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  8. Methinks your oldest blessing was licking her lips cuz she JUST FINISHED KISSING A BOY!!!!! Ha! (jk)

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  9. This sounds really great! You add tofu to places that never occur to me. I have to use more tofu. I can just imagine the textural variation and how that improves the dish.

    Alicia

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  10. Hmm, S.V.

    Alicia, the tofu works great in this dish. I like trying to mix up flavors and textures to see what I get. Sometimes, they turn out great!

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  11. One of my son's favorite dishes at the farmers market is curried lentils, they are delicious!!!

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  12. Wow, they sell those at the farmer's market near you? They don't at mine. Good deal!

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  13. very simple ingredients, (my brain thanks you) lol i think im going to make this, it looks great, and i have all the makings for it:)

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  14. This sounds soooo good. I bet it'd be a nice comfort style dish too.

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