Curried Vegetables and Tofu

I had borrowed a book from my library called 125 best vegan recipes by Maxine Chuck & Beth Gurney, in the hopes of preparing a vegan sweet dish. But as it happens sometimes, I could not get around to that. Instead, I found this lovely, healthy curry dish in it. I made this for our guests last Saturday. Though it was the first time I made this, I was quite sure it would turn out well. Why not, with all the good stuff going into it. And I was not disappointed at all.

Here's how I made it, tweaking the recipe in the book a bit to suit our taste:

1 Vidalia sweet onion - chopped
1 red bell pepper - chopped
1 cup broccoli florets
1 cup cauliflower florets
1 cup carrots - sliced thick
1 can chickpeas - drained & rinsed
1 pack extra firm tofu - drained
1 can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup coconut milk (I used lite)
1 cup vegetable stock

2 tsp olive oil
1 tsp ginger paste
2 tsp garam masala pwd.
1 tsp coriander pwd.
1 tsp cumin pwd
1/4 tsp turmeric pwd
1 tsp red chilli pwd, or to taste
Salt to taste

Cut the tofu into 4 slabs and dry roast it in a large non-stick skillet. I learnt this technique from Sia's Monsoon Spice and have used it in many dishes that use tofu. I love the texture it gives to the tofu. Place the slabs of tofu on the hot skillet, press gently to release the water. When they brown on one side, turn over and repeat on the other side. Remove from skillet and cube the tofu. I find that first cutting the tofu into slabs, dry roasting them, then cubing, works quicker for lazy me, rather than having to work with each cube on the skillet.

Heat oil in the same skillet. Saute the onions for about 3-5 mins, until transluscent. Add the red pepper & ginger and saute another 2-3 mins. Add the broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and vegetable stock, Cook for 5 mins on medium. Add salt, spices, diced tomato, chickpeas and tofu. Mix well. Cover and cook for 5 mins, then cook uncovered for 5 mins. Stir in the coconut milk, adjust spices. Give it one good boil.