Cook Share and Feast

Tempeh – now this is one of my favorite dish.  I have heard about Tempeh for a while but could not find this until now.  Recently I was shopping at Trader Joes and accidentally found Tempeh where they keep tofu and other vegan items.  The first time I tasted tempeh is in a Thai restaurant where I ordered “tempeh cakes” as an appetizer.  Since then I fell in love with this nutrient pack vegan item.  I have made this dish a bit spicy.  So if you are some one who does not extremely spicy dish, I would definitely advice to reduce the chili powder into half of what I have mentioned.  The other spice powders just give flavor and does not make the curry spicy.

Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
• ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 tablespoon cooking oil
• 1 small onion thinly sliced
• 3-4 garlic cloves peeled and roughly chopped
• ¼ inch piece ginger peeled and finely chopped
• ¼ teaspoon fenugreek seeds
• 1 large tomato (about ½ lb)
• ¼ cup coconut milk
• 1 cup water
• 2 teaspoon chili powder
• ½ teaspoon tandoori masala powder
• ¼ teaspoon asafetida powder (Hindi: Hing, Tamil: Perungayam)
• 8 oz packet Tempeh
• Salt to taste

Method:

• Dry roast cumin and coriander seeds and once cool grind to a fine powder. Set aside
• Remove Tempeh from package and cut into about ½ inch cubes
• Add 1 teaspoon oil to a skillet and once hot add tempeh and fry on low flame until lightly golden
• Add the rest of the oil to a covered saucepan and add onion and garlic and sauté until golden
• Add chopped ginger and fenugreek seed and sauté for another minute or two
• Chop tomato into small pieces and add to the saucepan with coconut milk, water, chili powder and salt
• Reduce flame and simmer for about 5 – 10 minutes.
• Now add ground coriander-cumin seed, asafetida, roasted tempeh and increase flame to medium high and cover and cook for another 10 minutes or until sauce is thick. If it becomes too dry, sprinkle a little water so the curry will have some sauce.  Season with salt.
• Serve with chapathi or rice as a side dish