
This recipe is (adapted) from Jeremy Dixon’s first Revive Café Cookbook, and this dish is served at his Revive Café in Auckland. I have changed the quantities because his recipe made a whopping amount. Plus he roasted his carrots for 20 minutes, whereas I diced them and added them into the pot after the onion and garlic.
Remember to place the tofu in the freezer a few days before making this recipe as through some scientific process the freezing changes the texture of the tofu so it becomes more ‘chicken-like’.
Serve this vegetarian butter chicken on top of rice. Boiled cauliflower makes a nice complimentary side dish.
RECIPE: “NOT BUTTER CHICKEN” – VEGETARIAN BUTTER CHICKEN
Vegetarian | Serves 3 | Serve on rice
1 packet firm Tofu (about 275g)
2 carrots, diced finely
1 large onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, chopped or crushed
2 tbspns oil
½ tbspn ginger puree
½ tspn ground cumin
½ tspn ground turmeric
½ tspn ground coriander
½ tspn garam masala powder
½ tspn salt
1/8 tspn chilli powder
1 400g can of tomatoes (diced or chopped in juice)
200ml coconut cream
Fresh coriander, for garnish
- Ahead of time, take your tofu, drain it, and store in your freezer for at least 3 days. It will change into a nice chicken-like texture. Defrost and slice into 2cm strips. Gently squeeze excess moisture out of tofu, so it sucks up the flavours in the pot.
- Saute onions, ginger, garlic in oil in a large pot until onions are clear.
- Add carrots, making sure they are chopped into small cubes, and leave for a while to soften.
- Add spices and mix well. Allow spices to cook for a while.
- Add tomatoes and cook for around 5 minutes or until bubbling.
- Mix in the remaining ingredients.
- Taste the heat of the spices and salt content to your liking.
- Serve on rice.
The Revive Café Cookbook
Jeremy Dixon
Auckland: Revive Concepts, c2011.
ISBN: 9780473190576
The back cover of the book says: “Revive’s delicious vegetarian food contains whole grains, plant-based protein, fresh produce and virtually no processed sugars or flours. The majority of the dishes are also dairy and gluten free”