Tuesday Recipe Blogging: Banana-Tofu Curry

I found the basic recipe for this curry in Recipe Cottage. If you’re not vegetarian and/or don’t like tofu, you can omit the tofu, or substitute it with some non-vegetarian tofu substitute, what’s the word …meat! Oh yes. That stuff.

You should read the real recipe, but basically, this is how I do it:

I buy bananas. Lots of bananas. Either accidentally or on purpose. This curry tastes most delicious when you have a lot of bananas to use up. Because I now make this curry quite a lot, I always have in the house a large can (or tin, if you’re British) of coconut milk and a large can (or tin) pineapple chunks in pineapple juice. (One commentator claimed to have tried to make this with an actual coconut and actual pineapple: gosh, what energy.)

I have a crockpot. (I have also made this in a pan to be eaten immediately: it does look better that way, but it tastes delicious this way.)

I usually have in the house: cashews, raisins/sultanas, frozen peas, dried shredded coconut, curry powder, cumin, nutmegs, and dry chickpeas. I sometimes have a packet of tofu already in the house: if not, I try to remember to buy one.

I take a cup of dry chickpeas and put them in a bowl. I pour boiling water on them. I wait at least two hours. (If I don’t have two hours, I usually have emergency tinned chickpeas – I open a tin, drain off the liquid, and add them with the coconut milk.) Then I drain off the water, cover them with fresh water, and set the chickpeas to boil for 10 minutes. If you don’t usually cook chickpeas, for heaven’s sake use tinned ones. After 10 minutes, drain off the water again: the chickpeas are as done as they need to be before you put them in the crockpot.

While the chickpeas are boiling, I peel the bananas and chop them into chunks. I take the tofu out of the packet and chop that into chunks. I grate a nutmeg. (I like nutmeg. You may want to add less.) I open the tin of pineapple and drain off the liquid, saving it either to drink separately or to add to the curry if needed.

Once the chickpeas are ready, I put into the crockpot:

The drained chickpeas.
The diced tofu.
The banana chunks.
The pineapple chunks (but not the juice).

These four are essential. If I have them in the house, I also add from 1/4 to 1/2 cup of:

shredded coconut (toasted is good!)
raisins/sultanas/currants – mixed dried vine fruits
frozen green peas
cashew nuts

I try to have at least two, if not three of the above: all four are good.

Then I add two tablespoons of curry powder and a teaspoon of cumin and the grated nutmeg. Yes, you can vary the spice as you please, but this is a good mixture to start with.

If I have the tin of coconut milk, this is when I add the coconut milk to the mix, and stir it well in. This isn’t a dry curry – if the mixture doesn’t look wet enough, you can add the pineapple juice, too. Or you can omit the coconut milk entirely, and substitute a lower-fat option – the original recipe recommends skim milk, or soy or rice milk for vegans. If this is the first time you’re making this, I suggest you add both the coconut milk and all the pineapple juice from the tin, and see how that works for you. Stir well.

Put the lid on the crock pot, switch it on at low power, and walk away for 8-10 hours. I warn you, this is not a good-looking curry – in fact, it’s probably the ugliest curry I ever made on purpose. But it’s delicious.