Sunday, April 28, 2013

Tofu Walnut Dumplings and Balsamic Vegetables in Quinoa


This is one of my totally made up recipes. :D I cooked it up for lunch on a very hungry afternoon and as all hunger powered experiments go, it turned out to be scrumptious.

I had spent the most part of my late morning visiting my fellow food bloggers' spaces, and the constant barrage of yummy looking vegan food photography had left me feeling famished.

I *had* to make something delicious and special that would hit the spot and it had to be quick! Really, really quick!

Thence arrived the fancy looking, fancy sounding, super easy to make Tofu Walnut Dumplings and Balsamic Vegetables in Quinoa! :)

Tofu Walnut Dumplings and Balsamic Vegetables in Quinoa

For the Quinoa:

3/4 C Quinoa
2 C Water
Cherry Tomatoes

Wash the quinoa well under running water and drain.
Heat a heavy bottomed pan and toast the quinoa for a minute.
Add the water and bring to a boil.
Reduce the heat to low and cover with a lid or plate leaving a slight gap for the steam to escape.
Cook for 15-20 minutes, until all the water has been absorbed and the quinoa is translucent and fluffy.
Turn off the heat and keep the pot aside.
Slice the cherry tomatoes into halves and add to the cooked quinoa.
Mix well, cover and keep aside.

For the Balsamic Vegetables:

150 gms Baby Corn
1 Capsicum
5-7 large cloves of Garlic
2 T Balsamic Vinegar
1 tsp Liquid Jaggery (or any other sweetener)
1 tsp Soy Sauce

Slice the baby corn and capsicum any way you like.
Roughly crush the garlic.
Toss all ingredients together and keep aside for 10-15 minutes.
Bake or microwave for 10 minutes.

For the Tofu Walnut Dumplings:

500 gms Tofu (I used Silken but Firm might be even better)
1 C Greens (I used a local green called Chilkavare Soppu)
1/2 C Walnuts
1 T Corn Starch (Corn Flour)
1/2 tsp Red Chilli Powder
Freshly Crushed Pepper
Salt

Blanch the greens, drain, gently squeeze out the excess water and chop finely.
Break the walnuts roughly into little pieces.
Drain the tofu and gently squeeze out as much water as possible.
Place everything in a bowl and mix with your hand while mashing the tofu.
Shape into balls and place on a baking tray.
Bake or microwave for 8-10 minutes.
Then grill/broil for 5 minutes, until it's browned lightly.
Allow to cool slightly and gently remove from the pan with the help of a spatula or flat spoon.

How to Proceed:

Pour the balsamic veggies along with their liquids over the quinoa and mix well.
Add the tofu walnut dumplings and gently toss, ensuring that the dumplings stay intact.
Serve hot with freshly crushed pepper on top.
Enjoy! :)

Tofu Walnut Dumplings and Balsamic Vegetables in Quinoa

Update: 23rd June 2013

The ingredients for this recipe can now be purchased in India in the form of a recipe box from Global Graynz.

Global Graynz Rare Box Link

Here are the links to purchase the three kinds of boxes for this recipe:

1. Rare Ingredients box
2. All Packaged Ingredients
3. All Ingredients Including Fresh/Perishable Ones (pictured below)


Global Graynz Everything Recipe Box

8 comments:

  1. Those dumplings are so original and sound amazing! And Balsamic with veggies is always a 'yum' So delicious !

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    1. Thanks Angela. :) I'm a big fan of balsamic with anything. Haha

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  2. What an interesting dish! Sounds tasty and very filling.

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  3. Wow, this looks great, and I would definitely think it took more time than it did. How creative, too!

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  4. Quinoa has become my favorite grain-type food, and this sounds like a wonderful way to enjoy it. Th balsamic veggies would add just the right amount of piquant flavor and color and the tofu balls sound great.

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  5. Tofu Walnut Dumplings!?! I've got some smoked tofu in my fridge that is begging to be made into this! Brilliant Susmitha! p.s. I love my keychain! I have it on my keys and think of you whenever I'm driving, also, I made the curried rice from the packet you sent. We died over it, it was the inspiration for one of the salads I made for my brother's event. Can't thank you enough! xx

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  6. I love walnuts! I love tofu! And I LOVE dumplings!

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  7. I laughed when I saw the title of your post, because every word I thought 'that's one of my favourites!' then 'That's one of my favourites too!'

    Any new ways to use tofu make me happy, but throw dumplings in there, and I'm a very happy lady. I hope there was enough for leftovers!

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