Tamarind Tofu Cabbage Bowl

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I must say.  Lauren really knows her stuff.  I am so extremely thankful for people like her because otherwise, I may never get to try some of the most yummylicious vegan food out there.  I'm sure you have figured out I have not been eating vegan all the time since we have moved.  While Grumpy is willing to eat the vegan food I do make .... well, let me rephrase that.... While Grumpy is willing to try the vegan food I make, he for the most part grimaces when he finds out that is what he is getting.

Like Sunday evening.  I thought I would try making some vegetarian meatballs.  I fried a batch and baked a batch.  The fried batch was crumbling right up in my pan so the baked batch was the second attempt of salvaging a dinner.  It didn't happen.  While they did have good flavor, the fried ones were just too crumbled and greasy for me and the baked ones were too dry.  Grumpy came upstairs, saw the meatballs in a bowl and said "what is that?" I just said meatballs.  Well, he knows better and told me I could not fool him into thinking that fake meatballs were real.  LOL.  Grumpy took one bite and told me he would like dinner and it wasn't the meatballs he would like.  LOL.  I promptly ordered him a pizza to be delivered.  Needless to say I will stick to my mom's meatless meatball recipe because that one is yummy and it doesn't fail.  Even Grumpy will eat those!

So, while I love the vegan way of eating, I would probably never survive if I had to create my own recipes.  Either that or I'd be super thin.  Hmm.  ;o)

This is why I am so thankful for people like Lauren who knows their stuff.  The recipe is hers but I did have to make a change.  Lauren uses rice in this dish.  I personally don't do well with rice at all.  I might love it but it doesn't love me so I had to do something about the rice in this dish.  I love pasta and I have no problems eating that - so, my change was to use cooked orzo in placed of the cooked rice.  Personally, I think it probably is better with the pasta....but that is a matter of my own taste!  When I make this again I just may try some wide noodles instead of the orzo. 

I'm sure your wondering about Grumpy and what he thought, but unfortunately, at the writing of this post, he still has not arrived home so he still has not eaten.  I won't pressure him to eat this - we do have leftover pizza in the fridge.  He may still decide to try it though and if he does, I will let you know what he thought!  So, without further ado, let me share the recipe with you.

Tamarind Tofu Cabbage Bowl
method and ingredients slightly adapted from Vegan Yum Yum

1 cup cooked orzo
1 lb. block extra firm tofu, pressed and cubed
1 carrot, shredded
4 cups cabbage, thinly sliced
olive oil for frying tofu and cabbage
2 tablespoons Tamarind Chutney (recipe will follow)
2 tablespoons Tamari

Mix two tablespoons tamarind chutney and two tablespoons tamrai together and set aside.

Cook orzo according to package directions.  Cool slightly.  Stir shredded carrot into cooked orzo.  Set aside.

Fry cubes of tofu in olive oil until crispy and browned.  Set aside.

Fry cabbage in small amount of olive oil until crisp tender and slightly browned.

Toss cabbage, orzo mixture, tofu and chutney mixture together.  Serve warm & enjoy!

Tamarind Chutney
2 tablespoons tamarind paste
2 cups water
½ cup sugar

Mix above 3 ingredients together and simmer approximately 30 minutes or until reduced to about half and slightly thickened.

Stir in 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon garam masala, 1 teaspoon cumin, and 1 teaspoon chili pepper flakes.  Cook 1 minute more then set aside to cool completely.