Recipes | Kadai Vegetables with Tofu and Spicy Sweet Corn (2024)

“So you are a housewife and you blog at your free time, lucky you” I am still trying to figure out what the young blogger wanted to convey when we met in a blogger meet recently. Am I lucky because I am a housewife, a blogger or because I have extra free time?

To me ‘Time’ is a luxury if you are bound with responsibilities and also have a passion to follow. I feel that only the achievers know the secrets of how to tame this elusive element of life called ‘Time’ and make the most out of both the worlds.

I was at loggerheads with time twenty years back when I stayed alone in Delhi and was neck deep into corporate world. My day would start at 6 in morning with cooking and packing my lunch box, catching a bus, digging into fat files, deadlines and coming back again to make a quick dinner before I could go to sleep. But even then a few minutes every night were dedicated to my passion for sketching and drawing, come what may.

Now that I am a stay-at-home-mom, I still juggle with ‘time’…probably more now, what with the age catching up and the ever increasing circumference of my passions to follow.

Responsibilities, passion, busy work life apart, there is always time for cooking, family & friends.

There was a simple and cozy dinner party last weekend with two families at home. For the diet conscious couples the typical party recipes with loads of cream and cashew gravies were avoided. These two dishes Kadai vegetables with Tofu and Spicy Sweet corn curries were accompanied with a light veggie pilaf, Indian flat breads and a fruity Firni.

Ingredients;

(serve 3)

• 2 cups sweet corn kernel
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 1 onion
• 2 tbsp. vegetable oil
• 2 green chilies
• 1 tsp. ginger-garlic paste
• 10 cashew nuts
• 1 tsp. lemon juice
• Salt as desired

Spices;

• 1 tbsp. dried fenugreek leaves
• 1 tsp. coriander powder
• 1/4 tsp. turmeric powder
• 2 cloves
• 2 cardamom pods
• 1/2 tsp. cumin seeds

Method; I used frozen sweet corn kernel and ready-to-use coconut milk in the recipe. You could use the fresh ones by scrapping the tender corncob with a knife and removing the kernel from it.

Peel and chop onion and grind it into a fine paste along with the cashew nuts ( grind 1/2 of fresh coconut if you are using the same for this recipe)

Heat a wok and add cumin seeds, cloves, cardamom pods andsautefor a few seconds. Add chopped greenchilies, ginger-garlic paste followed by onion-cashew nutpaste, coriander powder, turmeric powder in the wok and let it cook for 5-6 minutes on medium heat.

Add coconut milk, sweet corn kernel, salt and dried fenugreek leaves (optional) and let it simmer for 3-4 minutes.

Remove from heat add lemon juice and garnish the dish with chopped coriander leaves. Serve this spicy Sweet Corn Curry with hot Indian fat breads, Naan or any rice recipes of your choice.

Notes;

You can skip coconut milk in the recipe and add tomato to get a different flavor.

Use chopped baby corn pieces or whole tender corn on cob in the recipe.

Ingredients

(serve 3)

• 250 gms veggies
• 1 cup Tofu
• 2 onions
• 3 tomatoes
• 2 tbsp. oil
• 1 tbsp. ginger-garlic paste
• 1 tbsp. dried fenugreek leaves (optional)
• 1 tsp. lemon juice
• Salt as desired

Spices;

• 3 dry red chillies
• 1 tbsp. coriander seeds
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds
• 2 green cardamom pods
• 2 cloves
• 1 bay leaf

Method; Dry roast coriander and cumin seeds for a few minutes. Grind them coarsely with red chillies.

Wash and chop bell pepper (shimla mirch) into medium uneven pieces. Remove the tail ends from beans and cut them into 2 inch long pieces.

Slice Tofu into thin triangles or squares.

Peel and chop onion and grind it along with sliced tomatoes into coarse paste.

Heat 1 tbsp. oil in a flat pan, place all the Tofu slices in a layer and sauté it for a few minutes. Turn to other side and repeat the same.

Take out the Tofu slices carefully and place them on a plate lined with tissue paper.

Add 1 tbsp. oil in the same pan and increase the heat to max. Add chopped beans and let it cook for 2-3 minutes. Remove all the beans from the pan and add diced bell pepper pieces in it. Sauté the bell peppers for 1-2 minutes on high heat.

Take a large Kadai or wok and pour 1 tbsp. oil in it, add cardamom pods, cloves, bay leaf followed by ginger-garlic and onion-tomato paste in it. Let the spices and it cook for 5-6 minutes till the moisture from the paste is reduced to half.

Add coarsely ground coriander, red chillies and cumin powder, salt, dried fenugreek powder (Kasuri methi) and stir to mix in all the spices in the Kadai.

Add sautéed vegetables and Tofu in the kadai and gently stir in to coat the spices well.

Garnish with fresh coriander leaves and serve Kadai Vegetables with Tofu and Spicy Sweet Cornwith hot Indian flat breads or a platter of plain Basmati rice.

Notes;

1. Add Tofu slices in the last as these are very soft and might break easily.
2. Replace Cottage cheese or Paneer cubes with Tofu for a scrumptious Kadai paneer recipe.
3. The green beans used in the recipe should be very tender and soft.
4. You can avoid onion-tomato paste in the recipe to getanothervariation of the same recipe which will be slightly dry and makes a delicious starter or appetizer when served with toothpicks for your parties.
5. Make sure the veggies remain crisp and are not overcookedto get the crunchy bites.

PS; To those who mailed me for not keeping the food directly on the wooden plank. I respect your concern. Food shot in the similar manner is to make the pictures look more appealing. The food is neither wastednor eaten by us after the shoot.

There are many happy onlookers waiting eagerly & patiently for my photo shoot to get over before they could snatch the food and devour…yes, my pet dog Bingo and my few winged friends in the balcony 🙂
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