Homemade Indian Take-out

This is what we had for dinner last Friday night, and it was soooooo good. My husband went bonkers over it, so we're having it again this week.

It's yummy, very nutritious, and easy. What more could you ask for?

(A note: as always, the ingredients I use are organic and local whenever possible -- meaning whenever I can find them. Luckily for me, in my case, everything but the simmer sauce and canola oil was organic!)

Dena's Homemade Indian Take-out

Serves 4

2 tbsp canola or other vegetable oil
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, roughly chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, diced
1 head cauliflower, roughly chopped
4 medium-sized red potatoes, cubed
1 block firm tofu
3 cups frozen spinach or 5 cups fresh spinach
1 jar of Trader Joe's Masala Simmer Sauce (yes, this is the secret ingredient!)
As much brown rice as you prefer - we use 1 cup per serving

First, set the tofu to drain: shake off excess water, place it on a plate, place another plate on top, and then set a heavy book (I use my largest cookbook) on top to squeeze the water out. Leave it for 15 minutes or so.

Meanwhile, chop vegetables. Par-boil potatoes and cauliflower so they are almost done but not quite.

Drain water from tofu and then dice uniformly. Fry it up in 2 tbsp canola oil set on medium-high heat, tossing frequently in your largest skillet -- I use a fantastic non-stick 12-inch skillet instead of a wok; it has more surface space so food doesn't crowd and thus steam instead of crisp. When the tofu is as browned as you would like (for me, this is after about 10 minutes or so), set tofu aside.

Add 2 tbsp olive oil to pan and add garlic and onion. When they are fragrant, add tofu back into pan. Let tofu absorb flavors for about 1-2 minutes, then add in spinach. After 1 or 2 minutes, add cauliflower and potatoes and entire jar of simmer sauce. Set heat to medium-low and let it all simmer together.

Serve over brown rice and enjoy a very hearty and healthy meal with no ordering, driving, or picking up involved. This would also be delicious with garbanzo beans added or subbed for tofu. Next time I'm going to use sweet potatoes instead of regular potatoes.