Palak Tofu

Ingredients

1 lb firm tofu
1/4 c soy sauce
1 oil for deep-frying
4 tb ghee
6 c tomatoes
2 ts curry powder
2 asafetida
1 1/2 ts cumin
1 ts coriander
3/4 ts cayenne pepper
1/2 ts black pepper
1/2 ts cinnamon
1/4 ts allspice
2 tb soy sauce

Instructions

Soak first 2 ingredients together while heating the oil to 350 degrees. Remove cubes from soy sauce and drain a few seconds in a strainer to remove excess soy sauce. Drop tofu cubes in heated oil all at once (or in a couple of separate batches if you desire) and cook till browned and a little crisp on the outside. Remove from oil and drain on plate covered with 2 to 3 thicknesses of paper towels. Leftover soy sauce can be kept and used later. As the tofu cubes are cooking (or before you start frying them), combine the next 3 ingredients together in a skillet. Cover and put on medium flame to simmer for 10 minutes. Remove lid and mix well (the frozen spinach should be thawed and mixable by now). Leave uncovered over medium flame to allow some of the juices to cook off as you make the chaunce. This is done by heating the ghee or oil in a butter-warming pot and adding all the spices listed. Toast in oil till the fragrance of the spices fills the kitchen and the spices appear to be browned. Pour into cooking vegetables immediately, add soy sauce and mix thoroughly till tomatoes break up. Turn off heat, add cooked tofu cubes, and cover for a few minutes before serving. Makes 8 entree-sized servings or twice as many side dish sized servings.