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Roasted pumpkin tofu curry |
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A warming winter meal
 By naturopath Sandra Villella
This is a delicious way to incorporate these foods into your diet, especially tofu, which is an excellent source of phytoestrogens and a good source of vegetable protein.
I like to cook this on a cold Sunday afternoon, pottering around the house, enjoying the warmth and delicious smell coming from the oven while the pumpkin and tofu are roasting. Cook it for one or two serves. Or make extra and eat the leftovers for lunch.
Nutritional value Pumpkin is one of the best dietary sources of carotenoid, the pigment responsible for the yellow, orange and red colours in plants. Spinach is also a rich source of Beta-carotene, although the green pigment, chlorophyll, hides the yellow-orange pigment.
Carotenoids are important antioxidants and those found in pumpkin can be converted to vitamin A, important for growth and development, immune system function and vision.
The absorption of carotenoids in the intestines requires some fat in the meal. Roasting pumpkin with olive oil not only makes it tastier but also enhances the nutritional absorption of the carotenoids. The total fat content of the meal can be reduced by using low-fat coconut milk, as the pumpkin added creates a lovely thick curry.
Ingredients |
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Per person:
150-200g firm tofu
200g pumpkin
Olive oil
1-2 garlic cloves,
peel and squash with
flat of knife
Salt and pepper
1-2 tins of light
coconut milk |
Handful baby spinach
Red or green curry paste
Small handful
raw cashews
½-1 cup cooked
brown rice
Fresh roughly chopped
coriander to serve |
Method |
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Chop pumpkin and tofu into 2-3 cm cubes (larger pieces will take longer to cook). Add garlic and toss gently in a large bowl with olive oil so as not to break up the tofu. Season with salt and pepper. Bake in a preheated hot oven at 180-200˚C, shaking two to three times, for one hour. Toss the cashews in the oil from the tofu and pumpkin remaining in the bowl. Add cashews to the pumpkin and tofu after 40 minutes.
In a wok, warm curry paste and coconut milk. Add baked ingredients and stir occasionally until the pumpkin ‘mashes’ into a sauce with the coconut milk. Taste and add more curry paste if needed. Wilt baby spinach in wok and serve on brown rice topped with coriander. |
Content updated June 17, 2008
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