Dinner just got easier with this Madras Curry Tofu Casserole! A simple one-pot meal with baked tofu in a flavorful Indian gravy!

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 15 minutes
  • Cook time: 50 minutes
  • Total time: 65 minutes
  • Yield: 4
  • Category: Main Course
  • Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients

Ingredients for the Madras Curry Powder:

  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
  • ½ teaspoon ground cumin
  • ½ teaspoon ground mustard
  • 1/8 teaspoon fenugreek seeds or ground fenugreek seeds
  • ¼ teaspoon black peppercorns (whole)
  • 3 dried red chilies (use cayenne or Thai for hot or California red for moderate heat)
  • ½ teaspoon ground cardamon
  • ½ teaspoon turmeric

For the curry:

  • 3 teaspoons of oil (divided)
  • 14 ounce extra firm or firm tofu pressed for 15 mins and cubed
  • 1 cup chopped onion
  • 3 cloves of garlic (minced)
  • 10 curry leaves
  • 1 medium tomato (chopped, small)
  • 8 ounces of tomato puree (canned tomato purée or unseasoned tomato sauce)
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 15 ounce can of coconut milk
  • 4 ounces of sliced mushrooms
  • Cilantro and lemon juice for garnish

Method

  1. Make your madras curry powder by grinding all the spices together. Grind only one red chili if you’re not sure about the heat and you can use the other chilies whole in the dish. Grind up in the spice grinder and set aside.
  2. In a casserole dish, add tofu and toss it with a teaspoon of oil. bake at 400 degrees f(205 c) for 10 minutes. Remove the dish and move the tofu to one side so there’s enough space for the onions.
  3. Add in the onions, 2 teaspoons of oil, garlic, curry leaves. Sprinkle the spices on the onion mixture as well as the tofu mixture. Mix the onions so the spices are coated all over. You can sprinkle water and mix so the spices and oil are evenly distributed over the onion. Put the baking dish back in the oven to bake for another 11 -14 minutes or until the onions are starting to turn translucent.
  4. Remove the baking dish then add in the tomato, tomato puree, coconut milk, salt and mix in. Add in the mushrooms and mix in. Then put the baking dish back in the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes. You can cover the baking dish with parchment after the first 10 minutes so that the sauce doesn’t evaporate or burn too much.
  5. Check if the mushrooms are cooked and the sauce is thickened to preference. Otherwise bake for another 10 minutes or so.
  6. Remove the dish from the oven and carefully taste. Adjust salt and flavor.
  7. Serve with rice, dosas or rotis. Garnish with cilantro and lemon juice.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.