Curried Rice

This recipe is modified from one I found in an old cookbook called, scandalously enough, Vegetarian Pleasures, which makes me think about the line in Marvell’s “To His Coy Mistress”: “My vegetable love should grow/ Vaster than empires and more slow.” Try to tell students that that’s not about using food to masturbate. Go ahead. I have.

Here are the ingredients as I use them, though you should substitute as you please: this is tofu (cut in cubes and pressed dry), spices (coriander, salt, paprika, turmeric), peas, soy sauce, cooked and chilled rice, carrots, and peppers.

The first thing you want to do is heat just a little oil in a wok and sauté the tofu until it’s golden; you’ll do this in batches. Remove and drain on paper towels.

Pre-cook the carrots in the microwave for a minute, then finish them in the residual oil in the wok. Add the peppers, cook for just a minute, then add the spices, and cook for another minute until the vegetables are well coated. Remove them from the wok and set aside. You can mix them with the tofu if you like, since everything’s going together eventually anyway.

In the residue of oil and spices, heat the rice, adding water to keep it from sticking. You may need up to two cups of water for this so keep some nearby. The rice will turn yellow from the turmeric.

Smash the clumps with your spoon so the rice separates and heats through. This is fun, particularly if you’re feeling anxious or frustrated. When the rice is heated, add the tofu, peas, carrots, and peppers. Heat until peas are cooked, stirring gently to keep the rice from sticking. Add soy sauce. Serve with Indian pickle (we’re partial to Vimal chilli pickle or mango pickle [or you could make your own: we get our pickle at the Dekalb Farmers' Market], but that might be because it’s the only kind we can get here, I don’t know). We eat this with tortillas, but if you have naan or roti, it’s probably better that way.

I’ve experimented with using other vegetables (basically because I was too lazy to go to the store). Virtually everything works. Also: add some jalapeno paste when you add the spices. It’s even better that way.

There you go.