Curried Dill Tofu Dip
Mwahhahahahehehe….I’m feeling rather wicked, my friends. Over the weekend I decided to begin my experimentation with The Tofu Tribunal, much to Mike’s dismay. The Tofu Tribunal is my attempt to wear Mike down, bit by bit, until he admits that he was being closed-minded and is actually willing to reassess the given situation. You see, he thinks that he hates tofu in every way, shape or form. I maintain that although this is possible, there is so much variation in the flavor and texture between various types of tofu, which is only further enhanced by preparation and cooking methods, that there is no possible way that we will NOT be able to find at least one type of tofu or tofu dish that he enjoys.
I like to think of this first case study as being somewhat more positive than anticipated, so that gives me hope. I knew that trying to season and sautee or cook big honkin’ chunks of tofu was going to do this experiment no favors, so I went for the more subtle approach: DISGUISE.
Some friends were coming over in about an hour and I wanted to whip up a quick dip with some veggies before they got in. What a perfect opportunity!! I had hidden some soft tofu in the back of the cheese drawer of the fridge, which would be a perfect base. And with that, we let the games begin……
Curried Dill Tofu Dip
- 1 pkg (about 300 g) soft or silken tofu
- 1 lemon
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 tsp curry powder
- 2 tsp dried dill
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- salt to taste
Scoop the tofu into a medium sized mixing bowl. If you have silken tofu that’s ideal, but soft tofu (as seen below) works fine as well, it just requires a bit more wrist strength.
Zest in approximately 1 tsp of lemon zest.
Zest or press in the clove of garlic.
Add the spices and begin to whisk the mixture together. Or, if you’re thinking clearly and you remember that you have a food processor, that might be a good one to use as well….in retrospect…..
Drizzle in the olive oil and give it a whisk.
Squeeze in the juice of that whole lemon, and continue whisking.
This dip is crying out for salt, so don’t be stingy. Adjust the seasonings and give it a final whisk, making sure that it’s smooth. Little chunks are not that appealing and it will only look like the dip has separated, so please spend the extra few minutes of whisking time until it has the texture and consistency of a yoghurt dip.
This dip is great served with cruddite as it is very light and fresh but still has those bold East Asian flavors. I wished I had some Naan with me for dipping as well.
It would also be a great sauce to serve alongside seekh kebab, tandoori chicken and rice…needless to say, I enjoyed it. My guests enjoyed it quite a bit as well (and yes, they knew that it was tofu. That’s what private kitchen conversations are for). But what did Mike think? Hey, let’s ask him!!
Mike would you like a carrot? Here, I already dipped it for you.
Hey Mike, do you like it? Do you like the dip?!
So…the thing is, that the dip you’re eating right now is made from soft tofu.
Yes, but see you ATE it, and you LIKED IT, so see? Tofu isn’t that bad, and you’ve already eaten it once, and you -
Sigh. I still consider this a partial victory though…..
And here we go. The stage has been set. The Tofu Tribunal has officially begun. I’ll keep you updated on our progress as we go along.
Also: if you have any great tofu recipes, like the kind that make a self-proclaimed lifelong tofu hater start to reconsider their position, please send them my way. As you can see, I need all the help that I can get.
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