November 5, 2008

Tofu Fennel Veggie skewers - Cookbook win

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It does feel good to win something, especially a cookbook for a foodie like me.
Sra had this wonderful event "My legume love affair" last month. I did send my recipes like I do for any normal event, and then came the pleasant surprise that I won a cookbook for the event. I did not even know there was a giveaway until then.
Thanks Curry Leaf for letting me know about the win first, and for sharing the enthusiasm :)
The winning legumey recipe I sent in for the event was Garbanzo beans & Potato Cutlet

Let's talk some skewers, grills and fennel...

Grill pan would be an ideal choice for making skewered vegetables, but it not necessary. I used a normal griddle, and worked out just fine. You may alternatively also try roasting in the oven.

Skewers are normally made from wood, and need to be soaked in water before punching in the veggies. Otherwise you will end up burning the skewers from the heat.
Nobody likes burnt wood on the vegetables now, do they?

fennel

Fennel bulbs have a mild anise flavor and are commonly mislabelled as "anise" in some supermarkets. When buying fennel bulb, look for a white bulb with nice bright green thin leaves (like in the picture above, yeah I did cut off the top before I realized I wanted to take a picture).
The bulb is basically inflated leaf bases and are layered (like an onion)
Fennel seeds are commonly used in Indian cooking for seasoning or as a spice.
Another one of my recipes, that uses fennel is Egg Puffs.

Tofu Fennel Veggie skewers

Ingredients:

Firm tofu - 1 package
Fennel - A bulb
Carrots - One or two
Green bell pepper - 1 large
Red onions - 1 large
Red chilly powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
Salt - To taste
Pepper - 1/4 tsp
Olive oil - 2 tsp
Wooden skewers

Method:

Cut all the veggies into large cubes.

veggies

Drain water completely off the tofu, wrap in towel and place an heavy object on it for about 15 min.
Cut tofu into the same size as the veggies into cubes, and toss together with salt, oil, pepper, turmeric and red chilly powder till completely coated with spices and oil.

I like to roast my tofu in the oven at 425F for 20-30 min before skewering. That way my tofu is well cooked and the veggies are a little raw and get grilled only after skewering.

Skewer all the vegetables and tofu, and grill them on a pan till the sides are brown and roasted.
Another option if you don't have a skewer or a grill pan would be to toss all the veggies and tofu into a hot wok and saute.

Serve hot with rice or noodles.

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61 comments:

  1. ooh! first of all, congrats on the deserved win Anu!

    and second, what a neat way to eat more tofu:) love your skewers:)

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  2. Congrats Divya on the cookbook win! and very healthy skewers with tofu and all veges.liked the grilled tofu a lot.

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  3. Congrats on your win Divya that is awesome....grilled veggies without the grill sounds good....looks very colorful :-)

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  4. i never saw the fennel in the market.....where did u get it divya?????

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  5. That sure looks delicious and congrats on winning the cookbook.

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  6. Lovely,I loved it that I was the first to inform you and the first recipe is wonderful.Thanks

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  7. Congrats, Hmm very delicous plate!

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  8. Congrats! on ur win.. these looks very colouful and makes a gr8 appetizer..

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  9. congrats Anu! and luv Tofu recipe...makes a great appetizer..YUM!

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  10. This looks great. I'm not a big tofu eater but I would like to try some varying recipes with it. This just might be it.

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  11. Congrats on winning the cookbook Divya:)Colorful and divine appetizer....

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  12. *Clap* *Clap* *Clap*, CONGRATULATIONS on the well deserved win Divya!

    The skewers look so delectable! Yummy!

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  13. Congrats Divya! You deserve it for all your health conscious recipes.. The skewers look too good!

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  14. congrats on winning the cook book! I loved that recipe too. Tasty Skewers ,gotta try fennel ,looks very fresh.
    About your crepes query ,use any desi brand stone ground atta,I use swarna\sujatha.

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  15. hey congrats on winning the book!super. kababs look perfect.. yummy.. marinating in curd and spices also gives lot of flavor.

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  16. Congrats dear... All the best... Peefect click.. looks delicious..

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  17. Congrats Divya, Loved the colorful tofu skewers. Looks very delicious to me.
    What is the rice dish you have served with the tofu?

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  18. congrats on your win ..
    those skewers with tofu looks yumm

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  19. Congrats Anu on your win and wonderful skewers in the off season... Lovely choice of ingredients and perfectly done...

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  20. Congrats on the deserved win. Yummy,colorful appetizer.

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  21. Congratulations Divya. Perfect skewers. Pics making me hungry.

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  22. Congrats on the win..You deserve it..

    the grill and the rice would be an ideal meal for me now...

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  23. Hi anu ...
    colourful veggie skewers....
    I was just going the recipes ..Mouthwatering dishes ..wow...keep up the great work ..and congrats on ur win ..
    love
    veena

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  24. Congrats! The tofu on skewers looks delectable.

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  25. Congratulation and gosh ur tofu looks fantastic.I love the fennel herb and it must be tasting heavenly.

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  26. Wow,that must be so flavorful,looks very nice:)

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  27. Congrats on the win anu..Tofu skewers r really prefect...delicious!!

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  28. it looks yummy and mouthwatering...can i take one from it...
    and thanku for ur comments

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  29. Those grilled veggies look fabulous and mouthwatering!

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  30. Hi Anu.

    lovely to have to have you come over to my blog...you too have got a great spot here..i have bookmarked ur oats-wholewheat bread..surely will try iot out...

    rgds,
    Sona

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  31. Congratulations on the win.
    Your skewered veggies look good. I somehow do not like tofu very much and so use paneer instead.

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  32. Congrates Anu for the winning the cookbook :). love you.

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  33. Congratulations! :)

    Your skewered vegetables look perfect. haven't cooked with anise at all.

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  34. Congrats Anu,..way to go...soon you are going to rock the place...skewers looks amazing yaar...perfect

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  35. Congrats on the cookbook win Anu. You deserve a hug gal :) The skewer dish looks so delicious. I have never cooked with fennel, would like to give it a try after seeing this post :)

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  36. a big congrats to you divya .. u deserve it .. really happy for you .. good way to eat tofu .. looks lovely

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  37. I could eat a plate of all that delicious goodness anytime. Especially that golden tofu. Mmmm!

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  38. Congrats and this looks so much better than what we have at the restaurant.

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  39. something is waiting for u in my site. check it out..

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  40. wOOOHOOOOO ON YOUR WIN!! really happy for u:-)

    Those skewers look cool. I have never bought fennel bulbs before, simply becoz i did not know what to do with them. now i know:-))

    I also use regular griddle to grill my stuff. cleaning up is much easier...

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  41. Congrats Divya! You deserve even more! This is once again a classic recipe from you. Simple yet satisfying.

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  42. Wow, Looks fabulous, Anu! Love the variety of colors! Appears nice on the plate too.. Good and healthy recipe!

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  43. Congrats on your win!
    The tofu looks yummy and very neat!!

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  44. thank u so much anu dear for ur lovely comments

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  45. Congrats Anudivya for winning the book.The skewer looks yum.

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  46. hai congrats anu......one more gift for you...check out this link...http://easy2cookrecipes.blogspot.com/2008/11/oats-upma.html

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  47. congratulations! and the tofu looks amazingly tasty!

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  48. Congrats on the big win! Somehow I'm not surprised (with all the nice dishes you make), but sweet job :)

    I could skewer anything anytime. I like how you coated and roasted the tofu first, to make sure it was done. I should remember that :)

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  49. First of all Congrats on winning the contest......Tofu Fennel Skewers deserves to win....it looks really tempting and healthy option to paneer skewers

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  50. What a healthy and delicious dinner. Your pumpkin cheesecake brownies look fantastic too!

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  51. Mmmmmm, these look very tasty indeed :)

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  52. This is my first time visiting...love your blog! So many tasty/healthy recipes!! I love it!

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  53. What a colourful and lovely presentation
    Ramkumar

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  54. Great clicks... nice recipes....

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  55. congrats for yr win and the grilled one s so delish and tempting to pick up.

    oh no i got something (jus posted) for u in my blog but u already rcvd that. so wat dont u chek again for yr friend's sake dear.

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  56. I would like to inspire you check in my blog

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  57. Congratulations Anu on your win.

    These grilled veggies & tofu look so delightful.

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  58. Awesome looking veggies! Congrats on the win too:)

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  59. lovely! A wonderful And congratulations on the win!

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Thank you for taking the time to comment on this post. I will try to respond to queries as soon as I can. If I miss anything that needs to be addressed... please feel free to ping me again.
Happy cooking/baking or whatever it is you are doing in the kitchen! :)