Grilled Tandoori Tofu Skewers

12 rainbow skewers stacked with tandoori marinated tofu and a selection of colourful vegetables. Includes recipe for tandoori marinade. Only 94 calories per skewer.

Tandoori Tofu

These rainbow tandoori tofu skewers can be grilled or cooked on a BBQ and isn't it fabulous we've had such good weather for eating outdoors this year?

Summer in Scotland can often be a wet affair, with the occasional sunny day, but this year we've had nearly four months of sunshine with lots of heat too. We're all completely shocked. None of us can believe it. We've not had a summer like this in decades.

Sunny Scotland = BBQ

Check out - Perfect Vegan BBQ -Recipes and Tips

Grilled tofu

I wanted to marinade and grill tofu for a change. 

I often cook veggie burgers, veggie sausages and vegetable kebabs on the BBQ and I've even cooked falafel on skewers, bit this time I wanted to cook tofu.

The marinade had to have lots of flavour, so I decided to make a tandoori paste, which I mixed with yogurt and a little water to make a bright yellow marinade.

check out - Spiced Tofu and Mushroom Tacos

Tandoori paste

Tandoori paste is a traditional Indian cooking sauce sometimes known as Tikka. Tandoori is named after the clay cooking vessel people in India traditionally cook in, which is called a Tandoor.

The ingredients are generally very similar in each recipe, with small changes. 

I used ground turmeric, cumin and coriander for flavour, then chilli pepper and paprika for heat, fresh ginger and garlic for a bit of oomph, tomato puree and agave nectar (or sugar) for colour and sweetness, coconut oil in place of vegetable oil to bring the paste together and soy sauce instead of salt (salt can dry out the tofu) to season.

Marinating tofu

Pressing tofu

First of all you need the right type of tofu. A firm tofu is what you're looking for when you are making skewers, never silken tofu, which has more of a creamy texture and is used for sauces and desserts.

The easiest way to press tofu is with a tofu press, or if you're short of time you can buy prepared tofu from Tofoo or M&S, both of which are pretty good.

If you don't have a tofu press, wrap the tofu in lots of kitchen paper, then in a kitchen towel, top it with a heavy book (a cookbook works well) and a couple of cans on top. Cooper shows you how to do it step-by-step in my tofu fingers post.

check out - 20 Minute Thai Green Tofu Bowl

The best way to marinate tofu

When you're ready to marinate the tofu, stir the plain yogurt into the paste and a little water until it's the right consistency.

Cut the tofu into cubes, pop them in a bowl and gently coat it in the marinade

Spoon the tofu into airtight containers and leave then in the fridge to marinate for a few hours or overnight.

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Related: How to Cook Tofu

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Rainbow skewers

For these skewers, I combined the tandoori tofu with courgette; yellow, orange and red pepper; cherry tomatoes, red onion and cooked beetroot (vac packed beets).

Why the rainbow? Because it looks so pretty and the artist in me likes colours to lie in order.

You could add them to the skewers in any order, but believe me everyone will love being served them like this. We eat with our eyes first after all.

You could also serve then with my Tex-Mex Coleslaw to keep the rainbow veg going.

also check out my recipe index - Vegan BBQ Ideas & Recipes

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Serving the skewers

I served the skewers with toasted wholemeal pitta bread, hummus, salad leaves and cherry tomatoes. 

For a more traditional meal serve the with Indian flatbreads like naan bread or  homemade chapatis. Check out my post on how to make chapatis. They are super simple.

I don't mind mixing things up and I love serving these loaded into pitta bread. 

Fresh pitta (like the pitta you get in Cyprus) would be better of course, or you could make your own pitta. My friend Lucy over at Supergolden Bakes makes some awesome homemade pitta bread, just close your eyes to what she serves it with (if you're veggie).

Calories and Nutrients per skewer

tofu skewers, rainbow skewers, tofu kebabs, rainbow kebabs, tandoori paste, tandoori tofu, tandoori marinade, vegetable kebabs, BBQ skewers, BBQ tofu, grilled tofu

dinner, BBQ

Indian, vegan

Yield: 12 skewersAuthor: Jacqueline Meldrum

Grilled Tandoori Tofu Skewers

Rainbow skewers stacked with tandoori marinated tofu and a selection of colourful vegetables. Includes recipe for tandoori marinade. Only 94 calories per skewer.

prep time: 25 minscook time: 10 minstotal time: 35 mins

ingredients

Marinated tofu

• 349g firm tofu
• 2 tsp ground turmeric
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 2 1/2 cm/1 inch piece of fresh ginger, grated
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 tbsp tomato puree
• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 2 tsp agave nectar (sugar or honey)
• 1 tsp soy sauce (or salt)
• a good grinding of black pepper
• 200g/just under 1 cup yogurt
• 2-3 tbsp water

Vegetables

• 2 courgettes (zucchini), sliced
• 3 bell peppers (red, yellow and orange), cut into chunks
• 24 cherry tomatoes
• 2 large red onions, peeled and cut into wedges
• 4 large cooked beets, sliced thickly

instructions

1. Make your marinade. Add all the ingredients to a bowl from the ground turmeric down to the black pepper and stir together into a paste.
2. Add the yogurt and water to make a good consistency for coating tofu.
3. Press your tofu for half an hour or so,  then cube it and gently coat the tofu in the marinade. Pop the tofu in an airtight container and pop in the fridge for a few hours.
4. Soak wooden skewers in water for half an hour before you make the skewers, this will prevent them from burning.
5. Heat your grill or BBQ and then thread the tofu and vegetables onto 12 skewers in a rainbow order.
6. Cook for a few minutes on each side until cooked and starting to char and crisp at the edges.
7. Serve with toasted pitta bread, salad leaves, cherry tomatoes and hummus.
8. Enjoy!

NOTES:

The times are for preparations and cooking, pressing and marinating time is not included. This depends on how long you leave the tofu to press and marinate. Some people like to leave the tofu to marinate overnight.

Calories and nutrition are per skewer. This recipe is enough for 12 skewers.

calories
94

fat (grams)
3.5

sat. fat (grams)
1.5

carbs (grams)
12.1

protein (grams)
5.2

sugar (grams)
7.8

Created using The Recipes Generator

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More Recipes

For more simple recipes, visit my recipe index which contains hundreds of easy vegetarian and vegan recipes divided into categories with free printable recipes.

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