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Tofu Matar Masala – Tofu Peas in Blender Masala Sauce. Curried Tofu and peas with a roasted cumin tempering. Vegan Matar Paneer. Gluten-free Recipe. Use chickpeas, beans or veggies to make soy-free.
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This easy Tofu Matar Masala Comes together within 15 minutes if you have some blender bhuna masala sauce ready to use in the fridge or the freezer. Blend up the sauce with non dairy milk or some cashews or other nuts and water, bring to a boil with tofu and peas, or use veggies of choice. Finish off the curry with a toasty oil tempered cumin seeds and cilantro. Easy and so delicious. No Masala sauce, no worries. Blend up the ingredients according to the masala sauce recipe and cook it for 20 to 25 mins, then use 4 tbsp of the sauce and proceed.
This dish is
- Super easy
- takes just 15-20 minutes
- and is flexible!
Add fresh or crisped tofu, add veggies of choice or chickpeas or beans. Garnish with spices of choice. The toasty cumins seeds adds a burst of flavor to this tofu matar masala. Toast the cumin seeds until they are fragrant and change color for best results.
More Quick Curries from the blog
- Mushroom Matar Masala
- Bombay Potato and Peas
- Aloo Baingan โ Potato Eggplant Curry
- Okra in tamarind coconut sauce
- Tofu in Spinach Curry โ Saag Tofu
Use the easy Blender Masala Sauce. Blend and cook until well roasted.
Blend the sauce with non dairy milk or thin cashew cream. Add to crisped tofu and peas. Simmer and serve.
Creamier Tofu Masala version with cashew cream, served with aloo gobi.
Tofu Matar Masala - Tofu Peas in Blender Masala Sauce
Ingredients
- 3 to 4 tbsp Bhuna Masala sauce
- 1 cups non dairy milk such as almond, soy, coconut or cashew.
- 10 oz firm or super firm Tofu, cubed small
- 1 tsp oil
- 1/2 tsp garam masala
- 1/4 tsp turmeric
- 1/4 tsp cayenne
- 1 tsp dried fenugreek leaves, kasuri methi (optional)
- 1/2 tsp or more salt
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- 3/4 cup or more green peas, thawed if frozen
Tempering:
- 1/2 tsp oil
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
Instructions
- Blend the bhuna masala sauce with non dairy milk until well combined and set aside. For a creamier sauce, add 4 tbsp soaked (for 10 mins) raw cashews or macadamia nuts to the blender and blend in.
- Press the tofu between paper towels to remove excess liquid for 10 mins. Cube into 1/2 to 3/4 inch pieces. (Or use this baked tofu for a more paneer like Tofu)
- Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add garam masala, turmeric, cayenne, fenugreek.
- Add tofu cubes and mix and cook for 2 minutes.
- Add the blended sauce, salt and sugar and bring to a good boil. Fold in the peas, Continue to simmer for another 5 to 10 minutes to develop flavor. Taste and adjust salt and spice.
- Make the tempering: Heat oil in a small skillet over medium heat. When hot, add cumin seeds and toast them until they get fragrant. Drizzle this over the hot tofu matar masala just before serving. Garnish with cilantro. Serve with rice, flatbreads or in a bowl.
Instant Pot:
- Follow Steps 1 to 3 above. Add oil to the IP in saute mode. Add pressed cubed tofu, spices and cook for 2 to 3 mins. Add the blended sauce, salt, sugar and peas and pressure cook Manual 5 mins in the Instant Pot. Quick release, garnish with the tempering and serve.
Video
Notes
Toast the cumin seeds over a dry skillet until fragrant. Crush slightly and garnish the curry before serving. To make this Soy-free: Use any veggies such as caulifower, carrots, green beans, or beans such as chickpeas, split peas. Nutritional values based on one serving
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This dish was amazing! I used almond milk and added the soaked cashews suggestion for extreme creaminess. I ate it so fast i decided to make another batch and substituted the tofu with 1 cup soak and pressure cooked chickpeas, and that made it EVEN BETTER. Don’t pass up on this gem. I will be eating this with the chickpea substitute, but I will ensure to make the larger batch size next time because it just does not last long in my house. Oooooooo Yum!
yay! ๐
Dear Richa, I tried this recipe today, it turned out very good and tasted perfect! I used Macadamias for the milk and mixed also the nut puree in the cream which made the sauce very creamy. I took curcuma tofu which I can get here (in Germany) in organic quality and even with soy beans from Europe.
I didn’ t know about the tempering before but it really gave the meal a good additional flavor.
I will freeze the rest of tge bhuna massala as you recommended.
Thanks for this wonderful recipe!
Awesome! Thanks!
I made this today, I am very familiar with Indian Cuisine and have worked in several restaurants in several restaurants as a chef. I was excited to try this recipe but disappointed by the results. I have a method of making tofu indistinguishable from paneer so I was skeptical to try this. I should have use my method because this turned out far too soft. Although there are different types of Panera so this may just be a personal preference for me. I was extremely excited about the sauce and I think where I went wrong is that I use soy milk and I should have used almond or cashew. I will try making this again next week using cashew milk and hopefully I will get better results.
Try this tofu paneer instead in this sauce or any other https://www.veganricha.com/2017/05/butter-tofu-paneer-tofu-butter-masala-recipe.html
This recipe is more a tofu masala and a quicker version. To convert tofu to more of a paneer texture adds a bit more steps and time like linked above. It also depends on the brand of the tofu, some firm or extra firm tofu has much better texture(or firmer texture) that is already closer to paneer while some tofu brands are softer, hence need additional work. Paneer also does differ based on preference. So it depends on how you want the tofu to be and accordingly change it up. Press it for longer for a firmer texture. What do you do to your tofu?