Meatless Monday: Grilled Vegetables With Tofu

Don't be tempted by the drive-through; make a meatless dinner in 15 minutes instead: Indian-spiced grilled vegetables with tofu.

By: Michelle Buffardi

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Meatless Monday is a global movement, a way of life. It’s not a campaign to turn everyone in the world vegetarian or vegan; in fact, many involved are meat-lovers. Eating less meat has been proven to reduce the risk of disease, curb obesity and has important environmental impacts, too. Will you join us in giving up meat, just for one day a week?

You're busy. And hungry. You have 15 minutes to get dinner on the table because you have loads of other stuff to do. Here's how it could go down:

Scenario 1: You drive on over to Taco Bell on your way home. You shout your order into the speaker, pay and wait 6 minutes for your giant bag of chalupas and gorditas to appear, drive back home, arrange the paper-wrapped tacos and such on the table with paper napkins and packets of hot sauce, and viola, dinner is served.

Scenario 2: You preheat the grill, and while you're waiting, mix together a quick marinade of garlic, cumin, coriander, oil, vinegar and honey. Toss asparagus, peppers, mushrooms and sliced firm tofu in the marinade and grill them for a few minutes, till they're tender.

Oh, you prefer Scenario 2? Good choice. You won't be sorry and you won't have heartburn for three days either. You can use this Indian spice marinade on zucchini, summer squash, tomatoes or any other vegetables you have in the fridge. Serve the vegetables with gingered basmati rice, store-bought naan or crostini with spiced goat cheese. Make extra and your super-fast meatless dinner will become tomorrow's lunch, too.

Bal Arneson's Grilled Vegetables With Tofu

Yield: 4 servings

1 clove garlic, chopped

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 tablespoon ground coriander

2 tablespoons grapeseed oil

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon honey

Pinch salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 red peppers, seeds removed and peppers cut into 2-inch pieces

12 stalks of asparagus

2 portobello mushrooms, stems removed

1 pound extra firm tofu, thickly sliced

Preheat a grill to medium-high.

Put the garlic, cumin, coriander, oil, vinegar, honey, salt, and pepper in a large bowl and whisk well. Add the peppers, asparagus, mushrooms, and tofu and toss gently until all the spices are evenly distributed.

Place the vegetables on the preheated grill and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, or until they are tender with nice grill marks on both sides.

Print and review the recipe here.

More Meatless Indian Recipes:

Bal's Veggie Burgers

Red Pepper Soup With Toasted Cumin Seeds

Paneer and Vegetable Skewers

Indian Potato Salad

Cold Yogurt Soup