Low-Salt Aubergine Tofu Curry

Easy Aubergine Tofu Curry 

To mark World Salt Awareness Week, we’d like to give some inspiration and creative ideas on how to use different ingredients to lessen the need for salt.  

This zingy weekday curry recipe uses strong, sharp flavours that work together to create a burst of fresh, aromatic flavours.   

It’s quick, cheap and easy to make. Packed full of gut-loving fibre and a variety of vitamins and minerals, this 193 calorie meal is the perfect option for those following the exante 800 or 1200 plan or, if you're just looking for a healthy recipe idea! PLUS, this recipe is 100% Vegan!

Detest tofu? Let me change your mind. Here's a couple of tricks to give us a head start:  

1. Opt for the firm stuff, if you're close to a Chinese or Korean supermarket, even better! Try get your hands on Pulmuone and look for the little blue label “Firm” or “for frying” (this may be difficult since most of the packaging is in Korean, but hopefully you can often find those two magic words) - this is the one you want. Creamy. Texturous. Versatile. 
2. Drain and dehydrate before use. Unless you want a sloppy pile of white? Didn’t think so. So, pop open the pack, pour out the juice. Then - now’s the important part - place the tofu block between a few sheets of kitchen roll, place something heavy on top (an old, thick booking book? The Delia Smith in the back of your cupboard gathering dust...cough) and allow 20-30 minutes for the moisture to be squeezed out. 

Kcal: 193; Protein: 14g; Carbohydrate: 15g; Salt: 0.45g

Ingredients  

• 1 tsp olive oil 
• 2 heaped tbsp curry powder 
• 1 onion, diced 
• 1 thumb-sized knob of ginger, peeled and grated 
• 3 gloves of garlic, crushed and chopped 
• 500g extra firm tofu 
• 1 diced aubergine 
• 2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes  
• 1 x 400g tinned chickpeas
• Zest of 1 lemon, then cut into 4 wedges 
• Fresh coriander, roughly chopped 
• Large dollop of fat-free Greek yoghurt (optional)

Method 

1. Heat the oil in a large, shallow lidded pan. Sweat the onion until soft, then add the ginger, garlic, aubergine and curry powder. Heat ingredients until fragrant. 
2. Drain and cop the tofu into large cubes, add to the pan and fry until golden. 
3. Stir in the tomatoes and drained chickpeas. Sprinkle in the lemon zest and squeeze in the lemon juice, drop in the squeezed-out lemon wedges, skins and all - we’ll remove those later. 
4. Reduce the heat so the ingredients are lightly bubbling, and leave for 8-10 minutes until the sauce had reduced.  
5. Removed from heat, remove the lemon wedge. *Add a dollop of Greek yoghurt for creaminess (optional).
6. Serve over wholegrain rice and top with a generous sprinkle of chopped fresh coriander.