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Bissap and Tamarind Tofu Wraps
I have 3 reasons to blog today…
The weather is great here today, though a little humid , its been so long since it has rained in this part of the world, My part of world has brown coloured trees not the usual green , thats how dry it is… so , its been an oasis in the desert for us today with the showers yesterday and the drizzle today.
For most part of the year , Its my off over the weekends. So I dont venture into the kitchen, its invisible for me. However , when I saw my beloved in a sorry state , typing away on his laptop , juggling between 2 phones, weary after traveling too often, I melted as usual and went into the kitchen and wanted to make something fast and get over with it.
I am happy , cos I shed some weight that I have been struggling to , got down 2 sizes, more importantly , my BMI reduced 
YAY!!!! and went out and bought a new panini grill for ourselves
I had some Rajma coconut rice made from yesterday , grilled some sweet peppers, zucchini and eggplant ,
I made a tamarind marinade for the tofu , let it sit for a couple of hours and then grilled the tofu, wrapped everything into a tortilla and enjoyed it ! If you do not have the patience to spruce up the rice , just use plain rice or you can eliminate it altogether.
Ingredients:
For the Tamarind Marinade and grilling:
2 teaspoons of thick tamarind pulp
1/4 cup dry roasted peanuts
1 teaspoon of ginger
1 tablespoon of dark sesame oil
1 garlic clove , minced
1/4 teaspoon of cumin powder
1 teaspoon of soy sauce
2 shallots , chopped finely
1 tablespoon of honey
a few sprigs of fresh coriander
A few drops of hot sauce like sri racha or black pepper or paprika
Salt to taste
Take all this , except the oil in a food processor and blend into a pulp , then halfway through start pouring the oil and blend to a smooth paste.
Use extra firm tofu , for this , wrap it with paper towels, place it on a plate and place another skillet or a plate which is at least one pound in weight for 20 minutes, so that the water comes out and it becomes dry.
Dice the tofu , and slather it with this marinade , cover and keep atleast for 1/2 hour.
Place the tofu pieces on the grill and grill until the grill marks appear on the chunks and keep aside, It takes about 4 -5 minutes ,we need to flip them onto the other side after 2 minutes
For the Rajma Coconut Rice:
I cooked rice seperately , heated ghee in a skillet , add a can of kidney beans for 2 cups of rice and then added 1/4 cup of coconut , salt and immediately added it to the rice and garnished it with coriander . Trust me m, it was amazing !!
Coconut Rajma Rice , simple yet outstanding!
For the vegetables:
slice the vegetables of your choice using a mandoline , add oil,paprika and salt and grill them until grill marks appear on the veggies
For assembling the wrap , here is a diagramatic representation for people like me , who dont have the patience to wrap it properly,
Finally I was so fascinated by the grill marks , I decided to grill my wrap . It was fantastic.
Tamarind Tofu and Veggie Wraps , delightful!
I served it with Bissap , a traditional african , hibiscus and mint sweetened tea taken from The soul of a new cuisine .
Edible Hibiscus Flowers
Ingredients :
1/4 cup of edible hibiscus flowers , about 6-8
1 vanilla bean split , use the seeds
2 tablespoons honey
2 cups of water
2 mint leaves crushed
2 tablespoons of lemon juice
Take all the ingredients, except the flowere in a saucepan and bring to a boil , Add the flowers and let it seep for atleast 10 minutes .cool and serve chill ! Alternatively , you can make a granita out of it .
Bissap, Traditional African Hibiscus and Mint tea
The wrap goes to Archana’s One dish meals , Sangeeth’s Eat Healthy - Protien Rich Meals
The Bissap goes to my event , Herb Mania- Mint which ends on 15th July and Jihva for Ingredients - Flower Power hosted by Rachna .
Comments
Congratulations Dee, for loosing the weight. That alone is worth a celebration. You will be my hero when I make way into the gymn and try to shed some pounds.
All these dishes are new to me and the pictures look stunning and professional.
RedChillies
July 14th, 2008
I am glad to see I am not alone either in real or in virtual world - Women want to chisel themselves:) Congrats, Dee! The pics look great, and so does the tea:)
sunshinemom
July 14th, 2008
It’s an exotic feast Dee. First congratulations on dropping 2 dress size, it’s a big deal dear. Actually I haved added a couple of pounds and I’m desperate to lose it back again.
Another surprising thing, I also prepared iced mint tea yesterday and have posted it today for the event.
I guess you have started using the ego lights! Wonderful pictures.
Madhuram
July 14th, 2008
everytin looks delicious,..enjoyed readin ur post too,..lovely pics,..specially ice tea one
notyet100
July 14th, 2008
everything here looks absolutely fantastic dee! I love tamarind dressing myself, use it loads of times:) btw, those wraps look healthy gal, so how about sending them to my healthy cooking event too?:) unless you plan to make something else for me:)D
Mansi
July 14th, 2008
and this is a special comment! congrats on losing inches Dee!! this deserves a special applause, as I so know how ecstatic you feel!!!:)
Mansi
July 14th, 2008
Dear manas, I have something else for you
coming up soon!!!! yes I feel ecstatic more about the BMI loss than the dress size , I have been struggling for a while , cos after losing for a while , there was a lull , worked pretty hard the past 2 months 
home to lose some more in the coming months 
Dee
July 14th, 2008
@ Madhu , yes this is a product of the lights , thanks for the entry pal and yes I worked very hard for the dropping, hope to do some more of it though
@Thanks RC, its been a lot of hardwork , but paid off, I had to give up rice though
, yesterday was the first time in weeks that I ate rice, difficult while your spouse is enjoying it while you are eating wheat berriers or some other whole grain 
Shame on K, he has not yet reached his goal 
, and I’m a gemini not a cancerian 
Dee
July 14th, 2008
where can one buy hibiscus?
bee
July 14th, 2008
I bought in Trader Joe’s Bee, heard they sell it it west indian or african stores or tea shops , sometimes as jamaican flower
Dee
July 14th, 2008
Those pics are so wonderful and all the cooking you did when u weren’t in a cooking mood………u must be cooking a storm when u wud be on it….once again, loved those pics
bhags
July 14th, 2008
lovely lovely pics!! i am so glad u left a comment on my space and made me come over here
glad i did!
nags
July 14th, 2008
What a lovely spread, Dee. I have got to try that rajma-coconut rice soon!
Vaishali
July 15th, 2008
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