Vegan baked beans and tofu curry – On a budget

I used to enjoy eating baked beans but steer clear due to its high sugar content.I was happy to see KOO’s Lite version on the shelves, so naturally I had to try it ( taste test🙂).

A vegan recipe came to mind as I thought about how to prepare the baked beans. My colleague purchased tofu for me from a Chinese shop for an affordable price of less than R4 for a block. (Yeah you heard right!)

Given that I needed to use the tofu, I decided to make a baked beans and tofu curry.

The curry cost me less than R30 in ingredients and can easily feed a family of 4 adults if served with some wholewheat pasta or brown rice, or simply enjoyed on its own. It took me a total of 30 minutes to prepare including the cleaning up.

The reduced sugar did not compromise the baked beans taste as we know it to be. The tofu provided protein and a lovely texture to the curry.

Recipe

1 small onion sliced

2 red chillies (depending on how spicy you want)  🌶

3 sprigs curry leaves 🍃

1 tablespoon coconut oil

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp turmeric powder

2 small tomatoes

1 can KOO Lite baked beans

1 block tofu

Pink Himalayan salt for taste

Method:

Heat coconut oil in a heavy based pot over medium to low heat.Add onion, chillies, 2 sprigs curry leaves. After about 30 seconds, add mustard and cumin seeds, fry for 20 seconds.Add turmeric powder and tomatoes and salt.Cover pots with lids and let the tomatoes cooked until soft enough to mash up.Once tomatoes are mashed, add tofu and baked beans and last sprig of curry leaves.

Cook covered on very low heat for a total of 15 minutes while mixing lightly every 5 minutes to make sure it does not stick to the bottom of the pot.

Happy cooking!