Tempeh with mustard sauce, eggplant sticks and basmati rice

I just love tempeh!

Today it is easy to find very good and fresh tempeh all over the world.

For those who don’t know, tempeh is a traditional soy product originally from Indonesia. It is made by controlled fermentation of cooked soybeans with a tempeh starter. It has a firm texture and a very high content of protein, dietary fiber and vitamins. Umm, so good...

Years ago the only branch available here was canned tempeh. By that time I had never cooked it nor tasted it. Believe me, for someone who had never taste the savour of it, trying to cook it without a recipe was something not to be advised!

The first time I cooked it , I couldn’t even eat it! It was a complete disaster...

But over the years I have been improving my experiences and I am now an absolute fan!

What better way to eat it than with a tasty sauce, a rice with a very distinctive aroma as basmati rice and eggplants?

Basmati rice is my favourite rice. It is a long-grain rice from India. It has this unique amazing smell and it is considered to be one of the best-quality of white rices.

Nothing better to add than organic products cooked with love...

Yeap, go for the environment, respect mother Earth, buy organic, eat well!

This recipe will serve 2 and you will need:

For the Tempeh:

• 200g organic Tempeh
• 5 garlic cloves
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp mustard (yellow or Dijon according to your preference)
• 1 cup soymilk or milk
• fresh coriander to your taste
• some lemon drops
• salt to taste

For the eggplant:

• 2 small eggplants cut in rounds
• 2 tomatos cut in rounds
• 1 medium onion cut in rounds

For the eggplant sauce:

• 5 or 6 fresh basil leaves
• ½ tsp black pepper
• 2 tsb curry powder
• 2 whole nuts
• ½ cup olive oil
• salt to taste

For the basmati rice:

• 2 cups basmati rice
• 3 or 4 times the amount of rice in water
• salt to taste

Begin with the rice as it needs to be soaked for at least 1 hour.

Wash the rice 3 or 4 times until you start getting clear water. Soak it for 1 hour.

Start preparing the eggplants.

Wash and cut them in rounds. Sprinkle with salt and allow them to rest for about 20 minutes to reduce some of its bitter taste. After the 20 minutes you should remove the excess of salt or washed them as the sauce already contains salt.

While the eggplants are sweating, prepare the sauce:

mix in a blender the basil leaves, the garlic gloves, nuts, curry powder, black pepper, olive oil and salt. Add some drops of lemon juice and mix again.

Pre-heat the oven for the eggplants.

Wash the tomatos and the onions and cut them in rounds.

Prepare your bamboo sticks placing a round of eggplant, then a round of tomato and a round of onion. Repeat the process until you have fillied 80% of your stick.

Pour the sauce over the sticks. Put them in the oven to roast for about 15 minutes until they are brown on the outside but tender on the inside.

Now start preparing the rice.

Boil the water. Drain the rice in a coliander and add to the water.

Add salt to your taste. Mix the rice gently and make sure it is not sticking at the bottom.

Let it cook for 5 minutes in medium-high flame.

Put it in a colander to remove the water and return to the pan. Put the lid on top and let it rest for 5 minutes more.

While your rice is finishing, cut the garlic cloves into pieces put them in a frying pan and sauté in the olive oil for 1 minute (low flame) , then add the tempeh cut in rounds.

Cook the tempeh until itis lightly golden.

Mix the milk with the mustard, salt to taste an add it to the tempeh.

Let it cook in médium flame for 3 or 4 minutes. Add some lemon drops and garnish it with the fresh coriander.

The eggplants should be ready...

Enjoy your meal!

© veggie delicious food, December 2012