Pineapple and tofu curry with banana rice

Pineapple and tofu is one of my favourite combinations for a curry. Probably the best one I've had in Brussels is served at Anis & Vanille – a great Asian restaurant in Etterbeek, 5 minutes walk from my apartment ;)

I have been craving a nice hot curry the whole day today – as it happens often when I have a cold and when the weather is quite depressing.

Unfortunately I didn't have a yellow curry paste, which is the best for this kind of coconut milk based curry. Well, I used what I had to replace it or maybe rather create a new kind of yellow curry ;)

Here's what I used, it's a very simple recipe provided you have the yellow curry paste ;) It makes 4-6 servings.

700g of tofu, cut into cubes
1 medium pineapple; peeled and cut into cubes

450g frozen green peas (or fresh green beans, or carrots, or any other vegetables you think might go well with pineapple and tofu)

1 yellow and 1 red pepper, cut into 2-3 cm pieces

3 cans of coconut milk

Fresh coriander, chopped

Instead of the missing yellow curry paste I put the following in the blender (yes, much easier to remember to buy the paste next time ;):

2 cm piece of fresh ginger, minced

4 garlic cloves, minced

½ tsp turmeric

½ tsp white pepper powder

1 tsp chilli powder

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp curry powder

½ tsp cinnamon

1 tbsp prepared lemongrass (available in jars in Asian supermarkets)

2 tbsp agave syrup

Coconut milk – just enough to let all the ingredients blend well

To serve:

Cooked brown or jasmine rice

2 bananas, sliced

Heat the wok, pour half a can of the coconut milk and let it simmer for a few minutes, until it starts to thicken a bit. Add the yellow curry paste and stir up to 1 minute, until fragrant. Add the tofu and vegetables, stir well until they are well coated in the coconut-yellow curry mixture. Add the remaining coconut milk, turn down the heat and simmer until the vegetables are cooked but still tender. Adjust the seasoning if necessary, add the chopped coriander and serve over your choice of rice. I add sliced bananas into the rice – they give an extra interesting flavour to the pineapple-tofu curry.