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Bringing you all some summery vibes with these quick vegan tandoori tofu skewers served with a generous amount of mint chutney and yoghurt. These Indian-style tofu skewers are super simple to make, colourful, and packed with so much flavor. This is the perfect weeknight dinner and is great for summer grilling.
This vegan tandoori tofu skewers recipe is…
- perfect for cookout season!
- also gluten-free.
- a great tofu recipe for weeknight dinners.
Ingredients for tandoori tofu skewers
- Tofu: nothing fancy, just a regular block of tofu. You don’t want to use firm tofu as it won’t soak up the marinade.
- Bell peppers: I like to use half a red pepper and half a green pepper.
- Onions: I use red onion for the colour, but white would work too.
- Ginger & Garlic: both, freshly grated
- Spices: ground turmeric, chaat masala, cumin powder, Kashmiri chilli powder, salt and black pepper. If you don’t have Kashmiri chilli powder, use cayenne powder!
- Vegan yoghurt: to create a lovely thick marinade, you’ll need a plain yoghurt
- Lemon: a squeeze of lemon or lime juice
- Oil: only a drizzle to prevent the tofu from sticking on the grill pan/skillet.
Prepping the veggies and tofu…
Grab the tofu block, remove it from its packaging, drain the water and then wrap it with a kitchen towel. Place on a plate, and then place some books or even pans on top. This will help remove all the excess water from the tofu, making it a little firmer, and easier to soak up all that marinade. You could also use a tofu press if you have one! Set aside for 30-40 mins.
Once that’s done, chop up the tofu into bite-sized chunks, along with the bell pepper and onion.
All about the tandoori marinade…
To make the simple tandoori paste, just combine the vegan yoghurt, ground turmeric, chaat masala, cumin powder, Kashmiri chilli powder, salt, black pepper, grated ginger and grated garlic together in a large bowl, until smooth. Then mix in the lemon juice!
Add in the tofu chunks, bell pepper chunks and onion chunks. Mix together until everything is well covered in the tandoori paste. Marinate for 15 minutes at room temperature, but for the best results, allow to marinate for at least 2-3 hours in the fridge. You could even marinate it overnight if you like!
Making the tandoori tofu skewers…
To start, grab the marinated tofu pieces and veggies and carefully thread them into skewers. If using wooden skewers, make sure you soak them in some water for a few hours before using them!
It’s traditional to cook them in a tandoor oven, which many people do not have at home, so I grilled them in a pan until perfectly charred all over. You could certainly bake these too if you prefer.
I used a flat iron pan similar to this one. Grease your pan with a little oil, and once the pan gets super hot, grill the skewers. The key is to cook them over medium-high heat for a couple of minutes, and then turn them. If you find the tofu chunks aren’t touching the pan so easily, just gently press with a spatula to get that beautiful char on them! And in between every turn, brush the tofu and veggies with the leftover marinade.
To bake them, pop the skewers onto a parchment paper-lined baking tray, brush over the remaining marinade and bake on high for 15-20 minutes or until charred. Make sure you flip them every 5 minutes or so to prevent burning!
What to serve with Tandoori Tofu Skewers
Transfer the cooked skewers onto a serving plate and drizzle a little green chutney and vegan yoghurt over them. And to make the yoghurt look extra special, I like to swirl a little Kashmiri chilli powder into it! I sometimes stuff these perfectly charred tofu chunks and veggies into some naan bread, but you could also serve them over a warm bed of freshly cooked rice or quinoa too!
After you give these healthy vegan skewers a try, please leave a star rating and review below! I try my best to respond to you all. Oh, and don’t forget to tag me over on Instagram – I can’t wait to see your images!!
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Ingredients
- 400 g block of tofu (pressed for about 30 minutes)
- 1 bell pepper
- 1 onion
- 1/4 cup vegan yoghurt
- 1 tbsp Kashmiri chilli (or cayenne pepper )
- 1 tbsp grated garlic
- 1 tbsp grated ginger
- 1/4 tsp ground turmeric
- 1/2–1 tsp chaat masala
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- salt + black pepper (to taste)
- oil for greasing the pan
For serving
- mint chutney
- fresh coriander
- vegan yoghurt swirled with a little chilli powder
Instructions
- Marinade: Combine vegan yoghurt, chaat masala, Kashmiri chilli powder, ground turmeric, ground cumin, grated ginger, grated garlic, lemon juice, salt and black pepper. Chop up the onion, bell pepper and tofu into bite-sized chunks, and into the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for 2-3 hours.
- Grilling: Thread the bell pepper, onion and tofu chunks through skewers. Heat grill pan or skillet over medium-high heat and brush it with a little oil. Cook the skewers over high heat, and gently press the tofu chunks if it's not touching the pan. Drizzle a tiny bit of more oil if it starts to stick!
- Serve: Place all the skewers on a serving plate, and garnish with a little fresh coriander. And serve with vegan yoghurt and mint chutney,
