Vine and Dine - The Millennium Cookbook - Baked Madras-Glazed Tofu

Welcome back to the return of Vine and Dine. A fabulous cooking challenge where the players do their best to procure and match vegan wines with a delicious dish from a variety of cookbooks. Vine and Dine is hosted by the lovely Tami Noyes over at Vegan Appetite blog where she will be posting this round's great wine finds and recipe interpretations.

This time around she let me choose the book we'd be using. I chose the Millennium Cookbook. I had the opportunity to visit Millennium a few years back and was awed! The recipes in this book often times make me freak out when I see all of the ingredients and components, so the book gathers dust too often. I thought this would be a great opportunity to use it again! Tami selected the Baked Madras-Glazed Tofu with Saffron Basmati Pilaf, Sauteed Vegetables, and Peach-Lime Chutney. That title is a mouthful all on its own!

This recipe had several components: tofu that had to be marinated, curried onions and vegetables, chutney and rice pilaf. Nothing was overly complicated, but it did take a bit of coordinating. The marinade and chutney could certainly be made ahead of time, making this much more simple to pull together. I didn't plan ahead, so all was made last night.

I did have to make a few substitutions. How I ran out of brown basmati rice is beyond me, but I did have long grain brown rice. I know the basmati would have given the dish a more complex and aromatic layer, but with all of the other flavors going on here, it worked out just fine. I wasn't able to find fresh peaches or apricots this time of the year, so used the dried apricot variation.

Sadly I have a bit of a nasty cold, so my tastebuds are a bit off. This was a great dish for that though! There are a lot of bold flavors going on here that even I could taste! The tandoori marinade had a hint of bitterness that was nicely complemented by the sweetness of the chutney. I loved the hint of lime in both the marinade and the chutney. I thought they were a great match up. I think the tandoori may have been overpowering without the chutney. The saffron made the rice a gorgeous color and gave it a hint of grassy flavor. The curried onions and vegetables rounded this out beautifully. I used zucchini, carrots and broccoli. I'd get a hit of the tandoori, then bang, the curry, followed by the sweet flavors of the chutney. It was really amazing. Eric Tucker sure knows how to marry his flavors. The colors were so vibrant. It was a very pretty plate!

I made the full amount of the marinade and only half the rest of the recipes. I have some green beens and spinach that need to be used up. I may try simmering some tempeh with them in the leftover marinade...oh, and maybe kabocha squash.

Now here is Fred to talk about his wine pairing (which was quite lovely I must say).

This dish is a sea of swirling flavors, spices and textures, one that could wash away a weak wine or clash with a strong one. 


I found a Pinot Noir that turned out to be an island that held it's own but yet coexisted delightfully with everything in this dish. One sip gave me a smokey raspberry taste and the next was a light plumish aftertaste. 


She was not a cheap date at 27 dollars, but she was worth it. This 2008 "Duck Pond" from the Willamette Valley in Oregon has a strong presence but yet knows how to blend in with the crowd. This wine complimented this intricate dish at every level. It went well with Indian seasonings, held up to the heat, and seemed to really bring out the flavor of the veggies.  


It was like a couple dancing where the main course is leading but the wine really knows how to move and they both come off looking great together. I will buy this wine again as I think it would be fantastic by itself as well as an accompaniment to a meal.