Vegetable Tandoori

You can choose different vegetables of your choice to make Vegetable Tandoori. I used firm tofu, mushrooms, green and red bell peppers, potato and cauliflower. You can even use onions, zucchini, egg plants and other vegetables of your choice.

16 ounce water packed firm tofu
10-15 cauliflower florets
1 red and green bell peppers
10-12 mushrooms
1 big potato

Drain water from tofu, cut into 16 cubes. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Arrange the cubes in a single layer and bake for 20 minutes. The tofu will release water and turn light golden.

Dice potatoes into 1 inch into cubes. Boil water in a big sauce pan. Drop potatoes into the boiling water. Cook for 3 minutes. Remove the potatoes and plunge into cold water containing ice cubes to stop the cooking process.

Separate cauliflower into big florets. Drop them into boiling water for 2 minutes. Remove the florets and plunge into cold water containing ice cubes to stop the cooking process.

Now to make the tandoori marinade mix in the following ingredients in a bowl.
2 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp black pepper powder
1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
1 tsp oil
1/2 cup yogurt
1/4 cup vinegar or lime juice
1/2 tsp salt
whisk in all the ingredients in a bowl.

Now mix the prepared vegetables, mushrooms and the marinade. Marinate for 8-12 hours in the refrigerator. I did not marinade the bell peppers.

Soak the bamboo skewers in water for 2 hrs. Dice bell peppers and onions into 1 inch cubes. When ready to make tandoori, thread in the vegetables and two skewers. Using 2 skewers just gives more control over the veggies when turning on the grill. The veggies tend to dance around the skewer if only one is used.

When you are done with threading all the veggies onto the skewer, prepare the grill. I do not have a grill, so I used the broiler beneath the oven on my gas stove range. Place the skewers on the grill and spray with cooking oil. Grill for 5 minutes on each side and continue till the veggies get crispy.

Serve with a wedge of lemon on the side.

Instead of making the marinate at home you can buy Shaan Tandoori Chicken BBQ masala and follow the instructions on the the packet. I have tried making Chicken tandoori with the Shaan mix, its yummy. This time I did not have enough of the Shaan tandoori mix at home, so I made the marinade of my own and added 1 tsp of tandoori mix too. Thats how I got the deep red colour on my tandoori.