Tofu Tikka Masala

I love Indian food. Growing up I went to my favorite Indian restaurant with my best friend at least once a week. Since I've gotten to college it's a little bit harder to get my fix, so when I found this recipe I was super pumped to try it. And honestly, it turned out even better than I expected!!

INGREDIENTS

1-16 oz firm tofu (sprouted or regular)
2 teaspoon turmeric, divided
3 tablespoon garam masala, divided
1 tablespoon red chili powder, divided (adjust per your taste and how spicy the chili is)
3 tablespoon cornstarch
2 tablespoon oil (may needed little more or less)
1 large onion, sliced
1 tablespoon ginger, minced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1-28 oz no salt added caned diced tomatoes*
½ frozen peas (optional)
salt, per taste
⅓-1/4 cup coconut milk (if not vegan, half and half or heavy cream is fine)
*instead of canned, you can use about 4 cups of finely diced fresh tomatoes, it takes a little longer to cook but works.

INSTRUCTIONS

Take the tofu out of the package, drain off the water, and put it on top of a paper towel or a kitchen towel and put another towel on top of the tofu.
Place something heavy on top (plate or cans) and let it sit for about 30 minutes.
In the meanwhile, heat a skillet with 1 tablespoon of oil and add onion, ginger, and garlic. Stir it often until onion starts to brown (4-6 minutes), then add 2 tablespoon garam masala, 1 teaspoon turmeric powder, 1 teaspoon red chili powder. Cook for a minute or two then add tomatoes to the skillet.
Stir everything together and let it cook for 5-8 minutes and stir in frozen peas and allow it to simmer for another minute or two. Once the mixture is cooked and thick like picture above, turn off the heat.
Once it cools down, puree the tomato mixture and leave it aside.
Discard all the water from tofu and pat dry with paper towel. Cut tofu into cubes and toss in remaining spices and corn starch to coat tofu pieces evenly.
Heat another skillet with 1 tablespoon of oil. Pan fry tofu 2-3 minutes on each side until it is evenly browned on all sides.
Place it on a plate lined with paper towel.
Simmer the tomato puree in low heat and slowly transfer the pan fried tofu into the skillet until heated through. Stir in coconut milk (or cream of your choice).