Cauliflower - Tofu - Mast - Mast

Another one of those episodes of "I have to cook something but, oh, not the same old" resulted in the incarnation of this, accidentally mast-mast dish. Although in this case, an additional goal was to come up with something that combined protein and vegetables together - no patience to make daal separately.

Note: This was a risky undertaking - a one-hour, one-dish meal and I had no clue what this "dish" would turn out to be like. Anyhow, I was very pleasantly surprised, and if you want to try this out on one of your one-dish-meal days, do so at your own risk :-).

The beauty of this recipe is its flexbility - if you can get the sauce to taste right, you can use whatever vegetables, tofu, paneer etc you have at hand.

This looks (and is made) very much like makhani - except it is much lighter. The sauce is yogurt based with just a little butter added for the yum factor.

The following made about enough for 5-6 people as the main meal to be eaten with Roti or Rice/Quinoa

For the sauce
2 medium onions
5 med tomatoes
1/2-3/4 lb yogurt - beat it to smooth with a spatula and add about a cup of water to thin
2 green chillis - optional
2 pods of garlic
A nice big piece of ginger - 2-3 inch
Corriander powder
Garam masala
Turmeric
Salt
Sugar
2 tbsp butter - optional, but I would rather not skip this. Its not that sinful when split in six servings
Oatmeal powder (I powder up plain  old Quaker oats) or any thickener of your choice
Oil to saute
Cumin/mustard seeds or panchforan for tadka

1 small cauliflower - broken into florets and steamed (you could add raw to the sauce but then it will take longer to soften)
1.5 blocks tofu (the one from trader joe's - do not remember the weight. I prefer soft - not firm)
0.5 lb frozen peas (steamed w/ the cauliflower florets)
Whatever other veggies/protein your hear desires and your refrigerator holds that day

• Whirl the onions in a chopper to fine pieces (not a complete paste). 
• Heat oil. Add cumin/mustard/panchforan for tadka.
• Add the onion and saute until the rawness is gone and the onion starts browning - this take some time (5-7 min)
• Mince the chillis, ginger and garlic in the chopper. 
• Add a little more oil if needed and saute the minced ginger/garlic - 1-2 min
• Set the chopper to work again on the tomatoes this time.
• Add the spices to the onion mix - turmeric, corriander, garam masala - saute for a min or two
• Add the tomato paste - stir for a min
• Add the yogurt and stir until the mix comes to a boil - THIS IS KEY. I increase the heat to high. Have to stir (does not have to be continuous, but has to be very frequent) until the mix comes to a vigorous boil - this will take about 10 on high. If the mix is not stirred, the yogurt will split into curds and whey and the sauce will not taste or look good. Also DO NOT add salt until the mix has come to a boil.
• Once the sauce has started boiling, lower the heat and let simmer.
• If the sauce is thin, mix the oatmeal powder in some water and add to the sauce when simmering. I prefer to start with a thin sauce and let it thicken. 
• Add the salt, vegetables, tofu and simmer until desired consistency
• Add sugar per taste to balance the tartness of the yogurt.
• At the end, add some butter and enjoy with hot roti, paratha, rice, quinoa, bread etc