Harissa crusted tofu with green peas hummus

Today's post is very special to me as I'm sharing the recipe from one of my mentors, Shimpa Rathore. Gem of a person, creative genius, brilliant chef and very humble, Shimpa is the owner of a cookery group in Facebook, inspiring many lives.

Ingredients:

For Harrisa Paste:

• 100 gms Dried Red chillies
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp corriander seeds
• 3-4 cloves garlic
• Salt to taste
• 2 tbsp Olive oil
• 1 tbsp lemon juice (optional)

For Crusted Cottage cheese/tofu:

• 2 thick slices of Cottage cheese/tofu
• 1 tbsp harrisa paste
• 1 tbsp honey
• Salt to taste

For Tahini dip:

• 1/2 cup sesame seeds
• 3-4 cloves garlic
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 2-3 tbsp olive oil

For Green peas hummus:

• 1 cup frozen peas
• 3-4 cloves garlic
• Salt to taste
• 1 tbsp tahini 
• 1 tbsp Lemon juice 

Method:

Harissa paste:

• Soak chillies in hot water for 30 minutes.(do not discard the water)
• Dry roast coriander and cumin seeds on a skillet until fragrant.

• Drain, discard stems and deseed chillies, transfer to a mixer/food processor along with whole spices, garlic cloves,salt, lemon juice and olive oil.
• Grind to a smooth paste. (add water used for soaking chillies, if required)
• Tranfer this to a jar and drizzle good amount of olive oil on the top.

Crusted Cottage cheese/tofu:

• Cut thick slices of Tofu/Cottage Cheese. (I used Tofu here)
• Mix 1 tbsp harissa paste with 1 tbsp honey, marinate tofu slices in this for 15-20 minutes.
• Sprinkle little salt on both sides of tofu.

• Heat oil in a non stick pan and sear on low-medium heat to get a nice crust.

Tahini Dip:

• Dry roast sesame seeds in a wok on medium flame till light brown and fragrant.

• In a  mixer/food processor grind sesame seeds along with garlic cloves, lemon juice and olive to a fine paste ( add warm water if required)
• Tahini is ready.

Green peas Hummus:

• Blanch green peas in boiling water for 3-4 minutes.
• Drain and immerse in cold water.
• Transfer to a food processor along with garlic cloves, tahini paste, salt and lemon juice and grind to a fine paste.
• Green peas hummus is ready.

Plating:
Spoon some tahini at the base and make a boundry with green peas hummus, place the crusted tofu at the top,sprinkle some black pepper and drizzle good amount of olive oil to serve.