After the recent report on the need for all of us to reduce the amount of red meat and minimise our intake of processed meat, I have been looking for alternative sources of protein. We didn’t eat massive amounts of it, but a lot more than the two portions a week I have decided to have now.

In addition, New Husband doesn’t like meat that tastes strongly of meat. Me, I like the dark meat on poultry, making a bee line for the legs, plus I love duck, rabbit, offal, all game and strong tasting meat. He doesn’t even like those gorgeous crispy bits on a rasher, or crackling, as far as I’m concerned, the best bits!

Anyway, all this means that one of the things I have bought recently is a pack of tofu. Not the most tasty thing in the cupboard, but a great source of protein. So I thought I’d do a veggie kedgeree tonight using some tofu and a couple of eggs for protein.

It was a very tasty dinner, a pretty successful experiment.

Fishless kedgeree / vegetable rice

Third of a pack tofu, Asda £1.24/349g, 41p
2 eggs, Asda mixed weight free range eggs, 13.3p each, 26p
150g carrots, Asda 2kg/£1 7p
100g onion, Asda 2kg/£1.07, 5p
100g peas Asda 78p/kg, 8p
100g value rice Asda 60p/kg, 6p
2 Tblsp mild curry powder Asda £1/80g, 12p
30g butter Asda 85p/250g, 10p
Tblsp veg oil Asda £1.08/litre, 2p
100ml veg oil, 11p
Total cost £1.28, 64p per serving
Serves 2, per serving 590 cals, 21g protein, 54g carbs, 33g fat

I have allowed 1 Tblsp of the oil used to cook the tofu in the calories, the rest I have assumed stays in the pan

Put the oil and butter in a large frying pan and sauté the chopped onion until transparent. Add the diced carrot and continue cooking until the carrot has softened. Now add the peas.

Add the curry powder and cook for a minute or two to cook the spices and peas through.

Heat another pan, add the extra oil and heat quite high. Carefully add the tofu slices and cook until golden on one side. Carefully turn over, it’s delicate stuff, and brown the other side.

Meanwhile, boil the eggs for 5 minutes. Drain, cool and peel.

Boil the rice in salted water until done. Drain well. Add to the veg once all the veg are done and mix everything together.

Put the fried tofu and sliced eggs on top and serve immediately.

This made two generous portions, so there may be leftovers for lunch the next day.

I had a big lump of cauliflower to use up, so I included that in ours, but not in the recipe, as they seem to be quite expensive at the moment.

Different curry powders will give different flavours, and of course you could use a Pataks curry paste. I added curry powder bit by bit until it was spicy enough, add more or less depending on how you like it.

If you leave out the tofu and eggs, you have a great vegetable rice to use as an accompaniment for pretty much anything.