Measure all the ingredients in a plate or a bowl. Mix it up and crush up all the lumps.
Transfer to an air-tight container.
Prep for use of Coffee Rub:
Cut the tofu package and drain under a weight. Say about 30-45 minutes.
Soak the bamboo skewers if grilling.
Cut the veggies. Apply the coffee rub and put them in individual bowls.
Set it aside for about an hour.
Grilling:
When ready to cook, thread the tofu, potatoes, onions, tomatoes, mushrooms, capsicum in any order you please.
Brush the prepeared skewer with oil.
Grill in the pre-heated oven with both the grills on for about 10 minutes at 180 C/350 F.
Serve with sauces of your choice.
Cooking on the stovetop:
Add some 1 tablespoon oil to a non-stick pan and add the potatoes first. Stir fry till done. Set aside on a plate.
Add the onions and cook on high flame in 1 teaspoon oil till the onions are translucent. Transfer to the plate of potatoes.
Add the tofu and sear all the sides of the tofu. You may need oil again 2 tsps fry till the tofu turns brown. Set it aside on a plate.
Saute the mushrooms till they are cooked. Add 1 teaspoon oil if needed. Transfer to the plate.
Toss all the veggies together until the aroma spreads.
Now, at this point you can serve the stir fry. Especially if you have people who do not eat mushrooms.
But to add more umami flavours add all the mushrooms and toss the ingredients.
Serve topped with lemon slices, basil and a sprinkle of coffee rub mix.
For the Eggplant Roundels:
Cut up the eggplant in roundels about 0.5 centimetres in thickness.
Rub in salt, and the coffee rub, You can also add chilli powder to the mix.
Let this marinate for about 20-30 minutes.
Dredge in a mixture of rava and rice flour.
Place them on a non-stick skillet and drizzle about 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil.
Cover and cook on low flame till the aubergine gets some golden flecks on the rava. Then flip.
You can add more oil if needed but generally, I sprinkle a tablespoon of water on the slices and cover immediately.
Cook till done. Serve hot!
This tastes great with rice, dal, fish curry or just plain as a starter.
Notes
Use ground coffee beans in place of instant coffee. The only reason I did not use it was will it stick to my veggies? Since the amount we use will be small I was not worried about the fact that it may not be edible.
You can use cayenne powder, but I have not used it since we tend to eat milder food.
This spice rub is made for vegetarian recipes. If you plan on adding it to meats or need it to be spicer you will need to amp up the spices.