On The Sauce, And a Reminder

When I went home two months ago for a short visit, I met a cousin of mine from the US whom I had not seen for the last five years. The conversation veered round to food as it often does and we found ourselves discussing the cooking shows on TV here. This cousin grew up in the US and the shows here must have come as a big culture shock.

As the conversation progressed, her expression deepened from one of puzzlement to shock to utter disgust. She had watched a programme that morning where salad was one of the items on the menu. " ... And then she put in an entire bowl of mayo into the salad! An entire bowl. And she added apple, corn, cabbage {some other stuff which I don't remember now}, oh yes, carrots, and olives! Now tell me, Sra Akka, olives? And she (the lady featured in the programme) has the gumption to say very blithely that this mayonnaisey stuff is ideal for a weight-loss diet? No wonder these people eat like this and then wonder why they're not losing any weight!"

The less said about our TV shows featuring home cooks the better. I have nothing against the recipes involved, but find it hard to control my laughter when I hear the nutritional/weight loss advice that comes with it. As my cousin has ranted for me, I won't be adding more on that count. I only hope she's not provoked into another rant if she ever comes across this blog and reads this post - like that virtuous TV cook, I'm not going to make any claims as to its goodness or its unbearable lightness of being. It is, however, going to make her happy, I hope. And for me, it was a conscious experiment in Western vegan food - it's tofu mayonnaise and I'm sending it off to MBP-Sauces, originally conceptualised by Coffee.



What is mayonnaise?

I found the original recipe here. However, as I didn't have any sugar substitutes, I used ordinary sugar, so I can't confidently call it vegan.
Further, I had some powdered mustard seed (the pickling variety) and that's what I used in place of stoneground mustard. Even the one teaspoon that I used imparted a hint of bitterness to my mayo though that wouldn't deter me from using it.
I used a teaspoon of pepper too.
In place of the cider vinegar, I used some mirin as it has been lying unutilised in my kitchen since January.

Ultimately, the tofu mayo was made with:

250 gm silken tofu
1 tsp "strong" mustard
1 tsp pepper
Salt, to taste
3-4 tsp mirin
Juice of 1 lemon
3 tsp sugar

Put all ingredients into the food processor and process till creamy.

It's mid-October and we're at the halfway mark for My Legume Love Affair-Fourth Helping. Don't forget to send in your entries! The details are in the sidebar.

MBP-Sauces Silken tofu Mayonnaise