Mishkaki Tofu Skewers

A lot of culture have grilling culture. Meat flavoured in spices common in that cuisine. East Africa is no different. This Mishkaki-inspired Tofu skewers is a vegan friendly alternative to the East African Style grilled meat of the same name.

A Very Brief Introduction to East African Food

East Africa has one of the most unique culinary cultures in the world (that’s my personal opinion). With centuries of trade between Eastern Africa, the Middle East, and India, the resulting culture is an amazing blend of each of these geographical areas. You can see the results of this mixing in the language, the religion, and the architecture. The results vary across East African regions from the Horn of African to the Swahili Coasts and everything in between. The Swahili coast, which runs downs the coast of Kenya and Tanzania is an amazing display of this culture. You will find recipes rich stews, stewed greens, rice-based dishes, corn based swallows, plantain dishes, flatbreads and barbaceue, all using a variety of spices.

What is Mishkaki

Mishkaki is traditionally grilled meat marinated in a flavourful marinade made and grilled over charcoal. The marinade for this recipe depends on the cook. Most marinades include ginger, garlic, coriander, curry powder, cumin, and black pepper. These spices are either by themselves or in spice mixes like tandoori masala or even garam masala. I have also seen recipes that use tamarind, which adds a pleasant sweet and sour flavour.

Ingredients you will need

• Tofu: this will replace the meat. It acts like a blank canvas that can literally soak up every flavour you give it.
• Aromatics: Garlic and Ginger
• Spices: Coriander and Cumin Seeds, curry powder, garam masala, cayenne pepper, black pepper
• Tamarind: Tamarind is a sweet and sour fruit indigenous to Africa. it is used across many countries now and provides a sweet and tart flavour.

How to Make Mishkaki

• The cooking process is fairly straight-forward.
• Most tamarind packets are sold as tight blocks of paste. To use it, you will need to hydrate the paste in some hot water
• After soaking in hot water, you will mix in the ginger, garlic and other spices
• Marinade tofu cubes in the spice mix for over 2 hours

• Soak skewers while the tofu is marinading
• You can cook the tofu skewers two ways
  • You can either sear the tofu in a cast-iron skillet till all sides are brown then pop it in the oven to finish cooking.
  • Or, you can just bake it.

What to serve Mishkaki with

• Mishkaki is a great side dish to basically any carbohydrate or even in a salad
• You can serve it with my favourite rice-based dishes on the blog
  • Spiced Rice with Cumin & Star Anise
  • Ghanaian Fried Rice
• Or, you can try it with the Mushroom Fonio Pilaf

Print Recipe

Mishkaki - Style Tofu Skewers

East African

By Afia – Serves: 12 skewers

Prep Time: 2 – Cooking Time: 45 – Total Time: 3 hours

Ingredients

• 2 blocks extra firm tofu
• 2 tsp coriander seeds
• 2 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 tsp curry powder
• 2 tsp freshly grated ginger
• 2 cloves of garlic minced
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 2 tsp veggie bouillon powder
• 1.5 tbsp tamarind paste
• 1/4 cup warm water
• 2 tsp vegetable oil
• wooden skewers

Instructions

1

Please refer to the photos above for references on how I made my skewers. Feel free to cut them at different lengths

2

Warm the water in the microwave for a few seconds till it is warm but not hot

3

Mix the tamarind paste into the water and try and break it apart

4

Let it sit for about 10 minutes till it has dissolved

5

While the tamarind is soaking, combine all the spices into a spice grinder and blitz till everything is well combined into a powder

6

Squeeze out as much water as you can from the tofu and cut into one-inch bricks (refer to photo above)

7

Mix the powder spice mix with the soaked tamarind and oil till you get a thick paste

8

Mix the paste with the cut tofu and marinade for at least 2hours or overnight

9

While the tofu is marinating, soak your skewer stick (I used 6 inch skewer sticks)

10

After marinating, skewer about 4-5 tofu chunks per stick

11

You have two options to cook the skewers, depending on the amount of time you have to really tender the skewers

12

1. You can either bake the skewers for 45 minutes at 425°F, flipping after 30 minutes

13

2. you can sear the tofu in a cast iron pan/or any pan of choice till each side is brown then pop it in the oven for 10 mins at 425°F

14

You might be tempted to increase the temperature to make the tofu cook quicker but I do not recommend this