Post Punk Kitchen Forum

hello, there is a curry recipe i would like to make from the 'vegetarian entrees that won't leave you hungry cookbook' (i think page 99 in case any of y'all have it)

it calls for either 1/2 cup coconut milk or 2 TBS plain unsweetened yogurt.

i do not plain to go out and buy coconut milk. and my big tub of plain soy yogurt is sweetened. i bought 2 big tubs yesterday, one plain and one vanilla, and of course i opened up the vanilla one. i cannot open up the plain one as that is too much yogurt to eat since they are best eaten within 7 - 10 days. plus it's sweetened so it might could make the curry taste odd.

anyway, i'm wondering what i can sub for the 2 TBS of plain unsweetened yogurt that the curry recipe calls for. in my pantry i have, vegan mayo and mori-nu soft and extra-firm silken tofu. do you think either of these 3 would work? i'm also wondering if i can stick with 2 TBS since neither of my 3 sub options are "liquidy" like coconut milk is? i dunno, i don't think i've ever drank, bought, or used coconut milk.

I'd use the sweetened yoghurt, or leave it out altogether. Then again, I can eat a whole tub of yoghurt in two sittings.

Maybe just a squeeze of lemon, even, to add the yoghurty sharpness.

Give it a try, the sweetness in your yogurt won't be very apparent from 2 tbsp.

I would just open the plain one and then make a bunch of stuff that uses it. I use plain yoghurt all the time these days. But yeah, the sweetened one is probably fine if you don't want to open something else.

Definitely try coconut milk some time, it's the best! I always have a ton of it on hand because we use it so much, I can't imagine not using it!

I dunno, it's only vanilla sweetened yogurt that you have open and are willing to use? If it were plain sweet yogurt, fine, but I'm afraid the vanilla might come through even with only 2 Tbsp.

I'd probably leave it out if these are the only options-- vanilla yogurt, silken tofu, or mayo. Maybe blended soft silken tofu with a squeeze of lemon or lime juice would be OK.

You should really try coconut milk in your curries though! I think it really adds a lot.

What brand is it? I find Silk Plain to be pretty unsweet even though it it sweetened and it's suitable for some recipes. Whole Soy Plain sweetened tastes vanilla to me. For a curry, I think sweetened will be fine, as long as it's plain flavored.

I meant to mention that I've used silken tofu and lemon juice as a yoghurt replacement a ton of times (even to make naan!) as we only got plain soy yoghurt here recently, and it works really well. But I wouldn't bother if you're only going to use two tablespoons.

aw, you guys rock with your speedy dinner time replies!

and i have whole soy brand yogurt. that is the only brand of soy yogurt earth fare carries. i've seen a very very very small selection of soy yogurt at trader's joes but i think they are fruity.

what does coconut milk taste like?

i'm allergic to all nuts and from what i'm reading on the internet, there seems to be mixed info as to whether coconuts are okay for me or not. my mom is allergic to coconuts so i've unintentially avoided them. although in the past i think i had choc candy that had coconut in it and i was fine?

I'd use the yogurt; many curries have some sweet component to them anyway.

Coconut milk is made from grated coconut and water, so it tastes like coconut.

It's very creamy. If you don't like coconut, you won't like coconut cream, although a spoonful or two should just add richness rather than a coconutty flavour.

hhhmm.... will have to consult with hubby about this. hubby does not like coconut at all. and i fear that with 1/2 cup (the recipe calls for 1/2 cup coconut milk or a substitution of 2 TBS plain yogurt) the coconut milk may also add some coconutty flavor in addition to richness. we will be making this tomorrow (saturday) night.

i might just break open the plain soy yogurt, even though it is sweetened, although i can't really see how 2 TBS is really going to contribute anything as the recipe makes a lot of curry. among its many ingredients is a 28 oz can of diced tomatoes. ..........or i'll just use a couple of TBS of soft silken tofu with a squirt of lemon juice.

I would use plain soymilk (pref. unsweetened) with a dash of vinegar. If you don't have that or another plain nondairy milk around, I'd probably use the vegenaise.

But the plain sweetened soy yogurt would be fine too.

snap annak. i was coming along to suggest the same thing :)