Orzo in Thailand.

It was friday night and better half was out for dinner! My fridge had very limited stock of veggies and nothing was sufficient alone as a full meal. I decided to whip up something out of the available stuff and came up with this. It was really tasty and my husband surely missed out on this one.
                It is a quicker version of stew with some added pasta and tofu for a full meal.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup orzo
2 oz firm tofu (cut into 1/2 inch thick slices)
1 small red bell pepper (sliced lengthwise)
1/2 onion,sliced
1/2 tablespoon oil
1 cup basil leaves (reserve 5-6 leaves for adding at the end)
2-3 garlic cloves
1/2 inch piece of ginger
1 chilli (adjust according to taste)
salt and pepper to taste
1 tea spoon lemon/lime juice
1/2 tea spoon sugar
1/2 cup coconut flakes ( I had dried coconut on hand , use 1/4 cup if using fresh)
1 cup boiling water

Method:
In a blender, blend together basil leaves,ginger,garlic,chilli,coconut,lemon/lime juice and boiling water. Sieve the mixture through a strainer to get 1 cup of broth.
           Heat a pan on medium high. Add oil,sliced onion and bell pepper. Season with salt and pepper and cook for about 2 minutes or until onion starts to soften. Add orzo and toast everything  for 2 more minutes. Add 1 cup broth, let the mixture come to full boil and cook it covered for 5-7 minutes or until orzo is done. Add tofu,chopped basil leaves and season with salt and pepper as per taste. Cook for just a minute. Serve hot.

Note: Use Thai green/red curry paste if available. Blend together coconut, Thai curry paste and boiling water to make broth.