Spicy Vegetable Curry

Today I'm making this dish, based on an above-average frozen dinner from my local grocery store's organic frozen foods section.  It's not actually that spicy the way I make it, but "spicy vegetable curry" was what I was aiming for and also sounded better than "plain vegetable curry."  The recipe isn't fancy since I'm terrible at seasoning sauces.  Just the worst.  But I managed to make this taste pretty good last time, especially the leftovers that had a chance to meld their flavors in the fridge overnight.

Ingredients
4 oz. extra firm tofu, diced (If you care more about taste than healthfulness, replace this ingredient with paneer.)
2 tbs ghee (a.k.a. clarified butter - If you aren't adventurous enough to find it in your local supermarket's international aisle, you can use normal butter.  Or vegetable oil.  But it won't taste quite the same.)
1 yellow onion, chopped
3 carrots, peeled and chopped into bite-sized pieces
1 potato, peeled and chopped into bite-sized pieces
1 cup frozen peas
1 (14 oz.) can diced tomatoes
2 tbs mild curry paste (I'm sure you could whip this up from actual Indian spices like cumin and coriander, but I am not the one who can tell you how.  I prefer to just buy Patak's mild curry paste from the International Foods aisle at the store and leave it at that.  It's much milder and more flavorful than curry powder, garam masala, or any spice blend I've ever tried to create myself.)
1 tsp Kosher salt
1/8 tsp baking soda diluted in 2 tbs water
Honey, to taste
1/4 cup quinoa, cooked (Quinoa is a whole grain that just adds some bonus nutrition and texture.  If you can't find it, just leave it out.)
1 handful of fresh cilantro, rinsed and chopped
1 cup Basmati rice, cooked

Directions

1.  Cook the tofu in a non-stick skillet until lightly browned.  Since it typically comes in 8 oz. packages, I brown all of it, then set aside half for this recipe and put half in the freezer to use the next time I make stir fry.  (This makes an appropriate amount of food for two people plus a couple of servings of leftovers.)

2.  Put ghee, onion, carrots, and potato in skillet and fry until vegetables are tender.

3.  Add canned tomatoes, diluted baking soda in water, salt, and curry paste.  Stir together.  The baking soda diluted in water is meant to cut the acidity of the tomatoes.  If the sauce still tastes too acidic or sour, mix in honey or sugar until it doesn't taste bad anymore.

4.  Add peas and the cooked tofu.  Stir everything together and simmer on low heat for 15 minutes.

5.  Stir in cooked quinoa. 

6.  Serve over Basmati rice and garnish with chopped cilantro.  Serve fresh dahi [yogurt] on the side if you have it.

Edited 8/31/2012:  I originally listed 1 tbs of ghee in the ingredients, but last night I made this dish and used two without thinking about it.  Sameer and I both agreed it was EXPONENTIALLY better than ever before, so I amended the recipe.