Special Soya Chunks and Potato Curry

An aromatic & flavourful coconut based curry made out of soya chunks/meal maker is a perfect vegan dish to serve alongside rice or chapathis

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Indian

Keyword Soya Chunks, Vegan

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 15

Total Time 45

Servings people

Calories 314kcal

Author Shireen Sequeira

Ingredients

2 cups soya chunks
1 large potato peeled and cubed
boiling water
1/2 cup milk
1 medium sized onion finely sliced
2 medium sized tomatoes chopped
salt to taste
ghee or oil for frying
chopped coriander or mint to garnish

For the masala:

3 cloves
1 cardamom
1 " stick of cassia bark or cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon shahjeera
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
3-4 peppercorns
6 Kashmiri chillies de seeded
1-2 green chillies de seed if you wish - adjust to taste
3-4 fat cloves of garlic
1 inch piece of ginger
1 medium sized onion chopped
1/2 cup coriander leaves
2 tablespoons chopped mint
3 tablespoons grated coconut
1/2 tablespoon poppy seeds
1 tablespoon roasted bengal gram (hurikadale)
3-4 whole cashewnuts

Instructions

Place the soya chunks in a deep bowl and pour boiling water over them, about 1 inch above the chunks. Add salt (1/2 teaspoon), mix, cover the pan and keep aside for 15 mins. After 15 mins discard the water, squeeze out each chunk gently to remove as much water as possible, refresh with plain water and soak again in warm water and milk. Cover and keep for 15 mins or till required.
OR - if using mutton, cut it into small pieces, wash and drain well. Keep aside
Using very little water, grind all the ingredients mentioned under 'For the masala' to a fine paste. Transfer masala into a bowl and rinse the mixer jar with 1/4 cup of water. Reserve this water.
Heat ghee or oil in a pressure cooker and fry the sliced onions till golden, then add the ground masala and fry until the oil/ghee separates.
If using soya, then squeeze the chunks gently before adding to the masala. If mutton is being used, then add the washed and drained pieces. Add the chopped tomatoes and potatoes and give it a quick mix.
Add the reserved 1/4 cup of water and maybe a little more if you want more gravy (add upto 1/2 cup water if you are using mutton instead of soya). Check salt to taste, adjust seasoning as required. Cover the lid of the pressure cooker and cook on full heat until one whistle is released (for mutton, after the 1st whistle, reduce the heat to a sim and continue to cook for 12-15 minutes). Remove from heat and let the cooker cool down to room temperature.
Open the cooker, stir gently and garnishwith chopped mint or coriander and serve hot with chapathis, pulkas or rice

Notes

1. Soya chunks are available in different sizes. Buy the larger, chunky variety. Do note that soya chunks and granules are different. The latter is like small grains.
2. The cooking time for mutton (as mentioned in step#5 above) may vary depending on the quality of meat used. Do check after the said time and place the cooker back on the heat if the meat is undone.
3. If you wish you can make this curry with beef or chicken. While the latter won't require any pressure cooking (as chicken is tender)
4. If desired you can add a lot of flavour to this dish by using chicken or mutton stock (homemade) or stock cubes (Maggi) - dissolve one cube in the 1/4 cup of water and add it to the masala (see step#5). However, if you do add the stock cube your dish will have a non veg element in it.

Nutrition