Experiment and get the tastiest recipes for soya chunk dishes from
Hema Anand.
Soya chunks and granules are rich in protein and contain vitamins, minerals, fibre, calcium and iron. They are low on fat and also contain some amount of the essential omega-3 fatty acid. Many tasty recipes can be created using soya chunks and granules. Here are a few:
Soya Chunks & Granules Curry
Ingredients: Soya chunks — 2 cups, soya granules — half a cup, onion (finely chopped)— 2, ginger-garlic paste — 1 tbsp, green chillies (finely chopped) — 1-2, tomatoes (to be ground to a puree) — 3-4, coriander powder — 3 tsps, red chilly powder — 2 tsps, turmeric powder — half a teaspoon, coriander leaves (finely cut) — 1 tbsp, oil — 3-4 tbsps, salt.
Method: Soak the soya chunks and granules together in water for 15-20 minutes. Squeeze out the water and keep aside. Heat oil in a pressure cooker, add the onions and saute till they turn golden in colour. Add the ginger-garlic paste and green chillies and keep stirring till the onion becomes golden brown in colour. Add red chilly powder and stir for 2-3 seconds. Add the soaked soya chunks and granules and stir for a minute. Add some water and pressure cook for up to 1 whistle. Open the cooker, add tomato puree, coriander powder, turmeric powder and salt to taste and cook on a medium flame till the oil separates. Add enough water and pressure cook for up to 1 whistle. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with rotis or white rice.
Soya Chunks Biriyani
Ingredients: Soya chunks — 1 cup, rice —2 and half cups, garlic — 10 pods, ginger— 1-inch piece, green chillies — 5-6 (to taste), onions—3 (chopped), tomato—1 small (chopped), cloves— 3-4, cinnamon — 1-inch piece, stone flower — 2-3, star anise — 2, big cloves — 2, bay leaf — 1, turmeric powder — half a teaspoon, coriander leaves (finely cut) — 1 cup, mint leaves (finely cut) — 3/4 of a cup, juice of half a lime, ghee —1 tbsp, oil — 3-4 tbsps, salt.
Method: Soak the soya chunks in hot water for 15-20 minutes. Soak the rice for half an hour. Grind ginger, garlic and green chillies together and keep aside. Heat some oil in a pressure cooker, add the onions and saute till they are pink in colour. Add the ginger-garlic-chilly paste and stir it on a low flame for a few minutes. Squeeze out the water from the soya chunks. Add these chunks, all the whole spices and chopped tomato and cook on a low flame for 5-6 minutes. Add the coriander, mint leaves and turmeric powder and stir well. Cook till the oil separates. Add five cups of water, salt to taste, lime juice, ghee and soaked rice and pressure cook for up to two whistles. Serve hot with raita.
Soya Granules Cutlet
Ingredients: Soya granules —1 cup, potatoes (boiled and mashed) — 2 cups, onion (finely chopped) — 1 (small), ginger-garlic paste — 1 tbsp, green chillies (finely-chopped) — 2-3, red chilly powder — 2 tsps, coriander powder — 2 tsps, garam masala powder — 1 tsp, jeera powder — 1 tsp, amchur powder — half a teaspoon, cashew nuts— 1 tbsp, bread crumbs — 1 cup, coriander leaves (finely-chopped) — 2 tbsps, oil, salt.
Method: For the filling: Soak the soya granules for 15 minutes. Pressure cook with some salt for up to 1 whistle. Drain and squeeze out the water properly and keep aside. Heat a tablespoon of oil in a thick-bottomed pan, add the onions and saute till it turns pink in colour. Add the ginger-garlic paste and green chillies and saute them on a low flame for a minute. Add the soya granules and all the dry masalas and cook for a few minutes till it is completely dry. Add the cashew nuts and coriander leaves and let it cool.
For the cutlets: To the mashed potatoes, add bread crumbs, green chillies, coriander leaves and salt and mix properly to make a stiff dough. Divide the potato mixture into small portions and flatten each. Place a little soya filling between two portions and seal them to make an oval-shaped cutlet. Similarly make the other cutlets. Deep fry till it turns golden brown and serve them hot with mint-coriander chutney.