Soya Chunks Kurma

Today I am posting another Soya chunks recipe. I know that some of you have started asking me if I am so much fond of these Soya...yes, I do love these protein rich nuggets and I try to come up with new recipes using them. These are a wonderful meat substitute for vegetarians. I eat only chicken and certain fish, that too very occasionally and I don't cook non-veg at home. I don't have any non-veg recipes here at my space. I have a few friends who think that non-veg food is mandatory in the diet. I strongly disagree that and I believe you can be healthy or fit with only vegetarian food. During our first trip to US, we had remained pure vegetarians for a long time and we didn't have any problems while travelling as well. I believe that if you consume protein in other different forms such as using soya products, pulses, paneer etc then there is no need for eating meat or sea food if protein consumption is your goal.

Soya chunks kurma is a rich and delicious curry. The soya chunks are cooked in coconut milk and then coconut ground with cashews and fennel seeds is added which gives a special flavour to this kurma.  This  curry goes well with chapathi.   

What you need?

2 cups Soya chunks

1 large Onion chopped
2 Tomatoes chopped

1 tsp Ginger-Garlic paste

Whole Garam Masala : 1/2" pc Cinnamon, 2 Cloves, 2 Cardamom pods, 1 star Aniseed

4-5 Curry leaves

1/2 cup Coconut milk

1 tsp Chilli powder

1 tsp Coriander powder

1/2 tsp Turmeric powder

1/2 tsp Garam masala

1/2 cup grated Coconut

10-12 Cashews
1/2 tsp Fennel seeds

Salt

Oil

How to prepare?


Boil about 3 cups of water in a vessel, add soya chunks and a little salt. Allow it to cook for 10 minutes. Switch off the stove, close the vessel with a lid and keep it aside for 15 minutes. Drain the water and once cooled, gently squeeze out the water from the soya chunks.Keep them aside.

Soak cashews in warm water for 15 minutes. Grind coconut, fennel seeds and cashews to a smooth paste.

Heat oil in a pan. Add whole garam masala as specified above. Saute until it leaves aroma. Add onions, curry leaves and ginger-garlic paste. Saute until onion turns light brown. Add tomatoes and cook till they are tender. Now add chilli powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, garam masala and saute for few seconds.

Add the soya chunks, salt, coconut milk and water as required. Cover and cook for about 10 minutes. Finally add the ground coconut and add water if necessary. Reduce the flame and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Garnish with coriander leaves if you desire. Serve hot with chapathi.

Sending this to the Kerala Kitchen event hosted by Kaveri , original event announcement here.

I would like to thank Ramya of  Ramya's Recipe  to present me the Top Contributor award for ABC series: Cakes for Christmas event.