Soya Chunks Curry

Healthy, nutritional and protein packed, this Soya Chunks Curry can be your delicious weeknight meal! With the right balance of flavor and texture, it’s a mouthful at every bite. We Indians grew up eating soya chunks quite often and in different forms. So, I thought of sharing few of my favorites, starting with the easy curry.

Every time I shared a story in Instagram about soya chunks, I received quite a few messages asking about soya chunks and requesting to share a recipe. So, here is a very easy dish that can be prepared in less than 30 minutes. If you are using the curry paste, it further reduces the preparation time. In case you missed my curry paste recipe, here is a link. This curry paste is such a time saver, especially on busy days. If you enjoy Indian curries, stocking up on a batch of this curry paste will come very handy. It stays good in the freezer for several months.

What are Soya Chunks?

Soya Chunks, also known as meal maker, are textured vegetable protein that is extracted from soybeans wheat, oats and cottonseeds. It’s high in nutrition, high in protein, lightweight, cooks really fast and has a high shelf life when dehydrated. In India, the most commonly brand used is Nutrela and we often refer to the dish as Nutrela Curry. These are often sold as bite size nuggets/chunks or granules or mini chunks.

There are various different ways that you can prepare a soya chunks curry. You could load it with veggies or potatoes or make a tomato base gravy, endless options really. The one I am sharing today is a super simple one where I have kept soya chunks as the hero of the dish and flavored it with my curry paste.

Soya Chunks Curry

Kankana Saxena

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 40 minutes mins

Ingredients

 

• 2 cups 3.90 oz/ 111 g soya chunks
• 1 tablespoon oil
• ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
• ½ teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1 medium size red onion (5.65 oz/ 161 g, sliced thinly)
• 1 ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1½ tablespoons curry paste
• 2 to 3 green chilies (optional)
• ¼ cup fine chopped cilantro

Instructions

 

• In a big mixing bowl, soak the soya chunks in hot water along with ½ teaspoon salt for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, the chunks would puff up and get spongy. Squeeze the water from the chunks and keep it in a bowl. Discard the water.
• Place a heavy bottom pan on medium heat and pour the oil.
• Once the oil heats up, drop the cumin seeds and fennel seeds. Let it sizzle for a few seconds and then, drop the sliced onion.
• Sprinkle ½ teaspoon salt, turmeric and sauté for about 3 minutes or until the onions are softened and turn mild golden brown.
• Add the curry paste, sauté and then, drop the soft soya chunks. Stir and cook for 3 minutes. Pour 1½ cup of water and green chilies (optional). Sprinkle ½ teaspoon of salt and let it simmer for 5 minutes.
• Finally, add half of the chopped cilantro and give it a stir. Taste for salt and add any, if required.
• Sprinkle rest of the finely chopped cilantro on top and serve warm.

Notes

The cooking time will change if you have to make the curry paste while preparing this dish.

Nutrition

Serving: 1Servings