Soya Bean Curry

Did you know that I have 39 recipes on this blog that are tagged as 'side dish'? There aren't any that I usually make as a simple stir fry. All of them have some twist to them. That is because of two things. I don't like eating the same stir fry / palya / porial kind every day and the other is due to ideas that I get from around everywhere.

I was watching cooking channel and the show on air was Bal's 'Spice Goddess'. She made egg curry and that inspired me to make this protein rich soya bean curry. I have used the spices as per my wish and you could do the same too. She used chick pea flour to thicken the gravy and I just mashed the beans and added it to do the same.


One Year Back - Dilly Masoor Dal

Ingredients:
Dried Soya beans - 1 cup soaked overnight and pressure cooked till soft
Crushed tomatoes - 1 1/2 cups (Or 3 large tomatoes pureed)
Oil - 3 TBSP
Ginger - 1" piece grated
Long Squash - 1 medium cut fine or shredded (You could use any other squash or potatoes)
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Fennel seeds - 1 tsp
Paprika - 1/2 tsp
Red Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp (or to taste)
Black pepper powder - 1/2 tsp
Garam masala - 3/4 tsp
Coriander powder + Cumin powder - 1 tsp (Or 1/2 tsp each)
Turmeric - a big pinch
Yogurt - 1 cup
Salt - to taste
Coriander leaves / Cilantro - chopped 2 TBSP for garnish

Method:
In a pan, heat oil. When hot, add mustard seeds. When they crackle, add fennel seeds, ginger. Let them get toasted. Add the finely chopped/shredded long squash or vegetable of your choice. Sprinkle some salt, turmeric and mix well. Cover with a lid and let it cook. If you have finely chopped the vegetables, it shouldn't take longer than 5  minutes for them to soften up. Now add the crushed or pureed tomatoes. Mix well. From the cooked soya beans, take about 1/2 cup and mash it with a potato masher. Add that and the rest of the cooked soya beans to the pot. Use water as per the consistency requirement and not all the water that you have used to cook the beans.
Now add all the spice powders, yogurt and stir well to combine. Let the whole thing come to a boil. Garnish with cilantro and serve warm or hot or cold with rotis, chapathis or plain rice.

Note:
You could use any beans of your choice. This one is a nice variation to get that north indian curry taste without adding onions and garlic.

Enjoy.