Soya Chunks Masala

While I was in India I used to make many varieties for Soya Chunks dishes. The good part about Soya chunks are that it somewhat tastes like chicken & very healthy too. Last time when i went to little India I found this in a small grocery store & I just grabbed a packet of it. The idea was to make Chilli Soya which is one of my fav:) Yesterday I was thinking on what to make to go with Rotis for dinner? Thatz when this idea popped up & I made it with a new twist by adding Poppy seeds. This curry turned out very tasty & goes well with Roti, rice, dosa... There was some left over from last night & I had that with Appams in the morning & it was yummm. I made this curry spicy. Now let me tell you how I made this

Ingredients

2 cups Soya chunks
1 Onion chopped
1 Tbsp Ginger & garlic Paste
1 Large Tomato chopped
1 Tbsp Kashmiri Chili Powder
1/2 Tsp Cumin Powder
1/4 Tsp Turmeric powder
1/2 Tsp Corinader Powder
1/4 Tsp Garam Masala
1/2 Cup of water
1/2 Ltr of water for boiling Soya Chunks
Handful of Cashew nuts
1 Tbsp of Poppy seeds (kuskus) (Soak this in 1/4 cup of hot water for 10 minutes)
Slat as per taste
2 Tbsp Cooking Oil
Coriander leaves for garnish (Since I dint have them I use spring Onions:))

Method:

Boil 1/2 ltr of water & add soya chunks into it. Cook this for about 2 minutes, drain off the water & set aside. In a heavy bottom pan add oil fry ginger garlic for 1/2 a minute, add onion, tomatoes, all the masalas, salt & cook for 5 minutes until fat separation. Now add in the drained soya chunks into this masala & cook for 2 minutes until its well blended. In a mixer/ grinder add the cashew nuts, poppy seeds along with soaked water & grind it to a smooth paste. Now add this paste to the soya mixture. Give it a good mix & cook on low flame for about 2 minutes. Garnish this with Coriander leaves or spring onions. Soya Chunks masala is ready to serve.

Note:

• You can actually omit the poppy seeds & cashew if you want. However adding these 2 amazing ingredients can make your food rich & tastier
• This soya took very less time to cook. However back in India the size if soya used to be bigger & it took more time to cook.
• Poppy seed is one of the expenses seeds. This is also a drug if taken in large quantities. The Bengalis use this in varity of dishes. When used in right amount for cooking it add great flavour.
• Many of my friends ask me how I get a nice color to my curries. I use Everest brand masalas & they work  great for me. The color & taste of your dishes vastly comes from the brands that you use.

Happy cooking & eating:)