Soya Malwani

This exotic Konkani recipe of Soya Malwani was shared by Indrani Mukherjee in Sananda. I cooked it for the first time tonight with little trepidation in mind as to the taste of this South Indian recipe would suit my Bengali tastebud or not. But it turned out really mouthwatering and can easily be eaten with rice or roti. Below goes the recipe:

Ingredients:

250 gm soya mini chunks

2 medium sized onions (one chopped and another turned into paste)

1 tsp ginger paste

1 tsp garlic paste

3 tbs tomato sauce or puree

2 cups of whipped yogurt

1 cup of coconut milk (I used canned coconut milk easily available in the market)

2 tbs of fresh cream

1 tsp of sambar masala

1 tsp red chilli powder

2 tsp turmeric powder

5-6 green chillies (chopped)

salt to taste

sugar as per taste

White oil for cooking

For phoron (sauting)

10-12 curry leaves

1/2 tsp black mustard seeds

Method:

1) Soak the soya chunks in a mixture made from whipped yogurt, tomato sauce, salt, 1 tsp turmeric powder & 1/2 tsp red chilli powder. Keep it aside for 1 1/2 hours.

2) Heat oil in a frying pan. Add the ingredients for sauting and saute till they begin to splutter.

3) Now add chopped onion and onion paste and roast them till they become translucent. Add ginger and garlic and saute for 2 minutes.

4) Add salt, 1 tsp of turmeric powder, red chilli powder, green chillies, sugar and sambar powder. Saute. Add 1/2 cup of water.

5) Throw in the soya chunks along with the mixture.

6) When oil separates, add coconut milk and fresh cream one by one. Add water if gravy becomes too dry.

7) Cook covered on medium heat till soya chunks become tender.

8) Sprinkle chopped chillies over the dish before serving.