Soya Chana Kofta Curry

This is one of my favorite soya chunk preparations of all time. Both soya and chana are full of nutrition and when these ingredients combine into a curry, it becomes a powerhouse of nourishment and wholesome goodness. Please don't assume that chana is a lentil product. I know chickpeas are popularly called 'chana', but this 'Chana' in Bengali refers to the fat extracted out of curdled milk. All you need to do to produce chana is to curdle the milk and separate the whey water. With the help of a muslin cloth or strainer, then the milk fat or the chana needs to be completely drained of water. You may let the chana dry for one or two hours in open air before proceeding with making the koftas. The moisture or the water content in chana will then completely evaporate, making it easy to work with. 

If you like this recipe, please check out other soya chunk recipes in my blog:

Baingan with Soya Nuggets

Soya Malwani 

Ingredients (about 20 koftas) 

• 1 cup soya granules (soaked for 6 hours. Drain the water and using a food processor, mince the soya granules.)
• 1 cup chana (Follow the direction below for preparing chana)
• 1 tsp ajwain
• 2-3 green chilies (finely chopped)
• 1 cup of coriander leaves (chopped)
• Salt to taste
• 2-3 tbsp all-purpose flour

For the gravy:

• 2 potatoes (cut into cubes)
• 1 tomato (pureed)
• 2 tbsp cashew nuts (ground into paste)
• 2 tbsp melon seeds or charmagaz (ground into paste)
• 1 tbsp raisins (ground into paste)
• 1 heaped tsp ginger paste
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp Kashmiri red mirch powder
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 4-5 green chilies (ground into paste)
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp paanch phoron
• 1 tsp garam masala powder
• White oil for cooking
• Ghee (optional)

Method

Preparing Chana:

1) In order to prepare the chana, heat 1 liter of milk and bring it to a boil. Add 2-3 tbsp lemon juice. Stir slowly till the whey water begins to separate. Once whey water separates from the milk, turn the heat off and bring the curdled milk to room temperature.

2) Pour the curdled milk into a sieve and drain the whey water. You may use a muslin cloth to squeeze all the water out of chana.

For the Koftas: 

1) Once the chana is ready, add minced soya granules into it. Add all-purpose flour, ajwain, green chilies, coriander leaves and salt into it. Mix in and make small balls. Keep the balls between your palms and flatten the ball.

2) Heat 2 tbsp oil  in a non-stick skillet and fry the koftas from both sides. Take them out on a plate lined with oil absorbent paper.

For the gravy:

1) Add oil into a wok. When oil turns hot, add paanch phoron and let it sizzle. Add potato cubes. Shallow fry the potatoes till they become little brown in color.

2) Add tomato puree and ginger paste and cook covered for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add turmeric powder, Kashmiri red mirch, cumin powder, and coriander powder. Add 2 tbsp of water and saute the mixture for 2 minutes.

3) Add cashew nuts paste, melon seeds paste, green chili paste, and raisins paste. Cook covered on medium heat for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add 2 cups of water, salt and sugar and cook covered till potatoes soften. (You can add more water if you want more gravy.)

4) Dung the koftas in and cook covered for 2-3 minutes. Sprinkle garam masala powder and add ghee before turning the heat off.

5) Serve hot with chapati, paratha or puri.