Soya-Palak ki subzi (Soyabean au Palanga tarkari)

Political correctness is a virtue which every public figure should possess. As they are under the scanner every time they try to channelize their inner thoughts, they need to learn how to make it sound good. Else they might end up sounding like Mr Nadella who has finally spoken the 'satya' or the truth about the mindset of the Indian male, which incidentally happens to be one of the most insecure breeds amongst all home sapiens. Indian women are born to obey their fathers (and brothers), then their husband and finally their sons. And that is something we have been doing without raising a voice (even when not-so-stray incidents of domestic violence happen). So, when a Nadella decides to advise them on doing good 'karma', all the collective pent-up frustration of the estrogen clan starts pouring out on the internet. While I am no supporter of the now 'infamous' guy, I would very much prefer that these women take it out on the men in their lives instead. Charity begins at home.

Back to my kitchen. While I prefer cooking soya chunks in a traditional (read typical Odia) curried form, spinach usually ends up being pureed with onion, ginger and garlic. This spinach puree is quite versatile and I keep adding it to paneer, sweet corn, potato and even rice preparations. I also stuff it into sandwiches at times.

But last week I was in a hurry to finish all the vegetables/perishables lying in my fridge before leaving for a weekend trip. I had prepared my favorite soya curry for lunch and some of it was still remaining for dinner. As I cleaned out the fridge, I noticed this bunch still lying untouched. Came up with the plan of improvising my leftover curry with some greens. Hence I combined two of my favorite formulas to come up with this curry.

Read on for the easy and yummy recipe -

Preparation Time - 25 mins

Ingredients -

• 1 1/2 cup soya nuggets
• 1 1/2 cup baby spinach (with stems removed)
• 1 medium sized potato
• 1 medium sized onion
• 6-7 garlic cloves
• 1 inch ginger
• 1 small tomato
• 1 dry red chili
• 2 green cardamom
• 2 cloves
• 1 inch cinnamon
• 1 small bay leaf
• a small bit of a black cardamom
• 1/2 tsp meat masala
• 1/2 tsp red chili powder
• 1/3 tsp turmeric
• 4 tsp oil
• salt to taste
• 2 pinch garam masala

Preparation - Roughly chop onion, ginger and garlic. Transfer to a mixer jar along with the broken red chili and buzz for 1 sec to get a very coarse paste ( you should be able to make out each ingredient ).

Soak the soyabeans in 4-5 cups hot water for half an hour. Remove from hot water and wash under running water. Squeeze out the water and once again wash it under running water. Repeat 2-3 times.

Blanch the spinach ( put in boiling water for 2 mins, remove and immediately transfer to cold water ). Buzz in a mixie jar for 2-3 seconds to obtain a coarse puree.

Cooking - Heat 3 tsp oil in a pressure cooker. Add all the wholes spices and fry for 5-6 secs till they start to give out a fragrance.

Add the onion paste and fry till it turns reddish (use low flame with regular stirring else it will burn). Add the
tomato and cook for 2-3 mins till it softens.

Add the powdered masalas (except garam masala) and salt at this stage and fry for 1 min. Add the soaked (and thoroughly squeezed soya nuggets) along with the diced potato to the cooker. Stir fry on medium flame for 3-4 mins.

Add 2 1/2 - 3 cups hot water, adjust salt, sprinkle garam masala and close the lid of the cooker. Cook for 1-2 whistles on medium flame. Remove from flame and allow to stand aside till steam escapes.

Heat remaining oil in a wok. Add the spinach puree and fry for 2-3 mins. Add the contents of the pressure cooker to the wok. Bring to boil and let it simmer for 2 mins.

Serve hot with white rice, roti or parantha.

Note - One can also skip the whole garam masala and add some powdered garam masala instead.

Soya Badi Jholo (Vegetarian Mutton Curry)

Sometime during my school years, soya nuggets or 'soya badi' as we call them in Odisha, began to make an apperance during the meal times. At first they seemed rubbery and had an yucky flavour. Almost all the kids hated them. But gradually people mastered the art of cooking this 'protein rich' ingredient (or maybe our taste buds got acclimatized to it) and it became very popular as vegetarian mutton. In those days, large families with limited income often added some soya badi to their Sunday mutton curry. With a texture that closely mimics mutton ( of course when both have been cooked thoroughly ) and a rather sponge like ability to soak/imbibe the flavour of whatever is cooked alongside, it became an overnight hit with the mutton loving Odia folks. Such was its popularity that it even began to show up at wedding banquets.

Those were the long gone days of sit-down dinners and one had to wait for one or two batches to finish eating before one could expect to find a place to sit down. Disposable incomes were low and so were the spending habits of people. It was sometime around this time that both chinese cuisine and IT appeared on the horizon. And both have since then revolutionized our lives. Maybe it was this indo-chinese food phenomenon that diverted one from the humble soyabean. Suddenly the curry of choice was the either a manchurian or something that that been 'chilli-fied' (read marinated and/or stir-fried with a mix of chinese sauces). But soyabean has finally staged a comeback after lying low for a couple of years. One finds it added to salads, tikkis, curries, biryani and even some desserts these days.

But the recipe that I will be sharing today is the time tested version that my mom used to cook. In Odisha you will find that it is prepared in the typical manner of a mutton curry. Read on for more -

Preparation Time - 20 mins

Ingredients -

• 1 1/2 cup soya nuggets
• 1 medium sized potato
• 1 medium sized onion
• 6-7 garlic cloves
• 1 inch ginger
• 1 small tomato
• 1 dry red chili
• 2 green cardamom
• 2 cloves
• 1 inch cinnamon
• 1 small bay leaf
• a small bit of a black cardamom
• 1/2 tsp meat masala
• 1/2 tsp red chili powder
• 1/3 tsp turmeric
• 4 tsp oil
• salt to taste
• 2 pinch garam masala

Preparation - Roughly chop onion, ginger and garlic. Transfer to a mixer jar along with the broken red chili and buzz for 1 sec to get a very coarse paste ( you should be able to make out each ingredient ).

Soak the soyabeans in 4-5 cups hot water for half an hour. Remove from hot water and wash under running water. Squeeze out the water and once again wash it under running water. Repeat 2-3 times.

Cooking - Heat oil in a pressure cooker. Add all the wholes spices and fry for 5-6 secs till they start to give out a fragrance.

Add the onion paste and fry till it turns reddish (use low flame with regular stirring else it will burn). Add the
tomato and cook for 2-3 mins till it softens.

Add the powdered masalas (except garam masala) and salt at this stage and fry for 1 min. Add the soaked (and thoroughy squeezed soya nuggets) along with the diced potato to the cooker. Stir fry on medium flame for 3-4 mins.

Add 2 1/2 - 3 cups hot water, adjust salt, sprinkle garam masala and close the lid of the cooker. Cook for 1-2 whistles on medium flame. Remove from flame and allow to stand aside till steam escapes.

Serve hot with white rice, roti or parantha.

Pumpkin-Kabuli chana curry

Cost of Preparation: 45-50 rupees
Cooking Time Required: 40-45 mins
Serves: 3-4

Ingredients: Pumpkin pieces ( 1 1/2 cup ), potato pieces ( 1 cup ), soyabean chunks ( 1 cup ), kabuli chana (chole, 1 cup ), onion ( 1 small ), tomato ( 1 small ), red chilli ( 5-6 nos ), coriander seeds ( 1 tsp ), cumin seeds ( 1/ tsp ), garlic ( 5-6 nos ), cinnamon stick ( 1/2 inch long ), cardamon ( nos ), cloves ( 5-6 nos ), fennel ( 1/3 tsp ), oil for frying, salt, turmeric .

Preparation: Soak the chole for 7-8 hours. Transfer to a pressure cooker , add salt and turmeric. Allow for 1-2 whistles. Drain the water and keep aside.






















Wash the soya chunks, soak for 1-2 hours. Transfer to a pressure cooker, add salt and allow 1 whistle. Allow to cool and squeeze out all the water . Keep aside.

Boil the pumpkin and potato pieces for 5-6 . Keep aside.

Gring the coriander seeds, cumin seeds, 1-2 red chillis, garlic, cinnamon, cardamon, onion and tomato into a smooth paste.

Cooking: Heat oil for frying. Add the soya chunks and fry till reddish-brown. Remove and keep aside.






















Heat 2-3 tsp oil in a wok. Add the remaining red chillis, fennel and cloves. Fry for a minute . Add the paste along with 1/3 tsp turmeric.























Cook till the raw smell goes off ( 6-7 minutes ).

Add the soya chunks, boiled chole, pumpkin and potato pieces. Mix well and stir fry for 5-10 minutes.





















Add 1 cup boiling water . Cover with a lid and cook for 5 minutes.
Serve with rotis / puris.

Note: This dish is commonly prepared with bengal gram instead of chole .