Tandoori Soyachops, dry or in gravy

Rich in protein, the vegetarian  chicken

Soyachops, the vegetarian "tandoori chicken" !

Ask  any old resident of Chandigarh the name of a veg dhaba that serves the best food, and most you are most likely to hear the name of Swaran Dhaba in Sector 30.

It  was exactly the way my Balu Uncle and Radhu Aunty described it. Your uncle would rather eat there everyday if he could, she would say. My stomach is aching because I haven’t eaten there all these days, he would say. 

On my first visit, I learnt what was special about a tiny place operating from two booths in a lowly market. The food. Fresh as fresh can be, and unmatched taste. The menu was limited then, 35 years ago. It is unchanged even now !

It was always a bit pricey for  the dhaba food. But those who ate once did not mind that and returned and returned and returned. They also recommended the place. So much so that even 30 years ago, if one did not reach latest by 1 in the afternoon, there would be no food left. And always one has to wait for a while to get a seat ! Bournville is not the only edible thing that has to be earned.

Uncooked Soyachops

What reminded me about Swarn dhaba as I write this post, is the fact that on Tuesdays when many places , this one included, don’t cook non-veg, they make what is known as Soyachops, spelt by many as Soyachaps. 

The idea of protein rich soya wound around the stick of a stick ice-cream, and shaped to look like the leg of a chicken/broiler, must have had its origins in Punjab. But Swaran Dhaba cooked it real rich, full of cashew nutes and raisins, apart from a whole lot of other masalas, obviously the “karchi “ (long ladle) had been “chalaoed”—moved around—quite a bit to make the gravy that delectable. If one wants that once in a week dish, one has to reach there in very good time!

Last week I saw the soyachaps  soaked in water, and kept next to the huge chunks of cottage cheese at  the Haryana Paneer Bhandar in Chandni Chowk. I bought it, and decided to make it tasty without making it as rich as what Swaran Dhaba did.

Soyachops in marinade

In a quarter kilo, there were seven pieces, that I marinated  together, but cooked in two different ways. One was a plain tawa-fried soyachops, and the other tandoori soyachops in tomato-onion gravy.

Here goes the list of ingredients and the process:

For the marinade:

Yoghurt-1 cup

Ginger-1 inch piece

Garlic-4 pods

Pepper corns- a few

Salt-to taste

A foil bit gives it a handle

Grind the above fine in a blender, dip each soyachop into this sauce, till they are coated fully, and arrange in a container. 

Pour the leftover marinade over the chops and refrigerate overnight.

Before cooking, wrap the “ice-cream stick” portion not covered with soya, with aluminium foil so that it does not burn. Do that will all the soyachaps.

For the gravy:

Vegetables for gravy

Onion-1 large, chopped

Tomato-1,chopped

Capsicum-1,chopped

Green chillies-1 chopped fine

Ginger- Half inch, chopped fine

Salt to taste

Red chilli powder-1 teaspoon

Vegetable oil-3 teaspoons

‘

Tawa fried soyachops

METHOD:

FOR DRY  TAWA-FRIED CHOPS

Heat a  tawa, add oil all around. When it smokes, place three chops in the centre of the tawa, and drizzle oil over. Gently turn the chops around after every three minutes, till they are golden and crisp.

Take them off on to a serving plate, and have with green chutney and slices of onions.

Gravy in the making

FOR THE CHOPS IN GRAVY

Heat some oil in a frying pan, and add the onions, ginger, green chillies, capsicum and tomatos in that order.

 Add salt and red chilly powder. Stir well. 

When the tomatoes look cooked and musy, pour the marinade in the container, into the pan, stir well. 

Tandoori soyachops

Meanwhile, grill the marinated chops with the foil handles, in an electric oven or over a gas /charcoal tandoor or BBQ . 

Take care to turn them around, so that they are uniformly cooked.

When the gravy is almost ready, gently place the  grilled chops into this gravy. 

Tandoori Soyachops  simmering in a light gravy

Stir once, so that all the chops are coated. Let them simmer for a few minutes, till the gravy has thickened such that the chops are all coated with it.

Serve by itself, as a snack. Or with rotis, as a side.

My husband looked at them very reluctantly, because they looked like kalami kababs or chicken legs. But when he ate one, he asked for more. “ I wish they had shaped it differently” was his comment.

But I know many like it because they are shaped like chicken legs !

A protein rich wholesome meal. Totally vegetarian

Tindas, spicy and stuffed...

Totally Indian, seasonal vegetable. Enjoy it while's its in the market

Spicy stuffed  tindas

What would you say for Tinda in English?

I would not know.  It looks  like a green apple, with a bit less shine. It has seeds that are like those of  musk melon. The texture , once you chop it, is like that of a pumpkin or squash.

My husband bought some , saying it was a real long time since he’d eaten it. Wanted it made like his mother used to make it.

I never made it because when I  returned home after  spending six months in Canada, my daughter, then eight years old, said she would never eat it.Her grandma—my mother-in-law who is no more—had given her tinda every day of those six months, she swore !

While that may not be true,  this  seasonal vegetable has people who love it!

I don’t know how she made it .  The manual  that comes with Hawkins Pressure Cooker in India  used to have  the recipe of a Dahiwale tinda—tinda made in yoghurt. I used to follow that one.

But since I could not find it, I made it from recall. And it  tasted great with rotis, in  the dabba (lunch box) I took to work today.

The trick to  pick up the best tindas, is to go for the lush green colour, skin without patches, and light in weight. Heavy tinda means seeds inside, and they are not easy to eat, and even more difficult to separate and discard.

Peeled tindas

Spices form the dry masala

Ingredients

Tindas – 7 or 8

Salt-1 teaspoon

Turmeric- 1 teaspoon

 Red Chilli powder-1 teaspoon

 Powdered saunf-1 teaspoon

Dry mango powder- Half a teaspoon

Asoefietida –a  pinch

Kasoori methi(dry fenugreek leaves)—a teaspoon full

Yoghurt-Half a cup full

Cooking oil-3 teaspoons full

Take off the skin of the tinds with a scraper, and slit from the top, the way you would to quarter them—but stop mindway, so that you have two slits from the top.

Mix all the dry ingredients, and stuff the tindas.

Stuffed and Microwaved

Turn them around gently

 Microwave them for three or four minutes

In a frying pan, heat the refined oil, and when it begins to smoke, add the stuffed tindas. Stir gently, so that the oil coats all  the tindas well.

I had some ONION  POWDER handy, so I sprinkled some when I was sautéing the tindas. You can use onion slices or chopped onions , or skip it. Same goes for tomatoes.

And for those who would like to skip onions, grated ginger at this stage, is a good thing to add.

Place a lid on top, and  cook for 12 minutes, openling and gently turning the tindas around every two or three minutes, till they are done, on medium flame.

Reduce the flame and add the whisked yoghurt, keep stirring till very little of it is left.

Switch off.  Move them to a serving bowl or plate, and garnish and serve. Goes well with as a vegetable side dish with rice, as well as with rotis/paranthas.

Lovely texture , good to see and great to taste

  

The best Dahiwale Tinda I've had has without a doubt been  at Hotel Divyadeep , a vegetarian restaurant-cum-hotel in Sector 22, Chandigarh, where they make it in pure ghee, throw in some cashew nuts and raisins as well.