Now, this recipe, could be made, only after failing three times! And then finally the fourth time I could understand the basic idea behind the whole soy/soya/meaty texture and I was able to create the same magic as the store bought soya chaap does!
For those of you who don't know soya or soy chaap, it is a very popular Indian street food, and is especially popular among the vegetarians and vegans! It is usually made out of soy flour and all purpose flour, and it has the texture like that of chicken or mutton. It is usually marinated in spices, like we marinade chicken or mutton and it is roasted in a tandoor, and served with rice, or naan, or just as it is. I will talk about the exact ratios of the flours in a second, but before that, I want to talk about something known as "Seitan" (pronounced as "say-tan").
If you've ever eaten a vegan or vegetarian burger or a meat substitute in salads or in curries, more often than not, they use seitan, which is nothing but wheat proteins or gluten! The way they make it is by making a soft dough (wheat flour + water) and then washing this dough multiple times in water, to drain out all of the starch of the dough, and what remains is stringy, springy and sticky strands of gluten! Yes GLUTEN! This "seitan" is often promoted as a high-protein, low-carb alternative to animal protein. Now foods containing gluten are considered bad and a lot of people avoid it.
Call it "Following an American culture" or an actual intolerance to gluten, some people heavily avoid gluten. If you have an intolerance towards gluten since childhood, or the "Celiac Disease" I can understand your aversion to it. But I think, some people simply avoid it, as it has become very "Un-American" to consume gluten, which in my opinion is just trying too hard to fit in. I know people who have suddenly developed intolerance to eggs, peanuts among other things, after they move to the United States. It is a little silly. But I will rant more about it some other time.
Seitan is a popular vegan protein source made from wheat gluten and water and is a great option for vegans who cannot eat soy, since other popular vegan foods, such as tofu and tempeh, are soy-based. However, anyone who cannot tolerate wheat or gluten, including those with sensitivities, allergies or celiac disease, must strictly avoid seitan to avoid serious side effects. Therefore it is wise to listen to your body and let how you feel guide your food choices.
Now the reason I talked so much about Seitan is because the concept of Soya Chaap is a derivative of "Seitan"! Yes! A lot of the recipes of Soya Chaap, online, talk about grinding the soaked soy beans and soy chunks and then binding the grinded mixture with all purpose flour. However that does not lead to the stringy texture. Therefore this time I made seitan, and added soy flour, to increase the protein content. The amount of protein in 85 gm of soya chaap is between 15 and 21 grams of protein. Also the fat content is very low since you drain out almost all of the starch from the dough.
Ok I feel like I have justified the healthiness of the dish enough, so let's make it!
The recipe for the curry is optional for you to follow. If you have your own recipe, then follow it. I have made the classic Makhni Gravy!
Ingredients for Seitan : -
All Purpose Flour - 500 gm
Water - 320 ml
2-3 tablespoons of Soy Flour
Ingredients for Chaap and Mariantion : -
Olive oil 2 tbsp
Powdered spices:
Red Chili powder - 2 tbsp
Coriander powder - 1 tbsp
Cumin powder - 1 tsp
Dry Mango powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - ½ tsp
Black Salt - 1 tsp
Garam masala - 1 tsp
Kasuri methi - 1 tsp
5. Ginger garlic paste - 1 tbsp
6. Hung curd - ½ cup
7. Coriander Leaves - 1 tbsp (chopped)
8. Salt to taste
9. Lemon juice - 1 tsp
Ingredients for Makhni Gravy : -
Oil 1 tbsp + butter 2 tbsp
Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
Green cardamom - 4-5 nos.
Onions - 2 medium size (sliced)
Whole Red Chili - 4-5 nos.
Tomatoes - 3
Salt to taste
Garlic 12-15 cloves
Ginger 1 inch
Cashew nuts 10-12 nos.
Powdered spices:
1. Coriander powder - 1 tbsp
2. Turmeric powder - 1/4th tsp
3. Kasuri methi - 1 tsp
4. Garam masala - 1 tsp
Final ingredients for final Gravy : -
Onion - 1 - finely chopped
Green Chilis - 4 - slit
Ginger - 1 inch, julienne
Garlic - 2,3 finely chopped
Let's start making the seitan!!
Step 1 : Measure out the flour and water, and knead a dough. So you will need a standing mixer for this. If you don't have it, then knead the dough with your hands, and knead it for 15-20 minutes!! Yes! and then let the dough rest overnight in the fridge and then pick up from Step 2.
Step 2 : After the mixer has been going on for 5-7 minutes, the dough will start to look smooth, and stretchy. Kind of like Taaffe. Then take it out in a bowl and let it rest, covered with a damp towel or cling film wrap for about 30 minutes.
Step 3 : Now add enough water to this bowl, on top of the dough. So much so that the dough submerges in it.
Step 4 : Now start washing the dough in this water, by squishing it in the water. You will see that within seconds the water turns milky, which means that all the starch is starting to drain out of the dough.
Step 5 : Now drain out the milky water, and put more water on the leftover dough, and start washing again.
Step 6 : Keep doing this process, until the dough left is very stretchy and spring, and the water does not become milky anymore. We are basically trying to get out all of the starch from the dough.
Step 7 : What you have now is Seitan.
Step 8 : You can stop here and use the seitan as it is. Cut it into small pieces, boil it a little, marinate it and use in salads, pasta, burgers. Or you can proceed further to make soy chaaps.
For that let the dough rest for 30 minutes and then add the sifted soy flour to the seitan. You will see that with 500gm of flour you will get around 250 gm of seitan. Add in the 3 tbsp of soy flour, and knead it well. It will take some time to knead the soy flour in. Then divide the dough into 6 equal pieces, and let it rest for another 30 minutes.
Step 9 : After this, using a candy sticky, wrap each ball around the stick. This wrapping around the candy sticks, gives a layered texture, just like that of meat.
Step 10 : In a pot, add some water, salt and lemon juice, and bring it to a boil, and add in the soy chaap sticks and let them boil for 5-10 minutes. The lemon juice can be replaced with vinegar. It helps in getting rid of the typical gluten smell.
Step 11 : The chaaps sink first, but then once they are cooked, they will rise up on the surface of the water.
Step 12 : Immediately after this drain the soya chaap, and add it to cold water to stop cooking. Let it sit in it for 5 minutes.
Step 13 : Put them in a plastic bag and place in the freezer for up to 3 months. I suggest letting them freeze for at least 12-16 hours. Then when you are ready to cook, take them out of the freezer and put it in warm water to thaw. Once you remove the sticks from the chaap and cut it open, you will see the signature layered and fluffy texture of the chaap. Remove each of the sticks from the chaap, and cut them into small pieces.
If you want to make tandoori soya chaaps, then don't remove the stick, simply marinate each chaap stick using the marinade, and then bake them in oven or on open flame.
Step 14 : Now we will fry these pieces, until light golden brown.
Step 15 : Then marinate these fried soya chaap pieces using the marinade ingredients mentioned, and let it sit at room temperature while you make the makhni gravy.
Step 16 : Fry all the Gravy Ingredients in the oil + butter mixture on really high flame for about 10-15 minutes. Add all the ingredients in the order in which they are given, one by one. Then after it's all fried and the tomatoes are squishy, blend it once it's a little cooled down.
Step 17 : Then put the blended mixture through a sieve, and keep it aside. Put the final ingredients for the gravy in the same pan, and fry a little.
Step 18 : Now add the sieved makhni gravy. Add about 500 ml of water, and let this simmer for 10 minutes on low flame. After which add the marinated soya chaaps, and let that cook for another 10 minutes on medium flame.
Garnish with chopped coriander and eat now!! Enjoy with rice or roti or naan. Whatever your heart desires!!
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