Instant Pot Soya Chunks Curry Recipe

Are you craving for something tangy, spicy and restaurant style? Then you’ve got to try this Instant pot soya chunks curry.

This dish is spicy, tangy and has a great flavour of peanuts and coconut. It is a great dish to have in your refrigerator as it goes very well with everything – rice, chapatis, dosa, idlis. I have been eating this curry with almost everything the past two days and and can’t wait to make my next batch again in few days.

This recipe is quite similar to my gutti vankaya kura recipe. I wanted to eat spicy gutti vankaya kura but did not have brinjals and so decided to make something similar. Since I had not done my grocery shopping yet and had no veggies I used soya chunks (meal maker) and they worked brilliantly.

It might look like there are lot of ingredients, but you can find most of these ingredients easily in most grocery stores. Once you get them and have it ready, the cooking process is very simple.

Lets talk about Ingredients substitutions now, because I find a lot of people don’t work with Indian spices and ingredients often. They don’t have them stocked in a regular basis and I get lot of questions on substitute options. These ingredients might be staple items in most Indian households, but not for others. So let me talk about few ingredients that might not be readily available in everybody’s house.

• Soya Chunks or meal maker-  is soy protein. It has a meat like texture and people mostly use it as a meat substitue. If you do not have soy chunks, you can do this recipe with this veggies instead. Good options would be – eggplants, small pearl onions (more than already mentioned in the recipe), bell peppers (cut in big chunks), jalepenos
• Pearl onions – just substitute it with chopped red onions
• Kashmiri chilly powder – Kashmiri chilly powder gives a nice color to the dish. You could use any chilly powder, chilly flakes or just green chillies.
• Tamarind – unfortunately I would suggest not skipping tamarind. But if you cant find it, add 2 more finely chopped tomatoes, preferably tart ones and finish it with some lemon juice at the end.
• Jaggery – sugar, maple syrup
• Curry leaves, mustard seeds – Cant think of a substitute. But you could definitely omit them.
• Peanuts – Just substitute it with 3 or 4 tbsp of peanut butter (ones without sugar or flavorings)

Hope this helps for people who find it difficult to make Indian recipes at home 🙂

This Instant pot soya chunks curry was a hit in our home.

I served it with some basmati rice and even my little one loved it. It is a great recipe to make when you are inviting friends over or a cold day when you crave for something spicy and tangy.

Do try this Instant pot soya chunks curry recipe and let me know how you liked it. A rating would be great. Just click on the stars rating in the recipe card!! Also share your pictures with me and tag #cookingwithpree in facebook or instagram.

4.75 from 4 votes

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Instant pot soya chunks curry

Prep Time

10 mins

Cook Time

40 mins

Total Time

50 mins

 

This Instant pot soya chunks curry is tangy, spicy and nutty. It goes perfectly with rice, dosa, idli or rotis.

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Indian, South Indian

Servings: 4

Author: Preethi Venkatram

Ingredients

For masala paste

• 1/4 cup peanuts (skin removed)
• 2 tsp sesame seeds
• 4 to 5 dried red chilly (use less or more as per spice levels)
• 1 small lime size tamarind (remove the seed)
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1 inch piece ginger
• 1/4 cup grated coconut
• 1/2 medium sized red onion sliced

Other ingredients

• 1/2 cup soya chunks (uncooked)
• 1/2 cup pearl onions (chinna vengayam)
• 3 large tomatoes chopped fine
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 11/2 tsp coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp Kashmiri chilly powder
• 1 tsp jaggery / sugar
• 2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves

Tadka

• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 sprig curry leaves
• 1 tbsp + 1 tsp oil (sesame / canola or olive oil)

Instructions

1. Switch on the saute mode in your instant pot and when hot add the sesame, peanuts, garlic, ginger, tamarind given under masala paste and saute until the peanuts are roasted. Set it aside.
   

2. Now add a tsp of oil and saute the onions until golden brown. Set it aside along with the peanuts
   

3. Now add the coconut and roast it until golden brown. Set it aside too.
   

4. Now grind everything together with a cup of water to a smooth paste and set it aside. (You could roast all these ingredients in a normal pan too)
   

5. Now add the remaining oil and heat it up.
   

6. Add the items given under tadka and let the mustard seeds splutter.
   

7. Now add the small onions and saute until they turn golden. Add the chopped tomatoes, spice powders - coriander, cumin, turmeric and chilly powder and mix everything.
   

8. Cook everything for couple of minutes.
   

9. Now add the ground mixture, soya chunks, 2 cups water, salt, jaggery and cook everything for 10 minutes for manual high. Let the pressure release naturally.
   

10. Open up and check seasoning. Serve hot with rice.
    

Stove top Method:

1. Cook soya chunks according to pacakage instructions. Squeeze the excess water and set it aside.
   

2. Heat a pan and add a tsp of oil,  when hot add the sesame, peanuts, garlic, ginger, tamarind given under masala paste and saute until the peanuts are roasted. Set it aside.

3. Now add the onions and saute until golden brown. Set it aside along with the peanuts.

4. Next add the coconut and roast it until golden brown. Grind all the roasted  ingredients (the spices, coconut and onions) with 1 cup water to a smooth paste. Set it aside.
   

5. Now add the remaining oil to the pan and temper it with the ingredients mentioned under temper. (Mustard seeds, cumin seeds, curry leaves)
   

6. When the mustard seeds splutter, add the small onions and saute until they turn golden. Add the chopped tomatoes, spice powders (coriander, cumin, turmeric and chilly powder) and cook everything for 4 to 5 minutes in medium flame until you see the oil releasing from the sides of the pan.
   

7. Now add the ground mixture, soya chunks, 2 cups water, salt, jaggery and cook everything in low medium flame for 10 minutes stirring once in a while.
   

8. Check seasoning again and adjust as needed. Serve hot with rice garnished with cilantro leaves.
   

Recipe Notes

Can use chopped red onions instead of small pearl onions. The pearl onions give it a nice flavour.