Malai Soya Chaap

Soyabean has various health benefits, one main benefit is that it's enriched with protein. On top of that it is great in taste too. Soya chaap is a very popular  vegetarian dish known for its meaty flavour and exotic taste. You will definitely find it on the menus of buffets, Punjabi weddings and parties. Though a variety of dishes are made with Soya chaap, malai soya chaap rules the menu because of its rich taste just like other tikkas. If you are a fan of tikkas this will for sure tickle your taste buds. 

You can get frozen Soya chaap from your local grocery store or even at Amazon. But be careful to read the label- it should be made from soyabean flour but many manufacturers add all purpose flour to bind the dough. If that is the case then your chaap will not be gluten free. 

The dough is wrapped on wooden sticks and before making any soya dish you have to remove them. To remove the stick, hold the chaap with one hand and with the other hand pull the stick out. See it is so easy to remove them! Then cut the chaap into bite size pieces just like tikkas and wash them with water. I have used store bought frozen chaap available at stores who sell frozen food. These are soft and chewy and take less time to cook. 

The tikkas are marinated for 30 to 45 minutes in spices and curd. Later they are cooked for 5 to 10 minutes with cashew paste . Lastly as the name suggests Malai or cream is added to it. You can serve it with rotis, rumali rotis , naan and paranthas. If you have never tasted it, make it once and it will be on your regular menu. 

We Need:

• 500 gm Soya Chaap

• 100 gm Thick Curd. ( Not Sour) 

• 2 Tbsp Cashew Paste

• 5 Tbsp Cream

• 1 Green Cardamom

• 2 Cloves

• 2 Green Chillies

• 2 Tbsp Dried fenugreek leaves

• 1 Tsp Black Pepper

• 1 Lemon

• 2" Piece of Ginger 

• 1 Tbsp finely chopped Garlic

• 2 Tbsp Cooking Oil

• 2 Tbsp Yellow Butter

• 1 Tsp Salt or to taste

Here We go:

1.  Remove Sticks from Soya Chaap by pulling them out. These are easy to remove. 

   
   

2. Cut them into pieces like tikkas and immerse them in water for 2 minutes only. This will help in removing extra flour from them. Stain them in a sieve and keep aside for 5 minutes to remove extra water. 

   
   
   

3. Grind together green chillies, ginger, green cardamom and cloves. Add little water if required to make a paste. 

4. For marination,  add this paste, thick curd, lemon juice, black pepper powder, fenugreek leaves (kasoori methi), salt and lemon juice in a bowl. Mix everything together. Add soya chaap pieces to the marinade. Make sure to coat every piece with the marinade. Use your hands. Have fun. Set aside for 30 minutes. 

   

5. Heat a pan. Add butter & oil to it. Add chopped garlic. Saute till light pink. Add marinated chaaps to it. Mix Chaap well with butter and garlic. Cover the pan and let it simmer for 5 min on low flame. Don't forget to turn them the other side to avoid burning. 

   
   

6. As soya chaap are very soft, they will be done in 5 minutes. Now add cashew nut paste and saute for another 2 minutes. You can add a little water if you want to adjust the consistency. 

   

7. Add cream and cover the pan for 2 to 3 minutes or till you see some oil on the surface. Now turn off the flame. 

   
   

8. Take out in a bowl and serve hot with chapati, naan, paratha or rumali roti according to your choice. 

   

Preparation Time : 10 minutes. 

Marination Time: 30 minutes

Cooking Time : 15 minutes. 

Tips: 

Use fresh and thick curd for marination. Curd shouldn't be sour. 

To avoid burning the butter, add it after adding oil in the pan. Instead of the other way round. 

You can serve it as a snack as well as main course. For main course you can add a little water to adjust its consistency. 

Before cooking, Avoid keeping them in water for more than two minutes, as it will spoil the shape and taste of chop. Just Wash and stain them. Be very brief.