Free from Friday’s: Achari Soya Tikka

Achari Soya Tikka by Chinskitchen

Well how excited am I? Very, because this is the first of many free from recipes that I will be sharing with you all. If you want to know more about Free From Fridays then please click on the highlighted link. So, my first recipe posting focuses on free from gluten. Gluten is found in so many food items, making it difficult for those who have allergies to consume a balanced and variety diet, can you imagine how difficult it is for those who are vegetarian and have gluten allergy?  It makes it so hard for them to make choices and also difficult for those who prepare food for them. Are you allergic to gluten? Or do you simply avoid it for personal reasons then this Achari soya tikka will definitely tantalize your taste buds. Soya chunks are full of protein and great as a meat alternative, they are mainly used in a lot of curry dishes for their firm and chewy texture. The best thing about these chunks are that they absorb flavours really well and in this recipe that’s exactly what has been achieved. Marinating these meaty textured chunks in spices and yoghurt over night soaks in all the tangy, spicy, fiery and earthy spices.Whether you serve them on skewers, off skewers, hot or cold they will still be bursting with bold flavours. Oh and anyone can enjoy these succulent skewers 🙂 not just those with allergies 🙂 

Achari Soya Tikka

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Marinade time: 1-2 hours or better overnight to really soak in the flavours.
Cooking time: 10-12 minutes
Serves: 4

Ingredients:
200g Soya chunks- easily found in many indian supermarkets
4 Tbsp Achari Masala
1 Tbsp green chilli minced
2 Tbsp ginger minced
2 Tbsp garlic minced
Salt to taste
2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh coriander
250g Greek yoghurt
5 Tbsp oil
2 Tbsp Cumin seeds
Juice of 1/2 a lemon

Method:

1. Soak the soya chunks in warm water for 10 minutes.
2. Once soaked, drain water, transfer the soya chunks into a medium sized bowl, add the achari spice, minced ginger, garlic, chilli,salt, coriander and yoghurt. Mix it all with your hands to ensure the all the spices and yoghurt has been evenly distributed. Pour 1 tablespoon of oil and mix. Now cover and leave to marinade ideally overnight but 1-2 hours will be sufficient.
3. In a non stick pan or wok on medium heat,heat the oil, add cumin seeds, once they start to crackle ad the marinated soya pieces and and cook for about 5-10 minutes. Keep stirring to prevent sticking, you can add a bit of extra oil if you require. Once cooked you can serve them as they are with some home made date and tamarind sauce or poke them through skewers as per picture.

I hope you enjoy making and eating  these simple yet delicious soya tikka 🙂