Indian Main Courses
Instant Pot Vegan Chicken Saag – Soy Curls in Spinach Sauce
Instant Pot Vegan Chicken Saag with Soy Curls. Use seitan, tempeh, baked tofu, chickpeas or chikin substitutes for variation. 1…
- Ready 35 minutes
- Serves 3
- Prep 10 minutes
- Cook 25 minutes
Saag is basically a dish made with greens. Often times it is mustard greens or a combination of mustard and spinach or others which depend on local availability and seasonality. I’ve made it with mixed greens with spinach as baby kale, bok choy, mustard and amaranth greens. Mixed greens work well when pressure cooking.
Plain Saag (just the greens dish), Saag with veggies like potatoes, Saag paneer (palak tofu), and Saag with different meats are all similar dishes, but have subtle differences based on what they are paired with. Saag for paneer is often blanched greens in both coarse and puree form for a vibrant green sauce, Saag with meats is coarse and uses yogurt for thickening and so on. This soycurl saag dish is a vegan version of Saag Chicken. See Recipe notes for variations. Finish this delicious saucy dish with some cashew cream and vegan butter for a luscious meal.
To make this dish without soy, use seitan, non soy chickin subs, veggies, use potato to make Saag Aloo or cooked chickpeas or beans with this delicious sauce. To make it without nuts, use a nut-free non dairy yogurt or coconut cream. To make it without oil, omit the oil (you will need to add splashes of water and stir more frequently to avoid sticking and burning, or roast the tomato onion mixture separately in a non stick skillet). See Recipe notes for Saucepan instructions. Lets get to it!
more
More Instant Pot Recipes.
- Instant Pot Vegan Butter Chickin(soycurls). GF
- Lentil Veggie Dhansak – Lentil Veggie Stew in IP. GF
- Kohlapuri Veggies – Veggies in sesame coconut sauce GF
- Lentil Sweet Potato Soup GF
- Aloo Palak Dal- Potato Spinach Lentils in IP. GF
- Chana Saag – Chickpea Spinach Curry GF
Use steamed tempeh, baked tofu, chickpeas, seitan or veggies with this fabulous saag/palak sauce for variation. Soy chunks are different from soy curls. They need a longer cooking time and are chewy (I dont particularly like them). Use other subs with this amazing sauce. If you make this recipe, do let me know how it turned out and tag me on social media!
To make cashew cream, blend equal amount of soaked cashews(soaked for atleast an hour) and water until creamy and measure and use.
Video:
In the video I am using Butlers soy curls and some home made soy curls. I have been trying to make some at home. They are just soaked soybeans, drain, blend to a thick batter, spoon onto a baking sheet and dehydrate or bake at 250. You can do this with most beans. The texture is different from curls. Also, so hard to make Indian food look good, but believe you me it tastes so good.
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Recipe
Instant Pot Vegan Chicken Saag - Soy Curls in Spinach Sauce.
Instant Pot Vegan Chicken Saag with Soy Curls. Use seitan, tempeh, baked tofu, chickpeas or chikin substitutes for variation. 1 Pot Soy curls in Spinach Sauce. Vegan Gluten-free Saagwala Recipe Can be Soy-free and Nut-free
- Serves 3
- Prep 10 minutes
- Cook 25 minutes
- Total 35 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 small onion
- 5 cloves of garlic
- 1/2 inch ginger
- 1/2 hot green chile
- 3/4 cup tomato
- 4 to 5 oz spinach (or spinach + other greens such as baby kale)
- 1 cinnamon stick (, 2 inch long)
- 2 cloves
- 1 or 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1/2 tsp garam masala
- 1/2 tsp coriander powder
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1.5 cups soy curls (, dry)
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup cashew cream or (1/3 cup vegan plain yogurt)
- 1/2 to 1 tsp sugar or sweetener
- cayenne and garam masala to taste
- 1 tsp fenugreek leaves (optional)
Instructions
- 1
Blend the onion through tomato and set aside. Blend the spinach/greens with 1/4 cup water(*inline amounts don’t change when you scale the recipe, only ingredient list scales. So adjust accordingly). Pulse to make a coarse mixture and not a puree. (use 1/2 cup water if using hardy greens and using more).
- 2
Heat oil in saute mode. When hot, add cinnamon, cloves and bay leaf. Cook for a few seconds.
- 3
Add blended onion tomato mix. Cook for 3 minutes, stir frequently. If it starts to burn, switch off saute for 2 mins, then switch on again if needed. Add the spices and mix in.
- 4
Add the greens, soy curls and salt. Add 1/2 cup water and mix in.
- 5
Cook on Manual/Pressure Cook (hi) 8 to 10 minutes. Release after 5 mins. (If using tofu, potato or tempeh, 3 to 5 minutes pressure cook time is sufficient)
- 6
Fold in cashew cream or yogurt and mix in. Add some water if needed and cook on saute until the mixture starts to boil. Add cayenne, garam masala, sugar and mix in. Adjust salt, spice and heat. Add fenugreek leaves if using.
- 7
Serve garnished with pepper flakes with rice, quinoa or with flatbread or pita bread. Additional garnish: Drizzle Cashew cream and add some vegan butter per serving.
Notes
Soy-free: use seitan, non soy chickin subs, hearty veggies like potato or cooked chickpeas or beans. To make it without Nuts, use a nut-free non dairy yogurt or coconut cream. Without oil, omit the oil (you will need to add splashes of water and stir more frequently to avoid sticking and burning. Or Roast the tomato onion mixture separately in a non stick skillet on stove top for best results as Instant Pot saute heat is harder to control). Make it on Stove top: Follow steps 1 to 3. Then add soy curls, salt and 1 cup water. Cover and cook for 6 to 8 minutes. Add the greens and mix in. Cover and cook for 6 to 8 minutes. Add the cashew cream/non dairy yogurt, cayenne, garam masala and sugar and mix in. Taste and adjust salt, heat and spices. Simmer for another few minutes uncovered if the sauce is thin, else cover. Nutrition is 1 of 3 serves
Nutrition
- Calories184 kcal
- Carbohydrates19 g
- Protein11.4 g
- Fat8 g
- Sodium657 mg
- Potassium549 mg
- Fiber5 g
- Sugar5 g
- Vitamin A5815 IU
- Vitamin C26.8 mg
- Calcium93 mg
- Iron2.8 mg
