Name: Tandoori Soya Chaap Biryani
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 100 min
Yield: 2 servings
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients: 200 g Soy Chaap, cut into rounds and lightly fried; ¾ cup Basmati Rice, parboiled (75% cooked); ¼ cup Indian-Style Yogurt, whisked, for marinade; 1 tbsp Tandoori Masala; ¾ tbsp Ginger-Garlic Paste; ½ cup Brown Onion, crispy fried (Birista); ¼ cup Tomato Puree; ¼ cup Mint Leaves, chopped; ¼ cup Coriander Leaves, chopped; 1½ tbsp Cooking Oil; 1 Charcoal, for smoking; ¾ tsp Salt, divided

1 hr 40 mintotal

1 hr 10 min hands-on30 min hands-off

Prep 30 min · Cook 40 min

Serves: 2
Difficulty: Medium
Spice: High

Add to your week

Method

Make a thick marinade: whisk the curd, tandoori masala, some of the ginger-garlic paste and the salt together. Add the pre-fried soya chaap pieces and coat them well. Leave them to marinate for 20 minutes.
20 min
In a wide pot, heat the oil until hot. Add the remaining ginger-garlic paste and fry for 60 seconds. Add the tomato puree. Cook it down until the oil separates out.
1 min
Add the marinated soya chaap along with all its marinade. Stir-fry over high heat. Cook the masala down until it forms a thick, well-spiced coating clinging to the chaap.
Smoke it (dhungar): make a hollow in the middle of the chaap and sit a heatproof bowl in it. Heat a piece of charcoal until it glows red. Put the glowing charcoal in the bowl, pour a little oil over it, and cover the pan tightly. Leave the smoke trapped for exactly 5 minutes, then take the charcoal out and discard it.
5 min
Assemble: in a heavy dum pot, spread the smoked tandoori chaap as the bottom layer. Cover it with half the crushed fried onions (birista) and the fresh herbs.
Spread the 75%-parboiled basmati over it in an even layer. Scatter the remaining crisp onions, mint and coriander over the top.
Seal the pot tightly. Turn the heat right down and cook on dum. Turn off the heat and let it rest, undisturbed, for 10 minutes before fluffing it very gently.
10 min

How to tell it's done

Distinct, airy layers of white rice over dense, chewy, well-smoked soya coated in a deeply spiced red masala.

Getting it right

Tip

Frying the raw soya chaap first is essential. It opens up the dense soy layers, turning them from rubbery blocks into something porous that soaks up the marinade and eats much like meat.

What to serve it with

Big, smoky and full-flavoured. Serve it hot with a tangy onion-tomato raita, vinegared red onion rings, or lemon wedges to cut through the smoke.

Tuver Ni Khichdi

Tuver ni khichdi cooks rice with pigeon peas into a soft Gujarati khichdi finished with ghee.

55 minvegetarian

Vangi Bath (Brinjal Rice)

Vangi bath tosses cooked rice with aubergine and a Karnataka spice blend made for this dish alone.

50 minvegan

Classic Veg Schezwan Fried Rice

Veg schezwan fried rice tosses rice and vegetables in the Indo-Chinese chilli-garlic sauce.

2 hr 25 minvegan

Vegetable Dum Biryani

Vegetable dum biryani layers part-cooked rice over spiced vegetables and finishes them sealed, so the steam does the rest.

2 hr 15 minvegetarian

Classic Vegetable Fried Rice

Vegetable fried rice is the Indo-Chinese street version, cooked fast over high heat so the rice stays separate.

2 hr 25 minvegan

Classic Vegetable Pulao

Vegetable pulao cooks rice and vegetables together in one pot, seasoned with whole spices rather than a masala.