Soya Chunks Biryani | Dindigul Thalappakatti Style

The word Biryani evokes a myraid of emotions in many people. There are varieties of biryanis available all over the world with variations fron region to region. I have presented my Meatless version of Dindigul Thalapakkkatti biryani. This is a very famous biryani which has its roots in a place called DIndigul in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. This biryani is usually made with chicken or lamb. I have used Soya Chunks/ Soya meal maker instead of the meat. This is a perfect substitute because of the meat like texture of soya chunks or meal maker.

Soya chunks are made using soy flour that has been ‘defatted’ or the oil is removed. They are the byproducts left after extracting soybean oil and have a rough texture when left dry. The texture quickly changes to soft and spongy as soon as submerged in warm water . They are known as ‘vegetarian’s meat’ as their nutritional profile is comparable to several non-vegetarian foods. Soya chunks are also very versatile and can also be cooked to have a similar flavour as non-veg curries.The high protein content in soya chunks makes it very popular, especially among the fitness conscious crowd.

This is a one pot, easy, flavourful and aromatic biryani. I have used freshly ground spices here which imparts its distinct flavour.

Let's get started...

Step 1:

INGREDIENTS

1 cup - 240ml

Basmati rice/Jeeraga sambar rice - 1 cup / 160 gm
Water - 1 3/4 cups/ 420 ml
Soya chunks – 1/2 cup/ 25 gm/ 26 balls
Clarified butter / Cooking oil – 2-3 tbsp
Big onion - 1
Tomato - 1
Green chillies - 2
Chopped mint & coriander leaves - 2 tbsp each
Biryani leaf/ Bay leaf - 1
Ginger-Garlic paste - 1 tbsp
Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp
Yogurt - 1/2 tbsp or Lemon juice - 1 tsp
Salt - 1.5 tsp / according to taste

Spice powder

Cinnamon - 2 inch piece
Black stone flower/ Kalpasi-1
Fennel seeds/ Saunf - 1/2 tbsp
Cardamom - 2
Cloves - 3

Vegan options

Use cooking oil and lemon juice instead of clarified butter and yogurt.

Step 2: Prepping the Soya Chunks

Boil 2 cups of water and add 1 tsp salt. Soak the soya chunks for about 1/2 hour to soften it. After soaking, squeeze out the water from the soya chunks and set aside. Add fresh water again and squeeze out the water again. Repeat this 2-3 times till the squeezed out water is almost clear.

Step 3: Grinding the Spice Powder

Take the ingredients given under “Spice powder” and grind them nicely to a fine powder. You can also use a mortar & pestle to do this. Powder it well or else you will get spices in your mouth while eating.( Suppose your spice blender doesn’t grind smaller quantities, just double the above ingredients, grind it and use half the powder for this recipe. Use the remaining in other curries.)

Step 4: Prepping the Vegetables

Finely chop the onion and tomato. Slit green chillies.

Step 5: Prepping the Rice

Wash the rice and set aside.

Step 6: Adding Ingredients to Pressure Cooker

Take a pressure cooker. Add clarified butter or cooking oil and saute the biryani leaf for a few seconds on medium flame. Add the chopped onions and green chillies and saute till the onions are transparent. Add ginger garlic paste and saute till there is no more raw smell ( about1 minute).