Tender mouthfuls of juicy vegetarian soya chaap, the Indian equivalent of mock meat of the West and seitan of the East appeals to vegans and vegetarians alike. While we all know a curry soya chaap recipe or a tandoori soya chaap recipe, what if we told you it is possible to make homemade soya chaap sticks from scratch? I tried, tested, and perfected this easy soya chaap recipe at home and today share this simple process of how to make soya chaap with you our cherished readers.
Chaap or soya chaap is product made from enriched protein and is often pegged as a vegan or vegetarian alternative to meat. In non-vegetarian parlance, chaap or chops refer to the cuts of meat taken from the ribs. When the prepared vegetarian soya chaap is wrapped on ice-cream sticks it resembles a chaap or chop and hence the name soya chaap or soya chaap stick has been given to the product.
Our friends and readers often ask us ‘Is soya chaap made of maida?’ and so many more questions about the soya chaap. It is natural to be curious about the source of your food and we decided to not only address these queries but also show you how to make soya chaap at home in the comfort of your kitchen instead of buying it from grocery stores.
Soya chaap is actually a misnomer; while you may believe that soya chaap sticks are made of only of soya, the truth is they are comprised mostly of maida or all-purpose flour with only some soya flour added. The gluten present in the all-purpose flour is what gives soya chaap its unique texture. Note that soya or soy flour is gluten free and using only soya flour will not develop the texture, chew, or mouthfeel that is required for soya chaap. That is the reason all-purpose flour (maida) is used in soya chaap recipes. In fact, if available, we would advise using high-gluten flours (high protein flours) in this flour soya recipe as the amount of homemade soya chaap sticks you will get from the same amount of flour will be more
Processed but uncooked soya chaap sticks are available in the market at various dairy food shops, however the method of their preparation is not commonly known to people. Often the ingredients are also not listed as they are usually sold loose and not packed. Loose soya chaap sticks are available in two varieties: fresh and dried. Our soya chaap sticks recipe demonstrates the fresh version.
Soya chaap is high in protein but it must not be consumed by those who have gluten sensitivity or Celiac disease.
During religious festivals in north India, which often last several days at a stretch, many people habitually abstain from eating meat, onion, and garlic. Soya chaap preparations satiate the desire to eat meat due to their unique mouthfeel and meaty texture and can be called an Indian variety of mock meat.
Soya chaap preparations are found abundantly as varied flavoured tikkas at various street food outlets and tandoori shops. Soya chaap curries are equally popular at restaurants and are made in many Indian homes as well.
Seitan or mian jin, a variety of mock meat consumed by Buddhist monks (who are vegetarian) and vegans is quite similar to soya chaap by way of its preparation method. The key differences being the slightly different textures, the use of vital wheat gluten, the later addition of soya flour, and the appearances of soya chaap and seitan.
While there are many ways in which you can make soya chaap and some recipes even suggest the use of soaked soya nuggets to make them, my numerous trials have revealed that the best soya chaaps are made with the method listed in the recipe below.
Make dough with all-purpose flour (maida), or high-gluten flour if available, salt, and water and knead it for 10 to 12 minutes. You need to rest it for at least an hour and ideally overnight for the gluten to develop well. This resting will impart the final texture to the soya chaap. The next day take the dough and knead it again for a bit before kneading it under water (see recipe for the process). This will remove the water-soluble starch from the dough leaving just the high protein gluten. Note that the amount of gluten you are left with depends on the protein content of the flour used. High protein flours will yield more gluten after washing off the starch.
Soya flour, some more all-purpose flour, and salt is then kneaded into this mass along with some water. This is a slightly finicky process and takes some time as the flour will not be easily incorporated. But rest assured that you will be successful as you keep kneading it. Once the flours are fully incorporated, the dough mass will be quite stretchy and elastic. Divide into 6 pieces and allow it to rest, covered, for 30 minutes.
Shape a piece of dough into a cylinder and then stretch it in a way that you can fold them on individual ice-cream sticks just like the soya chaap available off the shelves. Read our detailed homemade soya chaap recipe for instructions on making the chaap well.
Once each soya chaap is wrapped on a stick, simmer them in flavoured water of your choice for about 10 minutes. For example, use salt, maggi veg stock cube, monosodium glutamate (msg or ajionomoto), garlic water, garlic-chilli water, ginger-garlic water, or simply vegetable stock, or any other combinations that you like. The homemade soya chaap sticks acquire the flavour of the ingredient you choose to flavour the water with making the end preparation tastier. After simmering them for about 10 minutes take them out and immerse them in ice-cold water for a few minutes to stop the cooking process. The soya chaap sticks can now be drained and are ready-to-use.
Once prepared, you can either use your homemade soya chaap sticks immediately in making a dish of your choice or store them by placing them in a Ziploc bags once cooled to room temperature and freezing them.
One can use the soya chaap in myriad ways. Use them in curries of your choice such as a butter chicken curry replacing chicken with soya chaap or a simpler tomato-ginger-chilli gravy with spices of your choice or even a mock fish curry without the fish of course, the possibilities are endless.
Learn how to make quick and healthy vegetarian Soya Chaap at home with all ingredients and cooking method below.
Or try all our Vegetarian Recipes right here!