Soya Vegetable Tikka / Healthy Vegetarian Appetizer Recipe

Tikka is a type of South Asian food , found predominantly in Punjabi cuisine, and usually served as an appetizer. "Tikka" refers to marinated piece of meat or cutlet which is deep fried or grilled. The pieces are beautifully thread onto skewers. When it comes to vegetarian food in India, Paneer tikka is most popular dish. I have already shared the recipes of Paneer Tikka and Hara Bhara Paneer Tikka earlier in my posts. Today i am sharing a delectable tikka made from Soy meat and vegetables.

  Soya Vegetable Tikka is a vegetarian starter dish from the North Indian Cuisine. A delicious and healthy preparation in which protein rich Soy meat chunks and mineral and vitamin rich vegetables are marinated in lip smacking marinade and then beautifully thread alternately onto skewers before being grilled. The tikka pieces are usually deep fried but to cut down the calories and to make it a guilt free affair i have grilled them and the whole recipe requires just 1 tablespoon of oil. Now do not say that you are not tempted to try out this healthy beautiful dish for yourself :)

 Soya tikka can be served as a healthy appetizer , or a tea time snack. It can also be served as a side dish with fried rice or noddles or as a meal accompaniment. I have used colored bell peppers , baby corn and onions along with soy meat chunks in this recipe which make it colorful and visually appealing. Both kids and adults are sure to like this tikka dish. The dish is inspired from my Soya chunk Manchurian recipe and the marinade is made from a mix of soy sauce, tomato sauce, home-made Schezwan Sauce, and spices readily available in our Indian kitchen pantries. I have grilled the tikka in a convection microwave. You can also bake them or cook them on a stove top.

  

  The theme for our #109th #FoddieMondayBlogHop is #OnAStick and this healthy and delicious Soya Vegetable Tikka is my contribution towards the theme. Do check out the posts from my fellow bloggers for some wonderful ideas and recipes on this theme.

  Preparation Time: 2 hours

  Cooking Time: 15 minutes

  Serves : 6 

  Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cup Soy meat chunks 
• 4-5 Baby corn
• 1 small yellow bell pepper
• 1 small red bell pepper
• 1 small green bell pepper
• 2 onions 

 For the marinade :

• 3 tablespoon Schezwan Sauce ( i have used home made)
• 2 tablespoon tomato sauce
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1  tablespoon vinegar
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon of jaggery powder / sugar
• 1 tablespoon cornflour
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 2 teaspoon curry powder
• 1 teaspoon black pepper powder
• Salt to taste

Other Ingredients:

• 5-6 wooden skewers

Method:

1. Wash the wooden skewers and soak them in water for at least 30 minutes. This step ensures the stick do not burn while grilling. Wash the Soy meat chunks and cook them for 5 minutes in salted boiling water. You can cook them either in an open vessel or in microwave. The chunks will absorb the water and become double in size. Drain and wash them again in cold water. Squeeze out the water and keep them aside in a bowl until use. 

  2. Meanwhile chop the baby corn into 2 or 3 bite size pieces. Cook them also in boiling water for about 5 minutes.

  3. For the marinade, in a mixing bowl, take schezwan sauce, soy sauce, tomato sauce, curry powder, black pepper powder, salt , and jaggery powder. Mix well. Add oil , vinegar and lime juice. Blend all the ingredients very well with a balloon whisk. Now in a small bowl take 3 tablespoon water and add 1 tablespoon cornflour to it and mix well. Pout this mix to the marinade and stir well. Our marinade is ready. Taste it for spice and salt levels and adjust accordingly. 

  4. Pour half of the marinade over the cooked soy chunks and mix well with a spoon so that all the pieces get coated very well with the marinade. Alternatively you can add the soya chunks and marinade to a zip lock bag and shake well.

  5. Wash, deseed and chop the colored bell peppers into cubes. Also chop the onions similarly. Place the chopped veggies along with boiled baby corn pieces in a mixing bowl. Add remaining marinade to the veggies and mix well . Cover both the veggie bowl and soy chunk bowl with a cling film and refrigerate for 1 1/2- 2 hours or preferably overnight . The more the time of marination, the more the flavors get absorbed.

  6. After marination, thread the vegetables and soy meat chunks alternatively and beautifully onto the skewers. Cover the baking tray with an aluminium foil and arrange the skewers on them . Grill the tikka for 15 minutes. Turn the side of the skewers midway . Brush the vegetables and soya chunks with olive oil so that they do not turn dry. I applied the left over marinade with a brush instead of oil .

You can also bake the tikka for 20 minutes at 180 degree Celsius or cook them on a heated and greased skillet on a cook top.

  7. Serve the Soya Vegetable Tikka hot with some dipping sauce of your choice and salad. I usually serve it with some pudina chutney. Here i have served with homemade schezwan sauce.

  Notes:

• You can use any combination of vegetable with soy meat like, broccoli, mushrooms or carrots.
• Tofu or paneer cubes can be used in place of soy meat if you wish to.
• You may add red chilly powder in the marinade to make it spicy, i have not added.

I hope you would be tempted to try out this healthy and delicious dish for yourself. If you do so, please feel free to share your feedback with us in the form of likes and comments.

For more such recipes, do check my posts on

• Hara Bhara Paneer Tikka

Hara Bhara Paneer Tikka

• Soya Chunk Manchurian

Soya Chunk Manchurian

• 
  Chili Chicken

Chili Chicken