Meat analogues, such as seitan, are usually a no-no on a gluten-free diet, frequently being made from wheat gluten. Mostly, I depend on legumes, tofu, or tempeh for concentrated protein in my recipes. Soy Curls are naturally gluten-free and made from whole soy beans with no extra ingredients — although I have no idea how they are actually made. These mysterious dry brittle strips plump up and become chewy like meat (think chicken strips) when hydrated, making them a fun-food to have once in a while.
Soy Curls can be hard to find — especially in Canada. The dish will not suffer in any way if you want to substitute the Soy Curls with beans. Four cups cooked or two cans of drained and rinsed chickpeas, kidney beans or black-eyed peas work very nicely. Follow the recipe as written, skipping the first step where I soak the Soy Curls, and add the beans to the gravy with the other vegetables in place of the Soy Curls. Substituting beans for some or all of the Soy Curls will also bring down the fat content if you are worried about that.
Start cooking the rice before you start the recipe and everything should be ready at about the same time.
makes 4 - 6 servings
2 cups soy curls
4 cups hot water for soaking
1 teaspoon cumin seed
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tablespoon minced ginger
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 - 28 ounce can diced tomatoes (no-salt preferred)
1 green pepper, diced
2 small potatoes, diced
1 to 1-1/2 cups water
1 teaspoon garam masala
2 Tablespoons tahini
1 bunch of kale, stems and leaves separated and chopped
salt and pepper to taste
lime juice to taste
This is a great recipe to keep you going through this dark and cold winter.
For other comforting January foods, be sure to check out my recipes for Gingerbread Muffins and Creamy Mushroom and White Bean Pasta.
To your health and happiness,
Beans and Rice