Soya Chunks and Split Chickpea Recipe

This soya chunks and split chickpea recipe is nice for filling, snacking, eating with bread, adding to rice, etc.

It’s a dry, spiced dish, and I made it for breakfast as a filling inside a flatbread roll, and then used the same batch in the evening as a snack with raw onions, chopped tomatoes, and crushed chips on top. 

From start to finish, it took me about 45 minutes, and I’m including soaking time in that too.

Ingredients

For the soya chunks:

• 50g soya chunks
• 1/2 tsp red chili powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• A splash of oil for frying

For the main dish:

• 200g split chickpeas, soaked for 30 minutes and drained
• 80g oil
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 small onions, sliced
• 2 small tomatoes, chopped
• 4 to 5 green chilies, sliced
• 1 tsp red chili powder
• 1 tbsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• Salt to taste
• 1 glass water (around 250ml)

Soak the Soya Chunks, Then Squeeze Out All the Water

Put the soya chunks in a bowl, cover with water, and soak for 10 to 15 minutes; they absorb quickly and expand as they sit. 

Once the time is up, take them out in small handfuls and squeeze each one hard over the sink. Squeeze them properly; you want every bit of water gone before they go into the pan. 

If there’s still water in them when you add them to oil, they’ll steam instead of fry, and you won’t get any color at all. 

I squeeze each handful two or three times just to be sure.

Fry the Soya Chunks Before

Heat a splash of oil in a pan on medium heat, add the squeezed soya chunks, and sprinkle the salt and red chili powder over them. 

Stir to coat the surface, then fry on medium heat, stirring occasionally, until lightly golden on the outside. 

If you skip it and add the soya chunks raw to the spiced base, they’ll become too soft in the pressure cooker and lose their texture. 

Also keep an eye on the heat once they start to color; the surface dries out fast, and they can go from golden to dark quickly.

Soak the Split Chickpeas While the Soya Chunks Fry

Put the split chickpeas in a bowl, cover with water, and soak for about 30 minutes. 

I start this at the same time as the soya chunks so both are ready around the same time and I’m not waiting around. 

Split chickpeas don’t need a long soak because they’re already halved and have no outer hull (whole chickpeas in the same situation would need hours); then drain them just before adding them to the pot.

Fry the Onions and Tomatoes, Then Add the Spice Powders

Heat 80g of oil in a pan or the base of your pressure cooker on medium flame, add the cumin seeds, let them crackle, then add the sliced onions. 

Fry the onions until they start to color, then add the chopped tomatoes and sliced green chilies, and let them fry together until the tomatoes break down into the onion mix. 

After that, you want to add the red chili powder, coriander powder, and turmeric powder and let the whole base roast on medium heat. 

Once the oil separates from the paste and you can see it pooling at the sides of the pan, it means it’s now ready. 

Add Everything to the Pressure Cooker and Cook for 3 Whistles

Add the fried soya chunks and drained split chickpeas to the spiced base, pour in one glass of water, and add salt. 

Stir everything together, close the lid, and cook for 3 whistles on medium heat. 

Let the pressure release on its own before opening, and when you open it, make sure there’s liquid at the bottom- just a thick coating on the chickpeas and soya chunks. 

If there’s still some liquid, put it back on low heat with the lid off for a few minutes.

Use This as a Breakfast Roll Filling

Just spoon the dry mixture onto a flatbread, roll it up, and eat, because there’s no liquid in the filling; the flatbread stays intact, and the whole thing holds together right. 

I had it this way for breakfast, and it was filling without feeling heavy. 

Also, any thin flatbread works here, whatever you have, and if you want something on the side, try the white lentil recipe.

How to Make an Evening Snack Using Leftovers

Take a portion of the same cooked base, add raw chopped tomatoes, raw sliced onion, and a little fresh green chili, and mix everything together. 

Then crush some chips over the top and eat right away. Put the chips on just before eating, not in advance, because they will lose their crunch because of the tomato moisture.

I had this in the evening; it felt like a different dish from the breakfast version. 

I could feel the freshness because of the raw vegetables, and the chips have a texture that makes the whole thing feel like a proper snack. 

What Else You Can Add Without Changing the Base

You can add fresh coriander just before serving; it’ll add brightness. 

Also squeeze half a lemon over the finished dish if you want some sourness; it lifts everything. 

If you want that sourness during the cooking rather than a fresh squeeze at the end, add an extra small tomato when you’re making the onion and tomato base and let it fry down with the rest before the spice powders go in.

For more heat, add two or three extra green chilies alongside the ones already in the recipe. 

You can also have a small splash of ghee stirred in off the heat; that’s good for a richer finish. 

For serving over rice instead of flatbread, make this yellow rice with potato recipe.

Tips to Make Perfect Soya Chunks and Split Chickpea

• You have to squeeze the soya chunks and dry them before frying; otherwise, it’ll be too time-consuming and hard to fry them, and you’ll only waste gas.
• Roast the spiced base long enough before the chickpeas go in. 

Also, salt goes in at two points: during the frying step for the soya chunks, and again when closing the pressure cooker lid. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I make this without a pressure cooker?

You can, but you’ll need more water and more time,

You can cook the split chickpeas in a regular pot with the lid on and add around 350 to 400ml of water instead of 250ml. 

Keep the heat at medium, check at the 25-minute mark, and add more water if the bottom looks dry. 

They should become soft in 30 to 35 minutes. Once they’re done, add the fried soya chunks, stir through, and reduce any excess liquid on low heat with the lid off.

Do the soya chunks need to be a specific size?

I used standard mini soya chunks. If you’re using larger chunks, cut them in half after soaking since they expand during the soak.

Smaller pieces also fry better and make the flatbread filling easier to eat.

Can I skip frying the soya chunks separately?

You can, but it’ll change the texture; without the fry, they will soften all the way through during pressure cooking.

For the flatbread filling especially, you should fry them and make the recipe I shared.

How long does this keep in the fridge?

If you use an airtight container, you can keep them well for the next 2 to 3 days. 

It thickens as it cools, so you’ll have to reheat on low heat with a little water and stir until it loosens. 

Add the raw tomatoes, raw onion, and chips for the snack version fresh when you’re eating, not to the stored portion.

How dry should the finished dish be?

There shouldn’t be liquid at the bottom when the pressure releases; you want to see the spice coating on the chickpeas and soya chunks.