Wonderfully easy and fast to make, these Tandoori vegan skewers make for the perfect addition to a feast or simply served in your choice of bread, with a salad and refreshing sauce.
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🌟Why You'll Love this Recipe
These Tandoori vegan skewers are a beautifully spicy taste of India.
Tandoori chicken is a dish that has its origins in the Punjab province of India and was my husbands favourite Indian dish. If you know anything about Brits you know they love Indian food, it is almost like an adopted cuisine to them. Of course this is a vegan version of that dish and while tandoori chicken is cooked traditionally in a wood fired round clay oven but who has one of those at home? This air fried version has all the same flavours you would expect. These Tandoori vegan skewers are a party of spices and bold flavours, if there is one thing Indian food has it is variety of flavours.
Of course you don't necessary need to own an air fryer to try this recipe.
In fact, it perfectly works on the grill (both oven or stovetop) and especially on the barbecue, that gives the extra charred flavour simply to die for!
🗒️Ingredients and Tools
What's the key ingredient for a good homemade Tandoori dish?
It is without doubt the marinade.
It might sound not important, but believe me, a good marinade is always the key to pack up your dishes (especially vegan) with flavour.
What I love about this marinade is that is made from a wonderful balance of light mild smooth and refreshing yogurt jazzed up with a fiery fragrant mix of spices and is simply stunning. Traditionally the marinade would be used to tenderize the meat and in order to get the flavours as deep into the meat as possible you would score the surface allowing the marinade to penetrate.
Here however in our vegan version we are using soy chunks and a major benefit here is they have a spongy texture which absorbs the marinade, no need to score the surface. All you need to do is leave the marinade to do its magic. I also suggest soaking the soya chunks in a vegetable broth, you can do it in just warm water but this is an opportunity to add yet more flavour even before the marinade is added.
The spices all have their own personality and you can mix and match according to your own tastes cumin has an earthy earthy warmth, coriander powder a citrus sweetness, mustard powder has an aromatic but tangy heat, paprika has a subtle earthiness and sweet smoky taste, cayenne has a much more concentrated fiery heat.
Finally we have garam masala which is not an individual spice but a mixture of cinnamon, mace, peppercorns, coriander seeds, cumin seeds and cardamom pods heavily prized in Indian cookery.
It seems there is not a single recipe for this mix and it seems to change based upon personal tastes so it is a bit hard to pin down exactly what makes a good garam masala, the individual components seem to change in ratios depending on the recipe it is being used for.
Being a vegan version the yogurt is of course dairy free and I have used a plain soy yogurt although you can use your favourite brand or even an oat yogurt if you prefer the flavour. You just need to make sure it doesn't have lots of sugar or added vanilla flavouring because that probably isn't a flavour you want in the final dish.
🔪 How to Make this Recipe
Step 1: Soak the Chunks
Soak the soy chunks in the warm vegetable broth for 30 minutes to rehydrate them. Once rehydrated drain as much liquid from them as possible by squeezing them in a sieve.
Step 2: Prepare the Marinade
Mix all the ingredients for the marinade together in a bowl. Yep as easy as that. For a depth of flavour you can roast/toast the spices for a few seconds in a hot pan prior to incorporating them into the marinade.
Step 3: Assemble the Skewers and Marinate
Place the soy chunks onto your skewers (make sure your wooden skewers fit the air fryer basket prior to this step, if not, cut them to size). You should have enough to make 8.
Arrange the skewers into a dish long enough so they can lay flat, then pour over the marinade mixture ensuring that you cover evenly each chunk.
Leave covered in the fridge at least overnight (min 8 hours, up to 48).
Step 4: Cook the Skewers
Place the skewers into the air fryer for 10 minutes at 200° C (390° F). Halfway through brush them with the remaining marinade and turn to ensure an even cook.
Alternatively, you can cook the skewers on the grill and for 8-10 minutes, turning occasionally, until charred to your liking.
Step 5: Serve the Skewers
Transfer the skewers to a serving platter and garnish with fresh cilantro or parsley.
Serve with a side of rice, naan, or a refreshing salad.
🍛 Tips for Perfect Tandoori Vegan Skewers
Marinate Longer for Better Flavour: Allowing the soya chunks to marinate overnight will result in a more intense flavour.
Use Fresh Spices: Freshly ground spices will provide a more vibrant flavour compared to pre-ground spices that have been sitting for a while.
🍽️Serving Suggestions
Serve with a Raita Dip: Make a simple raita with vegan yogurt, cucumber, mint, and a touch of cumin.
Add to a Wrap: Use the grilled skewers as a filling for a wrap or sandwich, along with fresh greens and a dollop of vegan yogurt.
Pair with Grains: Serve the skewers over a bed of quinoa or couscous for a complete meal.
📖Recipe
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