Rooster Angara (North Indian Smoky Creamy Curry)

This can be a vegan model of wealthy, smoky Indian hen angara. This restaurant-style curry has an fragrant chili sauce with wonderful, fiery flavors! Serve with naan, flatbread, or rice or over baked potato for a scrumptious meal. gluten-free with nut-free and soy-free choices

Rooster angara is a well-liked dish in some North Indian eating places. It has this thick sauce made with fried onion, yogurt, plenty of spices, and both dried complete Kashmiri chilis, common Indian chilies, or Kashmiri chili powder. The chilis add to the fiery pink shade of the sauce in addition to to the warmth.

Angar means hearth, and also you’re incorporating hearth into this dish by including quite a lot of warmth and shade from the Kashmiri chilis and smoking it with some reside hearth on the finish. The signature smoky taste is integrated utilizing a smoking meals protected charcoal. However We smoke it utilizing a cinnamon stick. Simply warmth the cinnamon stick (or charcoal) till it’s pink scorching, then put it in a warmth protected ramekin, drizzle with a bit little bit of oil. The ramekin truly goes into the pan of completed hen angara, and also you cowl the pan with the lid, so the smoke infuses the dish.

That is one other recipe in my sequence the place I veganize historically meat-heavy Indian dishes. Take a look at my recipes for Salli Boti ( western Indian curry with potato sticks), Rara Rooster(North Indian onion cardamom curry), Goan Peri peri Chikin tofu, and Pahadi curry (Mountain onion pepper curry), for extra from this sequence.

As with plenty of Indian curries, the flavour is within the sauce, so you should utilize your plant-based protein of selection and it’ll nonetheless style completely scrumptious. In the event you don’t need to use tofu, you should utilize chickpea tofu, chickpeas or different white beans, veggies, vegan hen, or seitan. And as with many restaurant model curries, it’s about persistence on letting all the pieces toast and toast very well at every step and letting the flavors develop! Let’s make this incredible tofu Angara!

Why You’ll Love Angara Rooster

• wealthy, smoky, plant-based North Indian restaurant curry with so many wonderful spices!
• enjoyable to make! Play with hearth!
• scrumptious one-pan meal
• naturally gluten-free with simple soy-free and nut-free choices

Components and Substitutions

• floor spices – For the angara spice combine, you will have floor coriander, cumin, black pepper, cloves, cinnamon, and cardamom. Additionally, you will use Kashmiri chili powder to season the tofu and within the sauce. You’ll additionally want fenugreek leaves for the sauce and smoked paprika for ending.
• almond flour – Offers the angara spice combine texture. Omit for nut-free.
• tofu – Pressed agency or additional agency tofu torn into bite-sized items is your vegan hen. You should use different meat subs, like chickpeas, seitan, chickpea tofu, or vegan hen, if you happen to want.
• cornstarch – Helps the tofu crisp up within the pan. Use different starch sauce as tapioca or arrowroot as an alternative
• oil – To crisp the tofu, saute, and to smoke the angara hen curry sauce.
• aromatics – Onion and ginger garlic paste give the sauce an incredible taste! You should use minced ginger and garlic as an alternative, if you happen to don’t have the paste.
• complete spices – You’ll season the sauce with a black cardamom pod, bay leaf, and complete clove. To smoke the sauce, you’ll use a cinnamon stick or a chunk of meals protected charcoal.
• tomato – Each chopped tomato and tomato puree add moisture, umami, and provides the sauce extra fiery pink shade.
• non-dairy yogurt – Makes the sauce creamy.

The way to Make Rooster Angara

Add the entire spice combine components in a small bowl, combine very well, and put aside. 

Press the tofu, if you happen to haven’t already, after which tear into items. Add the tofu to a bowl together with 1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons of the angara spice combine and the salt, Kashmiri chili powder, and cornstarch.

Toss effectively to coat, then warmth a big skillet over medium-high warmth. Add a teaspoon of oil, then as soon as the oil is scorching, add the tofu and unfold evenly.

Proceed to prepare dinner for two to three minutes, then flip the tofu and prepare dinner the opposite facet for an additional 2 to three minutes. Take away the tofu from the skillet, and put aside.

Warmth the identical skillet over medium-high warmth. Add 2 teaspoons oil, and as soon as the oil is scorching add the onion, salt, black cardamom pod, bay leaf and complete clove, mixing effectively. Proceed to prepare dinner till the onion is golden brown, including splashes the water in between to assist the onion brown evenly. Stir ceaselessly, in order that the onion doesn’t burn, about 5 to eight minutes.

As soon as the onion is golden brown, scale back the warmth to medium, and blend within the remaining angara spice combine. If the onions have dried out a bit bit, add a splash of water to combine within the spices.

Then, add within the ginger garlic paste, fenugreek and blend in for a couple of seconds. Then add tomatoes, tomato puree,  Kashmiri chili powder, yogurt, remaining salt, and water. Press and blend in the entire components, then cowl with the lid and let it prepare dinner for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring as soon as in between, in order that the sauce doesn’t persist with the underside of the pan. 

Fold within the tofu, tossing effectively to coat. If the sauce has thickened an excessive amount of, combine in additional water or inventory. Cowl with the lid, scale back the warmth to medium-low, and let it simmer for 10 minutes or longer to infuse quite a lot of taste into the tofu. Then, style and regulate salt and taste, including extra salt, if wanted. You may add in additional warmth, if you happen to like, by including a bit little bit of cayenne or Indian chili powder. 

Scale back the warmth to low, and sprinkle the smoked paprika on high of the angara hen, and let it simmer.

Nestle a warmth protected ramekin that can suit your cinnamon stick, into the pan the place you’re cooking the curry, and add the 2 teaspoons of oil to it.

Then, maintain the cinnamon stick with tongs over an open flame till a minimum of 1/2 of the cinnamon stick is blackened and it catches hearth. Put it into the ramekin with the oil, in order that the oil begins to smoke. Cowl the pan with the lid. Let the smoke from the cinnamon stick infuse the sauce.

Relying on how a lot you heated the cinnamon stick, it may well smoke actually shortly. If it doesn’t smoke sufficient the primary time on your style, you may redo the smoking step or use a small meals protected charcoal as an alternative of the cinnamon stick. In the event you use the cinnamon stick, you may also drizzle the smoked oil over the completed dish for a good deeper smoky taste. In the event you’re utilizing charcoal, please don’t use that oil.
After smoking for five minutes, open the lid, swap off the warmth, and garnish with some cilantro and lemon juice and serve with naan, flatbread, rice or quinoa.

What to Serve with Rooster Angara

Serve this with rice or quinoa or with naan or flatbread.