Vegan Chicken Changezi

Vegan Chicken Changezi – marinated baked tofu chunks are simmered in a rich, mild tomato coconut gravy to create a vegan version of the popular spicy chicken changezi. Vegan & Gluten-free + Soy-free Option.

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For a flavor-packed weeknight dinner that is plant-based and gluten-free, try this Vegan Chicken Changezi! Chicken Changezi is a popular dish usually found in restaurants in Delhi. It is a rather spicy chicken curry for which the chicken is marinated, then cooked or pan-fried.

While it cooks you make a sauce that varies a lot based on the restaurant. Sometimes the onions and cashews are fried together and blended up for the sauce. Sometimes  chopped onions are cooked to golden and then blended.

To balance the heat from the chili, some cream is added. For the cream part, you can use non-dairy cream such as cashew cream, or use cashew milk, coconut milk, or some yogurt.

For this recipe, we use tofu that has been torn up into organic shapes and marinated in a flavorful marinade and then baked. You can also pan-fry the tofu if you like.

The original recipe requires the premade sauce to be reheated and kind of panfried in some butter and then the tofu/vegan chicken is added to the sauce and then garnished with cilantro, chili, and some more butter and served. But for simplifying the recipe, I cook the sauce and then add the baked tofu. You can also use store bought vegan chicken subs, soycurls or chickpeas here.

More easy tofu curries:

Malaysian Tofu Curry

Shahi Tofu Kofta Casserole

Vegan Tofu Rogan Josh (Tofu in Chili Yogurt Sauce)

Tofu Vindaloo Recipe (Indian Tangy Chili Sauce)

Vegan Chicken Changezi (Tofu in tangy spicy tomato sauce)

5 from 24 votes

By: Vegan Richa

Prep: 15 minutes mins

Cook: 35 minutes mins

Total: 50 minutes mins

Servings: 4

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Indian

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Vegan Chicken Changezi – marinated baked tofu chunks are simmered in a rich, mild tomato coconut sauce to create a vegan version of the popular spicy chicken dish chicken changezi. Vegan & Gluten-free + Soy-free Option.

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Ingredients 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

For the “chicken” tofu:

• ▢ 14 ounces firm or extra firm tofu, pressed for 10 minutes, see Soyfree options in notes
• ▢ 1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste or you can use finely minced ginger and garlic
• ▢ 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• ▢ 2 teaspoons oil
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon salt
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon chaat masala , or use amchur(dry mango powder)
• ▢ 1 teaspoon paprika or use 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
• ▢ 2 teaspoons cornstarch, or tapioca starch
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon Freshly ground black pepper

For the sauce:

• ▢ 2 teaspoons oil
• ▢ 1 1/4 cups of chopped red onion or 1 medium/large onion chopped
• ▢ 1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste or you can use finely minced ginger and garlic
• ▢ ½ hot green chili such as serrano, finely chopped

For the spices:

• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• ▢ 1 teaspoon Kashmiri chili powder or paprika
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon salt
• ▢ 2-3 tablespoons water
• ▢ 1 cup canned tomato puree or unseasoned tomato sauce, ,
• ▢ 1 cup coconut milk, (Use atleast 1/2 cup coconut cream) , or 1/3 cup yogurt + 2/3 cup water
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon dried fenugreek leaves or omit if you don’t have it
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vegan butter

For garnish:

• ▢ 1 green chili, thinly sliced
• ▢ Generous pinch of chaat masala or garam masala
• ▢ Chopped cilantro

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Instructions 

• Make the tofu chicken; press the tofu if you haven’t already then tear the tofu using your hands into organic shapes. Add the tofu to a bowl and add the ginger garlic paste, lemon juice, and oil and toss well to coat. To a small bowl add all the spices and cornstarch and mix really well. Sprinkle the mixture all over the tofu pieces and toss well to coat.
• Spread the tofu on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake at 400ºF (205ºC) for 22-25 minutes until crispy to preference.
• Meanwhile, make the sauce; add oil to a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and a good pinch of salt. Cook until the onion is evenly golden brown. Keep stirring occasionally and add splashes of water to help the heat get conducted evenly so that the onions brown evenly. 8-12 minutes
• Add in the ginger garlic paste and green chili and mix well. Add all the spices and 2-3 tablespoons of water. Mix really well and cook for one minute to roast the spices and the ginger garlic paste. Mix in the tomato puree and coconut milk. Bring to a boil. (If you are using pureed crushed or fresh tomatoes instead of canned tomato puree, add just the tomato puree first and cook for 5-6 minutes to thicken a bit and then add the coconut milk.)
• Once the sauce is boiling consistently, mix really well. Taste and adjust salt and flavor. Then add in the fenugreek leaves, vegan butter, and the baked tofu. Toss well to coat and switch off the heat.
• Garnish with garam masala, chaat masala, cilantro, and sliced green chili. Serve with roti, Naan,  flatbread or rice. 

Video

Notes

– For a thicker sauce, Mix 1 teaspoon of flour into the coconut milk and then add it to the pan.

–Soy-free you can use other vegan chicken or chicken substitutes, seitan or chickpeas, or cauliflower or chickpea tofu. If using cauliflower bake for 25-30 minutes or until the cauliflower is cooked through. Then add it to the sauce.

If using chickpeas, marinate for about 5-10 minutes then add them to the sauce.

Soy curls (5-6 ounces); rehydrate the soy curls in hot broth and squeeze to remove excess moisture, then proceed with the recipe to marinate and bake.

Oil-free: omit the oil in the tofu. Sauté onion with 2-4 tbsp broth. 

Nutrition

Calories: 240kcal, Carbohydrates: 16g, Protein: 12g, Fat: 14g, Saturated Fat: 5g, Sodium: 802mg, Potassium: 234mg, Fiber: 4g, Sugar: 6g, Vitamin A: 700IU, Vitamin C: 8mg, Calcium: 168mg, Iron: 2mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Did you make this recipe? Rate and comment below!

Ingredients

• firm or extra firm tofu, pressed for 10 minutes at least
• for the tofu marinade, we mix ginger garlic paste, lemon juice, garam masala, pepper, chaat masala, paprika and cornstarch
• for the sauce, we fry chopped red onion ginger garlic paste and green chili
• To season the sauce, we add turmeric, garam masala, ground coriander, Kashmiri chili powder or paprika
• tomato puree, canned kind for best result
• for creaminess, we add coconut milk and yogurt
• a small amount of vegan butter makes the gravy taste extra rich

Tips:

• For the chili, you can use milder or more spicy ones. I went with serrano chiles.
• if you want a thicker sauce and your coconut milk isn’t fatty enough or doesn’t thicken the sauce. Mix 1 teaspoon of flour into the coconut milk and then add it to the pan.
• to make this recipe soy-free you can use other vegan chicken or chicken substitutes, seitan or chickpeas, or cauliflower. If using cauliflower bake for 25-30 minutes or until the cauliflower is cooked through. Then add it to the sauce. If using chickpeas, marinate for about 5-10 minutes then add them to the sauce.
• You can also make this recipe with soy curls (5-6 ounces); rehydrate the soy curls in hot broth and squeeze to remove excess moisture, then proceed with the recipe to marinate and bake.

Make the tofu chicken; press the tofu if you haven’t already then tear the tofu using your hands into organic shapes.

Add the tofu to a bowl and add the ginger garlic paste, lemon juice, and oil and toss well to coat.

To a small bowl add all the spices and cornstarch and mix really well. Sprinkle the mixture all over the tofu pieces and toss well to coat.

Spread the tofu on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake at 400ºF (205ºC) for 22-25 minutes until crispy to preference.

Meanwhile, make your sauce; add oil to a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and a good pinch of salt. Cook until the onion is evenly golden brown. Keep stirring occasionally and add splashes of water to help the heat get conducted evenly so that the onions brown evenly as well.

Add in the ginger garlic paste and green chili and mix well. Add all the spices and 2-3 tablespoons of water.

Mix really well and cook for one minute to roast the spices and to cook the ginger garlic paste.

Mix in the tomato puree and coconut milk. Bring to a boil.

Once the sauce is boiling consistently, mix really well. Taste and adjust salt and flavor. Then add in the fenugreek leaves, vegan butter, and baked tofu. Toss well to coat and switch off the heat.

Garnish with some garam masala, chaat masala, cilantro, and sliced green chili. Serve with roti, Naan,  flatbread or rice.

Storage

Store in a closed container refrigerated for into 3 days.