Soya featured quite a lot on our menu when I was growing up and i'd like to think it was because my parents were really health savvy but actually I think it was more down to financial reasons - it was cheap. My mum would make different vegetarian curry dishes such as Soya with peas, soya with carrots but on the odd sneaky occasion I am sure she would add it to meat curries too to make them go further. We couldn't really tell the difference.
It is a really versatile ingredient and you buy it from pretty much all Indian grocery shops sold in a dried form in packets. It's really simple to use just make sure you hydrate them in hot water for a good 10-15 minutes before you need them and because they are like little sponges make sure you squeeze out all the water before adding them to the masala sauce.
Soya makes a great meat substitute, if you are cooking a meat dish but need to make something for your veggie guests as well you can make the same masala, split it into two pans, add meat to one pot and soya to the other - everyone is happy.
I like to cook this with colourful vegetables too, it looks pretty, tastes fresh and makes you feel good about yourself. In this recipe I am using peas and peppers but you could also add frozen mixed vegetables, sweetcorn or just leave it plain. Enjoy!
Ian
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