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Instant Pot Vegan Chicken Saag with Soy Curls. Use seitan, tempeh, baked tofu, chickpeas or chikin substitutes for variation. 1 Pot Soy curls in Spinach Sauce. Vegan Gluten-free Saagwala Recipe Can be Soy-free and Nut-free Jump to Recipe
Saag is basically a dish made with greens. Often times it is mustard greens or a combination of mustard and spinach or others which depend on local availability and seasonality. I’ve made it with mixed greens with spinach as baby kale, bok choy, mustard and amaranth greens. Mixed greens work well when pressure cooking.
Plain Saag (just the greens dish), Saag with veggies like potatoes, Saag paneer (palak tofu), and Saag with different meats are all similar dishes, but have subtle differences based on what they are paired with. Saag for paneer is often blanched greens in both coarse and puree form for a vibrant green sauce, Saag with meats is coarse and uses yogurt for thickening and so on. This soycurl saag dish is a vegan version of Saag Chicken. See Recipe notes for variations. Finish this delicious saucy dish with some cashew cream and vegan butter for a luscious meal.
To make this dish without soy, use seitan, non soy chickin subs, veggies, use potato to make Saag Aloo or cooked chickpeas or beans with this delicious sauce. To make it without nuts, use a nut-free non dairy yogurt or coconut cream. To make it without oil, omit the oil (you will need to add splashes of water and stir more frequently to avoid sticking and burning, or roast the tomato onion mixture separately in a non stick skillet). See Recipe notes for Saucepan instructions. Lets get to it!
More Instant Pot Recipes.
- Instant Pot Vegan Butter Chickin(soycurls). GF
- Lentil Veggie Dhansak – Lentil Veggie Stew in IP. GF
- Kohlapuri Veggies – Veggies in sesame coconut sauce GF
- Lentil Sweet Potato Soup GF
- Aloo Palak Dal- Potato Spinach Lentils in IP. GF
- Chana Saag – Chickpea Spinach Curry GF
Use steamed tempeh, baked tofu, chickpeas, seitan or veggies with this fabulous saag/palak sauce for variation. Soy chunks are different from soy curls. They need a longer cooking time and are chewy (I dont particularly like them). Use other subs with this amazing sauce. If you make this recipe, do let me know how it turned out and tag me on social media!
To make cashew cream, blend equal amount of soaked cashews(soaked for atleast an hour) and water until creamy and measure and use.
Video:
In the video I am using Butlers soy curls and some home made soy curls. I have been trying to make some at home. They are just soaked soybeans, drain, blend to a thick batter, spoon onto a baking sheet and dehydrate or bake at 250. You can do this with most beans. The texture is different from curls. Also, so hard to make Indian food look good, but believe you me it tastes so good.
Instant Pot Vegan Chicken Saag - Soy Curls in Spinach Sauce.
Ingredients
- 1 small onion
- 5 cloves of garlic
- 1/2 inch ginger
- 1/2 hot green chile
- 3/4 cup tomato
- 4 to 5 oz spinach , or spinach + other greens such as baby kale
- 1 cinnamon stick, , 2 inch long
- 2 cloves
- 1 or 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1/2 tsp garam masala
- 1/2 tsp coriander powder
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1.5 cups soy curls, , dry
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup cashew cream or , 1/3 cup vegan plain yogurt
- 1/2 to 1 tsp sugar or sweetener
- cayenne and garam masala to taste
- 1 tsp fenugreek leaves, optional
Instructions
- Blend the onion through tomato and set aside. Blend the spinach/greens with 1/4 cup water(*inline amounts don’t change when you scale the recipe, only ingredient list scales. So adjust accordingly). Pulse to make a coarse mixture and not a puree. (use 1/2 cup water if using hardy greens and using more).
- Heat oil in saute mode. When hot, add cinnamon, cloves and bay leaf. Cook for a few seconds.
- Add blended onion tomato mix. Cook for 3 minutes, stir frequently. If it starts to burn, switch off saute for 2 mins, then switch on again if needed. Add the spices and mix in.
- Add the greens, soy curls and salt. Add 1/2 cup water and mix in.
- Cook on Manual/Pressure Cook (hi) 8 to 10 minutes. Release after 5 mins. (If using tofu, potato or tempeh, 3 to 5 minutes pressure cook time is sufficient)
- Fold in cashew cream or yogurt and mix in. Add some water if needed and cook on saute until the mixture starts to boil. Add cayenne, garam masala, sugar and mix in. Adjust salt, spice and heat. Add fenugreek leaves if using.
- Serve garnished with pepper flakes with rice, quinoa or with flatbread or pita bread. Additional garnish: Drizzle Cashew cream and add some vegan butter per serving.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I made this today. It was delicious and I will make it again in the future. I used a small can of Tomato Sauce, since the Tomato gets blended anyway. I used 1/2 red chard and 1/2 Baby Spinach and also a very small can of Coconut Cream.
Another great recipe to use my Soy Curls in and use my Instant Pot.
Thank you!
Awesome
Why would you name a Vegan dish with Chicken? Vegan has its own identity, why to resemble it with non-vegetarian ingredients and ruin the beauty around being Vegan.
So that people who want to cook something similar as to what they have known, can find it. People who made the switch still want to find ways to replicate their favourite meals in vegan. So searching for “Vegan Chicken Saag” will help them find this delicious meal.
Love this with any kinds of greens, we’ve done all-spinach and spinach mixed with beet greens or kale. It is very forgiving if you are out of something. Easy to sub other beans too, or just make plain saag for a less hearty side dish. Would love to try with fenugreek leaves sometime! Thank you Richa 🙂
I have one regret- that I didn’t double the recipe 😭
I’ll know better for next time… and there *will* be a next time 🤩
My husband and I both loved it! I love your site, so many delicious vegan meals!
Thank you kindly Margaret.
Can I use coconut milk (thick part) instead of cashew cream?
that would work if you don’t have actual coconut cream
Hi, I’m very new to cooking.
1) Can you please clarify the use of Soy Curls? Do you break them up, hydrate before hand, etc?
2) How much cayenne and garam masala do you use?
3) When I get ginger at the store it comes in a stalk. What does “1/2 inch” mean for this? Do I cut about 1/2 inch of the stalk into small pieces? If so, how small?
4) Is there a particular “hot green chile” that you prefer?
Thanks and forgive my ignorance,
VK
1. they are dry
2. they are to taste, you can use 1/4 tsp and add more if needed
3. just take a piece of the stalk which is about a 1/2 wide, then chop it.
4. Serrano or thai or bird’s eye
So yummy!! I bet it tastes even better tomorrow for my lunch. I added pan fried potatoes and chick peas. I miss having saag since it has dairy, now I can go back to eating my favorite, thank you🥰
I made this for dinner last night, and both my husband and I absolutely loved it! The flavors were so amazing. I prepared this on the stove top and followed the recipe pretty closely, although I started by sautéing the (rough chopped) onion, garlic cloves, chili pepper, and ginger chunks before blending, with fire roasted tomatoes. I used about 1 cup of soy curls, re-hydrated before adding in vegan chicken broth, along with three small chopped potatoes. I cooked everything a bit longer than recommended to infuse the flavors, other than the final step with the greens. The spinach, I blended with water plus the juice of 1/2 lemon for brightness. Served with turmeric rice. Really incredible recipe – we both ate way too much, and there aren’t a lot of leftovers for lunch but I’m claiming them! Thank you!!
awesome! yes more volume of ingredients will need some more cooking time.
Delicious. Used dried bean curd strips from Asian market.
great idea!