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Vegan Chicken Changezi â 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.
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:
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)
Ingredients Â
For the âchickenâ 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
- œ 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 donât have it
- 1 teaspoon vegan butter
For garnish:
- 1 green chili, thinly sliced
- Generous pinch of chaat masala or garam masala
- Chopped cilantro
InstructionsÂ
- Make the tofu chicken; press the tofu if you havenât 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 400ÂșF (205ÂșC) 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.Â
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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 isnât fatty enough or doesnât 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 havenât 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 400ÂșF (205ÂșC) 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, Â flatbread or rice.
Storage
Store in a closed container refrigerated for into 3 days.
This is one of my very favourite recipes and I make it frequently. The sauce is just so good!
Awesome!
Sooo delicious!! I love all your curries! Keep em coming, Richa!
yay! thank you! i sure will!
Hi Richa, another great recipe form you. I have just made it again with hot chillis itâs fantastic I use kashmiri chilli powder I like the flavour it adds to the sauce. Many thanks for all recipes and inspiration.
thank you!
Iâve never cooked tofu that way, but the family and I LOVED it. The tofu was cooked perfectly. It was crispy and âmeatyâ. Since making this, I go back and forth from cubing my tofu to using this method. Itâs much cheaper and probably healthier than buying the mock meat chicken at the store. The sauce itself was amazing, like always. Luckily I had some lavash bread on hand to sop up every last bit of sauce. I had to use paprika in place of Kashmiri, and I toned the spice for my daughter by using only 1/4 tsp of cayenne and omitting the green chili pepper.
Awesome!!!!
This was awesome. I followed the recipe to the letter except I added chopped spinach, baby kale, and chard too (2-3 handfuls prior to chopping). We used no chili and only paprika for the little kid tastebuds and it still came out yum. Everyone loved it, from my toddler to my husband and parents. Will make again and again.
Yum! Love to hear it.
Delicious! I used dried pea protein and had to leave out the chilies for my young children but my husband had three helpings and cleaned the pot.
Hahaha love to hear it!
Richaâs recipes are always a slam dunk and this one was no exception. The tofu got so perfectly crispy in the oven, the sauce came together really quickly, and we added in some veggies and rice. I find Richaâs recipes to be so flexible and versatile. We skip spices that we donât have and add in or substitute ingredients if needed, but the recipes still always turn out incredibly delicious. We will for sure be making this again!
Thank you for your kind comment, Jade! đ
Made this with soy curls. Amazing! There is a learning curve to soy curl cooking, and this really seasons them right!
Definitely! So glad you enjoy the recipe.
This is WOW delicious! Itâs a bowl of sheer yum and itâs going to be made very frequently at my house! You should double it to start!
Wonderful!
I just did it for dinner, and it was delicious ! Thank you for sharing such easy and cheap recipes, we always love them ! â„