Instant Pot Soya Thongba | A Manipuri Special Curry

Soya Thongba – A Manipuri special mild curry prepared with soy chunks, potatoes, and green peas. This milk-based gravy requires only minimal spices and goes well with rice, roti, and poori. (My personal favorite is with naan). Check out how to prepare this simple Manipuri dish on instant pot and also in the traditional stovetop method. Don’t miss the short video that explains how to make this dish in the instant pot.

Manipur the North Eastern jewel of India is known for its culture, dance, and of course the cuisine. Like other northeastern states, fish and leafy vegetables are their staples, and what fascinated me the most was their kitchen garden and fish ponds. According to the wiki, Manipuri people typically raise vegetables in a kitchen garden and rear fishes in small ponds around their house. Their cuisine is simple fresh with seasonal vegetables and tons of herbs.

When I was searching for Manipuri legume-based recipes, I landed upon this blog and found the recipe interesting. Thongba means curry and soya Thongba is soy chunks curry and as peas are included it perfectly fits under my legumes theme too. The author mentioned that it replicated the Sana Thongba (paneer curry) and replaced paneer with soy chunks. I was contemplating too if I should go with paneer or soy. 

As I am going mostly with plant-based protein, I decided to use soy chunks, but I did not make it completely vegan. I did use milk, but I bet you can replace that with almond, cashew, or soy milk. All you need to spice up the gravy is green chili, some ginger garlic paste, and cumin seeds.  The original recipe doesn’t call for any garam masala, but I just included it for additional flavor.

Without any further ado, here comes the Soya Thongba from Manipur. Please subscribe to my youtube channel and stay tuned for new recipes.

How to make Soya Thongba-

Prep – Work:

• If using frozen peas, thaw ⅓ cup of the peas or soak them in water to bring it to room temperature.
• Soak the soya chunks in water for 15 minutes and drain the water. Also, squeeze the soya chunks and remove the excess water.
• Chop the onion and set aside.
• Cut the potato into cubes and soak in water to prevent it from turning black.
• Slit the green chilies into two.

Instant Pot Method:

• Set the IP in sauté mode and add oil.
• Once the oil is hot, add the cumin seeds and slit green chilies and fry for a minute.
• Then add the ginger-garlic paste and cook for a couple of minutes.
• At this stage add the chopped onion and cook until they turn translucent.
• Then add the soya chunks, diced potato, and peas, followed by turmeric powder and salt.
• Mix them and add a half cup of water.
• Now set the IP in the steam mode with the vent in the open position. Once the pressure is build up, let it cook for 2 minutes and turn the IP off. Let the pressure release quickly.
• Carefully open the IP and set it back to sauté mode and stir the ingredients nicely.
• Finally, add ½ cup of milk, ½ tsp of garam masala and 2 tbsps of chopped cilantro and let it simmer for 2 minutes.
• That’s it. Soya Thongba is ready. Serve it hot with rice or roti.

Stove Top Method:

• Heat a pan or kadai and add oil.
• Once the oil is hot, add the cumin seeds and slit green chilies and fry for a minute.
• Then add the ginger-garlic paste and cook for a couple of minutes.
• At this stage add the chopped onion and cook until they turn translucent.
• Then add the soya chunks, diced potato, and peas, followed by turmeric powder and salt.
• Mix them and add a half cup of water.
• Now cover and cook for 5 to 7 minutes or until the potatoes are soft and tender. Make sure the potatoes are not mashed up.
• Finally, add ½ cup of milk, ½ tsp of garam masala and 2 tbsps of chopped cilantro and let it simmer for 2 minutes.
• That’s it. Soya Thongba is ready. Serve it hot with rice or roti.

Recipe Notes-

• You can skip adding water and cook this entire curry in milk or make it richer you can use ½ cup milk and ½ cup cream too.
• I used red potatoes, and I did not peel the skin. But you can use any variety and based on your preference you can peel the skin or leave as is.
• Adjust the salt and spices as per your preference.
• Garam masala is completely optional.
• If you feel the soy chunks are bigger, then you can chop them into small pieces. Also, you can replace soy chunks with tofu or paneer.

If you like this simple soy chunks curry, you will also like,

• Yellow paneer curry
• Soybeans gravy
• Instant Pot Chana masala

📖 Recipe

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5 from 2 votes

Instant Pot Soya Thongba | A Manipuri Special Curry

A Manipuri special mild curry prepared with soy chunks, potatoes, and green peas. This milk-based gravy requires only minimal spices and goes well with rice, roti, and poori.

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time30 minutes mins

Total Time45 minutes mins

Course: Main Course, sides

Cuisine: East Indian, Indian

Servings: 3

Calories: 357kcal

Author: Srividhya G

Equipment

• Instant Pot | Electric Pressure Cooker

Ingredients

Measurement Details: 1 cup=240ml;1 tbsp=15ml; 1tsp=5ml;

• ▢ 2 tsp Oil
• ▢ 1 Onion chopped
• ▢ 1 cup Soya Chunks
• ▢ 3 Small Potatoes chopped into small pieces
• ▢ ⅓ cup Green Peas if using frozen thaw it to room temperature
• ▢ ½ tsp Turmeric
• ▢ 2 Green Chili
• ▢ 1 tsp Cumin
• ▢ 1.5 tsp Salt
• ▢ ½ cup Milk
• ▢ ½ cup Water
• ▢ 1 tsp Ginger Garlic Paste
• ▢ ½ tsp Garam Masala
• ▢ 2 tbsp Cilantro chopped

Instructions

Prep – Work

• If using frozen peas, thaw ⅓ cup of the peas or soak them in water to bring it to room temperature.
• Soak the soya chunks in water for 15 minutes and drain the water. Also, squeeze the soya chunks and remove the excess water.
• Chop the onion and set aside.
• Cut the potato into cubes and soak it water to prevent it from turning black.
• Slit the green chilies into two.

Steps

Instant Pot Method

• Set the IP in sauté mode and add oil.
• Once the oil is hot, add the cumin seeds and slit green chilies and fry for a minute.
• Then add the ginger-garlic paste and cook for a couple of minutes.
• At this stage add the chopped onion and cook until they turn translucent.
• Then add the soya chunks, diced potato and peas, followed by turmeric powder and salt.
• Mix them and add a half cup of water.
• Now set the IP in the steam mode with the vent in open position. Once the pressure is build up, Let it cook for 2 minutes and turn the IP off. Let the pressure release quickly.
• Carefully open the IP and set it back to sauté mode and stir the ingredients nicely.
• Finally, add ½ cup of milk, ½ tsp of garam masala and 2 tbsps of chopped cilantro and let it simmer for 2 minutes.
• That’s it. Soya Thongba is ready. Serve it hot with rice or roti.

Stove Top Method

• Heat a pan or kadai and add oil.
• Once the oil is hot, add the cumin seeds and slit green chilies and fry for a minute.
• Then add the ginger garlic paste and cook for a couple of minutes.
• At this stage add the chopped onion and cook until they turn translucent.
• Then add the soya chunks, diced potato and peas, followed by turmeric powder and salt.
• Mix them and add a half cup of water.
• Now cover and cook for 5 to 7 minutes or until the potatoes are soft and tender. Make sure the potatoes are not mashed up.
• Finally, add ½ cup of milk, ½ tsp of garam masala and 2 tbsps of chopped cilantro and let it simmer for 2 minutes.
• That’s it. Soya Thongba is ready. Serve it hot with rice or roti.

Video

Notes

• You can skip adding water and cook this entire curry in milk or make it richer you can use ½ cup milk and ½ cup cream too.
• I used red potatoes, and I did not peel the skin. But you can use any variety and based on your preference you can peel the skin or leave as is.
• Adjust the salt and spices as per your preference.
• Garam masala is completely optional.
• If you feel the soy chunks are bigger, then you can chop them into small pieces. Also, you can replace soy chunks with tofu or paneer. Adapted from Ammaji Recipes

Nutrition

Calories: 357kcal | Carbohydrates: 56g | Protein: 22g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 4mg | Sodium: 1302mg | Potassium: 1055mg | Fiber: 12g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 207IU | Vitamin C: 55mg | Calcium: 189mg | Iron: 6mg

I am not a nutritionist. The nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. It varies depending upon the product types or brands.

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