Tempeh Tikka Masala leaves me with mixed feelings ...
Inspired by wanting to eat more plant based protein
Tempeh is an ingredient I had never worked with in the kitchen before. I had heard about it, knew it is a product of fermented soy beans, and that many people hate it’s flavor and texture. But I had also heard that it’s high in protein and if prepared correctly, it can be delicious. Also, since I was already comfortable eating tofu, I never really paid much attention to tempeh.
Tofu was my protein staple during my 10-year long vegetarian lifestyle throughout high school, college and graduate school. Pulses and lentils/daals have also been my go-to sources of plant protein but those have been in regular rotation my entire life thanks to my North Indian background. Tofu also became my go to more recently when I wanted to increase my protein intake and not rely too much on animal protein. While tofu is tasty, it can become redundant and start to feel boring if I eat it too frequently. I wanted to diversify my plant protein intake and started to look towards meatless meets like Impossible foods and venture into other forms of plant protein. Tempeh and Seitan came to mind.
I had tried tempeh at restaurants a couple of times before and found it to be ok, nothing noteworthy. But I wanted to truly understand if the issue was the way it was prepared or the ingredient itself. So I challenged myself to prepare it in my own kitchen and determine if this could be an enjoyable protein source in my diet. I decided to prepare it North Indian style since the spices can often help elevate overall flavors but also mask undertones that may not be as desirable (spices definitely do this for me with masking away the tofu-ness).
Tempeh Prep: I bought some organic Tempeh at my local Trader Joe’s grocery store. When I opened the package, the block of tempeh had an underlying smell that I wasn’t fond of. Google warned me that if I don’t do an initial step with this ingredient, the resulting dish might be quite bitter/unpleasant. So the first thing I did was cut up the tempeh into small pieces and simmered them in gently boiling water for 10 mins and then drained and dried them on a paper towel. Apparently this step removes the bitterness and makes the tempeh a bit porous so it can soak up flavors.
Tempeh Tikka: If you have had chicken or paneer tikka at an Indian restaurant before, I am sure you can imagine the strong flavors the marinade imparts on bland base ingredients. If not, I encourage you to prepare them in your own kitchen using this post as a guide (hopefully you’ll thank me later with every bite). For the tikka marinade, similar to a tandoori cod marinade I had written about, I combined yogurt, oil, lemon juice, spice powders (coriander, cumin, red chili, mango, turmeric), and salt. The beauty with this marinade is that you can chose which and how much of each spice to include based on your taste preferences (and sometimes based on how old the spice is since they can lose flavor over time). For example, sometimes I roast the coriander and cumin seeds myself to grind them into spice powders, other times I buy them pre-made; I try to adjust the quantity accordingly. While I did not in this version, this marinade also benefits greatly from addition of garlic & ginger (paste or finely chopped). I added the tempeh to the marinade and mixed it with my hands to coat each side (I was worried a spoon or fork might break up the tempeh pieces into crumbles). I marinated the tempeh for ~45 mins at room temperature but this can easily sit overnight in the fridge.
I cooked the marinated tempeh tikkas on a non-stick pan sprayed with olive oil over low-medium heat until they looked charred enough to me and smelled amazing. On my stove, this took about 10-15 mins, with 2-3 mins per side (remember to flip them so each side gets cooked). I did a taste test and definitely enjoyed the marinade flavors. The tempeh had a pleasant nutty taste overall but I could still taste some of the not-so-pleasant tempeh-ness/undertone and a minor bitterness. My original plan was to finish the dish at this stage and nibble on these tikkas as appetizers or serve as sides. However, I wasn’t fully loving them, and decided to press on with the dish and turn it into tempeh tikka masala (similar to the very popular chicken tikka masala). I hypothesized that the masala sauce would overcome some of the issues at this stage - so the show must go on.
Tempeh Masala: I followed my North Indian style basics to develop a curry sauce I could dunk these tempeh tikkas in. I planned to make a creamy sauce out of onion, ginger, garlic, green chili, tomato sauce, and soaked cashews that would be accompanied by bloomed seeds, cinnamon, and spice powders.
I followed the proper dance sequence (steps) to extract flavors in layers to build the sauce. I put a steel pan on medium-high heat, heated the ghee, and first bloomed some hing (asafetida) and then cumin seeds, mustard seeds, dried red chili, and a cinnamon stick. This took ~1-2 mins in the hot oil. Next, I added the onion along with a pinch of salt to soften them prior to adding the garlic, ginger, and green chilis. After 5-7 mins once the aromatics were cooked sufficiently, I added the soaked cashews. I combined all this in a blender along with half a can of tomato sauce (minus the cinnamon stick and red chilies) and blended it into a smooth paste. In the same pan on low-medium heat, I added a little bit more oil, the remaining tikka marinade (this step is not required but I decided not the waste the marinade), and the blended mixture. Once mixed, I added the rest of the tomato sauce, half a cup of water, and spice powders (turmeric, coriander, cumin, mango) and salt. After mixing well, I let this simmer covered on low heat for ~15 mins while stirring frequently and then adjusting salt after a taste test. I finished the sauce with a pinch of sugar and a splash of lemon juice to create balance and vibrancy, respectively.
Tempeh Tikka Masala: I layered the tempeh tikkas on top of the masala sauce and garnished the dish with freshly chopped cilantro. I served this with a store bought tortilla but technically it would go well with either steamed basmati rice or fluffy naan or whole wheat rotis (flatbreads) that Indian curries go so well with. The masala sauce did accomplish to most degree what I hoped - it distracted my tastebuds away from the tempeh-ness/bitterness; the sauce was super scrumptious. Unfortunately, it did not distract fully and I was still aware of it with each bite, so I did not necessarily enjoy the dish as much as I wanted to.
Tempeh mixed feelings: At the end, this ingredient leaves me with mixed feelings. On one hand I enjoyed its nuttiness and its ability to absorb Indian spices quite effectively in the tikka form. But on the other hand, I could not ignore the underlying tempeh-ness/bitterness, despite being enveloped by a strong and tasty masala sauce.
Do you also have mixed feelings about tempeh?
Dish Debrief:
Is this my winner or disaster? somewhere in the middle
How would I rate this dish out of 10? 5 out of 10
What would I change next time? the base ingredient (switch tempeh with tofu, paneer, chicken, fish, etc.)
Would I make this again? no, not with tempeh, maybe try seitan?
