Of Donkeys & Dhoklas

Want to make your own soy and/or non-soy tempeh at home? Join my free WhatsApp group Homemade Tempeh (Recipes, Tips, & More)!

I have been making different types of homemade tempeh for a few months now. Initially, I was cooking only stir-fries and cutlets using tempeh, but soon got bored of these very limited options and started exploring more recipe ideas to use different types of tempeh. Yes, while traditionally tempeh is made using soybeans, we can make tempeh with practically any legume. I have made tempeh with both white and black chickpeas, rajma, kulthi, urad dal, moong dal, and other common Indian legumes in addition to the regular soybean tempeh.

Now, I run this WhatsApp group called Homemade Tempeh (Recipes, Tips, & More), and we have an amazing member, Uma, who comes up with the most creative ways to incorporate different varieties of tempeh in regular day-to-day  Indian meals. She has graciously permitted me to use her images in this blog post to inspire us all. Thank you so much, Uma!

If you are new to making homemade tempeh, please read these posts first:

Homemade Tempeh: Tips for Beginners

How to Know if My Homemade Tempeh is Ready?

11 Varieties of Soy & Non-Soy Tempeh to Make at Home

Coming back to this post, I will share some tips and ideas for using tempeh in our routine cooking + a few images of Uma’s tempeh dishes for inspiration. The exact recipes for these dishes are not included. Also, this post covers only Indian cuisine-inspired recipe ideas meant to normalize tempeh as a common ingredient in Indian kitchens.

Have fun!

Ideas on How to Use Tempeh in Indian Cuisine

1. Mock-Meat Alternative

Pan-fry bite-sized pieces of any tempeh in a little oil and use as a mock-meat alternative in any recipe of your choice. Tempeh tastes especially delicious in spicy, pungent, and tangy gravies, like vegan shorshe maach and vegan Xacuti.

2. Stir-Fries & Sundal

Shredded, sliced, or cubed tempeh (any legume) can be pan-fried in a little oil and seasoned with salt and spices like turmeric powder, chilli powder, aam choor, and garam masala to make a quick north Indian style side dish. We can also add tempeh to any basic Indian stir-fry recipes, including our regular aloo-gobhi, bhindi, baingan, or mixed vegetable subzi. I also love tempeh sundal! Chickpea tempeh, moong tempeh, and red lobia tempeh are great options for sundal.

3. Dal Wadi/Nutri Chunks Alternative

Use pan-fried, bite-sized chunks of any tempeh in place of dal wadi or nutri chunks (soy wadi) in basic recipes like aloo-wadi, matar-nutri, vegetable pulao, etc.

4. Vegan Keema/Soy Granule Replacement

Shredded or crumbled tempeh (any kind) works great as a replacement for soy granule keema or minced mock meat. Use it to make a simple burji or a robust tempeh keema in a rich and flavorful onion-tomato gravy.

5. Fillings & Stuffings

This is one of the easiest ways to incorporate more tempeh into your and your family’s daily diet. Use shredded or crumbled tempeh (any kind) to make a hearty filling or stuffing for paranthas, kathi rolls, bread rolls, sandwiches, momos, dumplings, stuffed capsicum,  etc. The other day, someone shared a reel of a lady using tempeh filling in her idlis! So, have fun with this idea!

6. Spicy Gravies & Kozhombu

Pan-fry tempeh cubes or slices, and add them to spicy gravies and tamarind-based South Indian-style kozhumbu. If you are like me and love tangy kozhumbu, then you are in for a treat! Tempeh pieces nicely soak up the zesty, flavorful gravy and add a nice protein boost to our everyday kozhumbu. I love to add red lobia tempeh, sabut moong tempeh, and kulthi tempeh to puli/vengaya/poondu kozhumbo.

7. Cutlets, Koftas, & Wadas

This is yet another great way to include tempeh in our routine meals. Mash or crumble any variety of tempeh and mix with mashed potatoes. Add salt to taste and spices and herbs of your choice. Shape into cutlets/tikkis and pan-fry with a little oil. This is my favorite way to use rajma and kala chana tempeh. You can also add tempeh crumble to your kofta or masala wada mixture.

8. Paruppu Urundai & Usili

With a little imagination, you can easily use crumbled chickpea or chana dal tempeh to recreate popular South Indian lentil-based dishes like paruppu urundai, nuchinunde, and usili.

9. Bread Alternative

If you slice thick blocks of tempeh horizontally, you will get tempeh slabs/slices which can be used as an alternative to bread slices. Pan-roast these slabs in a little oil and add toppings of your choice to make open sandwiches.  

10. Base Legume Replacement  

This is what I do whenever I am feeling too lazy or tired to make something creative with my tempeh. Simply cook it as you would cook the base legume. For e.g., if you have sabut urad tempeh, simply cook it in a basic onion-tomato gravy just like you would normally cook sabut urad. Use rajma tempeh in place of plain rajma in your usual rajma-shalgam recipe. If you usually make falafel with white chickpeas, you can make the same with chickpea tempeh.

11. Mash with Potatoes!

OK, so this is a bonus tip for those who cook for picky eaters who don’t like to eat tempeh. Since tempeh is such a nutritious food, you would want to sneak it into the plates of picky eaters without them even noticing it. The best way to camouflage tempeh is to crumble it and mix in with mashed potatoes. Add salt to taste and season with spices and herbs of your choice. I usually add roasted jeera powder, pepper powder, chaat masala, aam choor, and finely chopped pudina and coriander leaves. Make tikkis with this mixture or use it as a filling for stuffed parathas.

Also see:

Homemade Tempeh: Tips for Beginners

Homemade Soy Tempeh

How to Know if My Homemade Tempeh is Ready?