Salli Boti (Western Indian Meat Curry with Crispy Potatoes)

Salli Boti is a Parsi (western Indian) wedding meat curry made vegan with tofu. Crisped tofu is folded in a tangy spicy sauce and topped with airfried crispy potato strips! serve with rice, or roti.

Salli Boti is a Parsi dish(western Indian) with this really fragrant, slow-cooked meat(tofu) curry that is topped with crispy potato strips and served with rice, roti, or pilau. Salli refers to the crispy potato strips topping, and boti is the mutton or meat.

Parsi’s, descended from Persians who migrated to the western party of India. The cuisine has influences from Persian, Indian, British cuisines. The cuisine has some signature dishes like lentil dhansak, and this Salli boti. Traditionally, a Parsi wedding dish, Salli boti has a very flavorful spicy tangy sauce and the crispy potatoes pair amazingly with it.

The stew is generally cooked for a long time . But This vegan version is simpler, since tofu doesn’t need to be slow-cooked like the meat.

We make the salli potatoes straws in this recipe, but you can skip that, if you want a simpler meal, and serve just the curry with some flatbread or rice instead.

For this vegan version of salli boti, we coat the tofu with spices and then either bake or pan fry to improve the texture, adding it to the sauce toward the end of cooking.

You can also use other proteins in place of tofu, such as chickpeas, chickpea tofu, vegan chicken, seitan, or other meat and chicken substitutes of your choice. If you’re using soy curls or seitan, make sure to simmer those in the sauce for 15 to 20 minutes so that they pick up a lot of the flavor. 

The potatoes are generally fried. But we air fry them for amazing crisp shredded potato Salli.

Why You’ll Love Salli Boti

• fragrant, flavorful stew topped with simple, crispy potato strips
• amazing combination of flavors and textures!
• ready in under an hour
• gluten-free and nut-free with easy soy-free options

Ingredients and Substitutions

• potatoes – For the salli. Use a yellow or russet potato, and peel it and either chop into matchsticks or shred. Try not to shred too thin, if you go that route.
• oil – To crisp up the potatoes, to help the spices stock to the tofu, and to sauté.
• tofu – Use firm or extra firm tofu, and press it for at least 15 minutes, then tear into bit-sized pieces. For soy-free, use a soy-free protein in place of the tofu, such as chickpeas, chickpea tofu, pumpkin seed tofu, seitan, or other soy-free vegan chicken substitutes.
• ground spices – We are seasoning the tofu boti with garlic powder, black pepper, and Kashmiri chili powder. For the sauce, you will need ground coriander, cumin, turmeric, and more Kashmiri chili powder.
• cornstarch – To help the spices stick to the tofu and help the tofu crisp up.
• whole spices – The first flavor layer in the curry sauce comes from whole bay leaves, cinnamon stick, and a green cardamom pod.
• onion – Adds amazing umami to the sauce.
• ginger garlic paste – For more heat and umami. You can use minced fresh ginger and garlic instead, if needed.
• tomato – Adds moisture, flavor, and umami.
• white vinegar – For tang. You can use apple cider vinegar instead, if needed.
• sugar – A little sweetness offsets the heat and gives this such an amazing flavor!
• non-dairy yogurt – For creaminess. You can use other non-dairy cream, like cashew cream, if you prefer.
• water – For moisture in the sauce. You can use non-dairy milk instead for a creamier sauce.
• toppings – Top with cilantro, lemon juice, and chopped or pickled onion. You can also top with mint chutney, if you like.

How to Make Salli Boti

Peel and chop or shred your potatoes, if you haven’t already. Then, in a large bowl, add 3 to 4 cups of water and a teaspoon of salt, and put all the shredded or chopped potatoes in the water to soak for 5 minutes. Drain them in a strainer, and put them on a paper towel to soak out that excess moisture.

Sprinkle a teaspoon of oil and a pinch of salt over the somewhat dried up potato strips. Toss well, then transfer them to an air fryer, and air fry at 390° F (199° C) for 8 minutes. Take them out, move them around a little bit, and air fry again for about 4 to 6 minutes, depending on the thickness of the strips. You just want them to be somewhat brown on the edges and cooked through. You can also deep fry these until golden and then set aside.

Make the tofu.

Press the tofu for at least 15 minutes, then tear into organic shapes. Add to a bowl, add the oil, and toss well to coat. 

In a small bowl, mix the garlic powder, black pepper, Kashmiri chili powder, and cornstarch until well combined. Sprinkle the mixture all over the tofu, tossing well to coat. 

To bake: Spread the tofu on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake at 400° F (205° F) for 20 to 25 minutes. To pan fry, add a teaspoon of oil to a skillet over medium high heat, then add the tofu. Cook, flipping occasionally, until the tofu is crisp on most of the edges, about 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from the skillet and set aside.

In the same skillet, add the teaspoon of oil over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the bay leaves, cinnamon stick, and green cardamom pod. Mix well, and let the cinnamon stick get fragrant. You can also add in 1 or 2 cloves for flavor variation here.

Add the onion and 1/4 teaspoon of the salt. Mix well and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is golden brown. Add splashes of water in between to help conduct the heat evenly and help the onion brown evenly, about 6 to 8 to eight minutes.

Add in all of the ground spices and mix for a few seconds. Then, add the ginger garlic paste or the minced ginger garlic, and mix in. If you add the paste, it will start to splash because of the heat of the skillet. Add in a bit of water to help calm it down a little bit. If using minced ginger and garlic, cook for 2 minutes, but you can move on immediately if you’re using the paste. 

Mix in the tomato and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Continue to cook until the tomato is jammy, pressing and breaking up the larger pieces, about 5 to 6 minutes. Then, mix in the vinegar, sugar, non-dairy yogurt, and garam masala, and bring to a boil. Stir in a cup of water or non-dairy milk. Bring to a boil, and taste and adjust salt and flavor. Add in more salt, if you like, and more vinegar for more tang, if needed. You can also add in more heat, but there should be a good amount with the Kashmiri chili powder in there.

Add the tofu to the skillet, tossing it well to coat, then reduce the heat and simmer for 3 minutes. Remove from the heat, and serve garnished with the cilantro, lemon juice, and chopped or pickled onion and topped with the crispy potato strips. You can also add some mint chutney to top this curry. Salli boti is absolutely delicious with roti, flatbread, naan, or rice.

What to Serve with Salli Boti

You can serve this on its own or with rice or flatbread. If you want to make a whole spread, include a good biryani, some roti or naan, an Indian salad, and other sabzi of choice.