You can turn any flavor into a kale salad if you think about it just a little. And this tandoori tempeh kale salad with a green chutney dressing is my version of taking a kale salad to the next level. It is plant power and flavor loaded in a bowl!
Raise your hand if you grew up thinking that the basic salad components were lettuce, tomatoes, croutons, maybe some cheese or meat, and some kind of white dressing. Yeah, same.
But salads can be fun too–you just need to identify which flavors you’re feeling and somehow get them in there. For this tandoori tempeh kale salad, I wanted a refreshing bed of massaged kale, but also some zingy, savory flavors. Fortunately, my house has a ton of those Shan masala boxes sitting in a drawer so I took some tandoori masala out and got to work, but you can totally sub for it with basic spices if you don’t have tandoori masala. I do have to say though…I highly recommend topping your salad with chaat masala. And unfortunately, there is no sub for that.
The Rundown
1. Steam your tempeh for 10-12 minutes. This reduces the bitterness it may have, but it’s up to you whether or not you want to steam it.
2. Mix together the spices for the marinade with some yogurt. I used my personal favorite, Kite Hill’s plain unsweetened almond milk yogurt. If you don’t have tandoori masala, here are some ideas for how to substitute for it. Personally, I’d try 1 tsp garam masala, 1 tsp red chili powder, 1/4 tsp black pepper, and for the rest, a mix of cumin, coriander, ginger, and cinnamon until you have about 1.5 tbsp of spices in total.
3. Marinate the tempeh for 30 minutes or longer! The longer the better, because the more time there is for the tempeh to absorb the flavor.
4. While the tempeh marinates, air fry or roast your sweet potatoes and process the ingredients for the green chutney dressing.
5. Air fry or oven bake the tempeh. I chose to air fry because it takes half as long and turns so crisp!
6. Assemble that salad! Massaged kale (just kale massaged with some olive oil and lemon juice), avocado, tomato, sweet potatoes, tempeh, the dressing, and the necessary seasoning: chaat masala.
Tandoori Tempeh Kale Salad
Ingredients
- 8 oz tempeh
- ½ cup plant-based yogurt
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 3 garlic cloves 1.5 tsp minced
- ¼ tsp red chili powder or cayenne
- 1.5 tbsp tandoori masala
- ¼ tsp salt or to taste
- kale (like 3 handfuls? lol I don't measure)
- ½ an avocado
- cherry tomatoes
- chaat masala to season
- ½ of a medium or large sweet potato + small amounts of paprika, cayenne, garlic powder, black pepper, salt, and olive oil for flavor
green chutney dressing
- ½ cup cilantro
- ¼ cup plant-based yogurt
- 2 green chilis
- ½ tsp amchur powder
- 1 tsp lime juice
- 2 tbsp water
Instructions
- Steam tempeh for ~ 10 minutes. Then cut into 1-inch cubes.
- Mix together ingredients for the marinade: yogurt, lemon juice, garlic, ginger, red chili powder, tandoori masala, and salt. Pour the marinade over the tempeh. Let it rest for 30 minutes (or longer for better results!).
- Meanwhile, air fry or bake you sweet potato and process all ingredients for the green chutney dressing until smooth.
- Air fry the tempeh for 12-15 minutes at 375 F. Make sure to flip them half way. Alternatively, oven bake for approximately twice as long.
- Assemble that salad! Make sure you massaged your kale with olive oil or lemon juice first. Add tomatoes, avocado, sweet potatoes, microgreens, tempeh, dressing, and finally, a sprinkle (or 10 sprinkles) or chaat masala.
For more tempeh recipes, try…
