Kosha mangsho – a Bengali curry with a rich, flavorful sauce – is a popular Eastern Indian Onion Cardamom Chili Sauce. I paired with tofu as meat substitute. It is super delicious with rice, naan, or luchi!
Kosha mangsho is a speciality meat curry from Bengali cuisine. Bengal is a state in the eastern part of India and it has its own cuisine and the cuisine has its set of special dishes. There is the kosha mangsho, which is a curry as well as dishes like puchka, which is sort of like pani puri. Bengali desserts include dishes like rasgulla and sandesh mishti.
There is a lot of seafood in Bengali cuisine, and the vegetable curries in this region are made differently. You can find some delicious Bengali curries already on the blog, like chapor ghonto(lentil stew with dumplings)and charchari (veggie stir fry).
The kosha mangsho we are making today is a vegan version of a meaty, Bengali mutton curry. Kosha means slow roasting and mangsho means meat, so for the traditional dish, you’d slow roast the sauce for a while, then add the meat to it and slow roast that as well, so the meat browns and picks up all of the amazing flavors from the sauce.
For the vegan version, we are going to brown our onions really well, so that we can use up all of that color and flavor of caramelization. Tofu is our meat substitute, but you can use other meat substitutes, as well, such as vegan chicken, vegan beef, vegan goat (if you can find it), and use those instead. You can also use chickpea flour tofu or just add some white beans or chickpeas to the sauce.
So much of the flavor is in the sauce that you won’t miss the meat!
Like many of the other regional Indian dishes, this one also uses a lot of whole spices, so use whichever spices you have on hand. If you are missing a spice here and there, it’s not going to take away from the dish. There’s plenty of flavor overall in this recipe.
This curry is a part of my Eastern Indian menu for Diwali! This year I am sharing 4 regional menus for your Indian dinner party. Regional Indian food often gets overlooked in the midst of the popular options, so try these recipes celebrating the many cuisines within Indian cuisine! You can find these fabulous recipes and menus on my YouTube channel here. Happy Diwali!
Why You’ll Love Kosha Mangsho
- flavorful Bengali curry cooks up in a single pan
- deep, authentic flavor without the meat!
- naturally gluten-free and easily made nut-free and soy-free
For the Tofu “Mutton”
For the Sauce
- 2 teaspoons oil
- 4 green cardamom pods, partially opened
- 1 black cardamom pod, partially opened
- 3 whole cloves
- 1/2 inch cinnamon stick
- 3 dried red chilies, use Indian, Thai, or any other hot chili. If you want it mild, use Kashmiri chilies or California red
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 1/2 cup thinly sliced onion
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
- 2 tablespoons ginger garlic paste, or 4 cloves garlic minced and 1/2 inch ginger minced
- 1 tablespoon ground coriander
- 2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Kashmiri chili powder, or use paprika
- 2 tablespoons tomato puree
- 1/4 cup non-dairy yogurt, or non dairy cream
- 1 hot green chili such as Serrano , thinly sliced
- cilantro and lemon juice, for garnish
Prevent your screen from going dark
Make the tofu “mutton.”
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Press the tofu, if you haven’t already, and then tear it into bite-sized pieces. You can also cube the tofu if you like. Add the tofu to a bowl along with the yogurt, toss well to coat. Then, mix all of the dry spices and the cornstarch in a small bowl, and sprinkle all over the tofu, drizzle the mustard oil if you’re using it, and then toss well to coat the tofu.
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Heat a skillet over medium-high heat, and add the teaspoon of oil, and once the oil is hot, spread the tofu onto the skillet. Let the tofu sit undisturbed for 2 to 3 minutes, so that it can brown on the bottom, and then dislodge the bottom and flip to brown the other side. Drizzle on another teaspoon of oil, if needed, to help the tofu brown. Once the tofu is golden brown on most of the edges. Remove the tofu from the skillet.
Make the sauce.
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Reduce the heat to medium, and add the 2 teaspoons oil to the same skillet. Once the oil is hot, add the cardamom pods, cloves, cinnamon, dried chilies, and bay leaves, and mix really well. Cook those for 15 to 30 seconds, until the bay leaves change color. Then, mix in the onion and 1/4 teaspoon of the salt. Let the onion sit undisturbed for 2 to 3 minutes, then stir a little bit and let it sit for another 1 or 2 minutes again. Increase the heat to medium-high, and continue to cook until the onion starts to char and caramelize in places. Add a splash of water here and there to help the onion brown evenly. Make sure to stir frequently, since we are cooking at a pretty high heat, and you don’t want the onion to burn. If your pan is not heating up enough, then you can increase the heat to high. Once half of the onion is starting to char, reduce the heat a little bit to medium-high or medium, and continue to cook. You can also cover the pan with a lid at this point to help the onions cook evenly without drying out. 7-9 minutes
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Once most of the onions are golden brown, add the ginger garlic paste, 2 to 3 tablespoons of water, and all of the ground spices to a small bowl and mix really well. Add this mixture to the pan with another splash of water, and mix the mixture into the onion. Cook for about half a minute, then mix in the tomato puree. After about another half a minute, stir in the nondairy yogurt and 3/4 cup to 1 cup of water, then cover with the lid, and reduce the heat to medium, if it was higher. Continue to cook for about 10 minutes to cook all of the spices and allow the flavors to meld. The sauce will thicken a little bit and pick up flavor from the onion. Stir once in between, add 1/2 to 1 cup of water or stock, depending on how thick or how saucy you want your finished dish to be.
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Add the crisped up tofu, the chilis, and the remaining salt to the pan, toss lightly, and cover with the lid again. Reduce the heat to medium-low, and let the tofu simmer in the sauce for 10 to 15 minutes. At the 10-minute mark, taste and adjust the salt and flavor. You can also add more water or stock if the sauce is thickening too much. Then, either simmer for a few more minutes for a thicker sauce that clings to the tofu or switch off the heat if you want it saucier. Serve garnished with the cilantro and lemon juice and with some naan, flatbread, rice, Pulao, or luchi, which is a fried Bengali flatbread.
Whole spice subs: if using ground versions of the spices, use 1/2 tsp ground cardamom, 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon and add with ground coriander. Use 1/2 teaspoon pepper flakes instead of chilies.
Storage: You can store leftover kosha mangsho in a closed container for up to 3 days in the refrigerator. You can also freeze it for a couple of months in a freezer safe container. Just reheat in the microwave, or in the skillet, or in the oven, and serve.
This recipe is naturally gluten-free. For nut-free, just be sure that your non-dairy yogurt is nut-free.
To make it soy-free use a soy-free vegan chicken substitute, chickpea flour tofu, chickpeas, beans, or vegetables.
Calories: 212kcal, Carbohydrates: 20g, Protein: 12g, Fat: 10g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g, Monounsaturated Fat: 4g, Sodium: 511mg, Potassium: 336mg, Fiber: 5g, Sugar: 7g, Vitamin A: 706IU, Vitamin C: 62mg, Calcium: 209mg, Iron: 3mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- tofu – This is your meat substitute. You can use vegan chicken substitute, chickpea flour tofu, chickpeas, beans, or vegetables instead, if you prefer or if you need soy-free.
- non-dairy yogurt – Helps the spices stick to the tofu and make the sauce a little creamy.
- ground spices – You will season the tofu with turmeric, Kashmiri chili powder, garam masala, salt, and garlic powder. For the sauce, you will need coriander, cumin, and Kashmiri chili powder,
- mustard oil – To season the tofu, optional. This is used often in Bengali cooking and gives it a great, authentic flavor!
- oil – To sauté.
- whole spices – The first layer of flavor in your sauce is roasted black and green cardamom pods, cloves, cinnamon stick, dried red chilis, and bay leaves. For the red chilis, you can use Indian or Thai. If you want a more mild sauce, use Kashmiri or California red dried chilis instead.
- onion – Browned onion is the next layer of flavor, and it adds so much umami to the sauce! It also helps give the sauce that rich, dark color.
- tomato puree – Adds more umami to the sauce and deepens the color further.
- green chili – Adds more heat to the sauce. Omit for less spicy.
- garnishes – Top this off with fresh cilantro and lemon juice.
💡 Tips
- When browning the tofu, resist the urge to stir! Just brown one side, flip, and brown the other side.
- When cooking the onion, make sure you stay by the stove and stir frequently, since we are cooking them at a high heat. You want them to turn really nice and dark, golden brown, which will add so much amazing flavor to the sauce!
How to Make Kosha Mangsho
Press the tofu, if you haven’t already, and then tear it into bite-sized pieces. You can also cube the tofu if you’d, like. Add the tofu to a bowl along with the yogurt, tossing well to coat. Then, mix all of the dry spices and the cornstarch in a small bowl, and sprinkle all over the tofu, drizzle the mustard oil if you’re using it, and then toss well to coat the tofu.
Heat a skillet over medium-high heat, and add the teaspoon of oil, and once the oil is hot, spread the tofu onto the skillet. Let the tofu sit undisturbed for 2 to 3 minutes, so that it can brown on the bottom, and then dislodge the bottom and flip to brown the other side. Drizzle on another teaspoon of oil, if needed, to help the tofu brown.
Once the tofu is golden brown on most of the edges. Remove the tofu from the skillet.
Reduce the heat to medium, and add the 2 teaspoons oil to the same skillet. Once the oil is hot, add the cardamom pods, cloves, cinnamon, dried chilies, and bay leaves, and mix really well.
Cook those for 15 to 30 seconds, until the bay leaves change color.
Then, mix in the onion and 1/4 teaspoon of the salt. Let the onion sit undisturbed for 2 to 3 minutes, then stir a little bit and let it sit for another 1 or 2 minutes again. Increase the heat to medium-high, and continue to cook until the onion starts to char and caramelize in places. Add a splash of water here and there to help the onion brown evenly. Make sure to stir frequently, since we are cooking at a pretty high heat, and you don’t want the onion to burn. If your pan is not heating up enough, then you can even increase the heat to high. Once half of the onion is starting to char, reduce the heat a little bit to medium-high or medium, and continue to cook. You can also cover the pan with a lid at this point to help the onions cook evenly without drying out.
Once most of the onions are golden brown, add the ginger garlic paste, 2 to 3 tablespoons of water, and all of the ground spices to a small bowl and mix really well. Add this mixture to the pan with another splash of water, and mix the ginger garlic paste and the spices into the onion. Cook for about half a minute, then mix in the tomato puree. After about another half a minute, stir in the nondairy yogurt and 3/4 cup to 1 cup of water, then cover with the lid, and reduce the heat to medium, if it was higher.
Continue to cook for about 10 minutes to cook all of the spices and allow the flavors to meld. The sauce will thicken a little bit and pick up flavor from the onion. Stir once in between. Then add 1/2 to 1 cup of water or stock, depending on how thick or how saucy you want your finished dish to be.
Add the crisped up tofu, the chilis, and the remaining salt to the pan, mix lightly, and cover with the lid again. Reduce the heat to medium-low, and let the tofu simmer in the sauce for 10 to 15 minutes. At the 10-minute mark, taste and adjust the salt and flavor. You can also add more water or stock if the sauce is thickening too much.
Then, either simmer for a few more minutes for a thicker sauce that clings to the tofu or switch off the heat if you want it saucier.
Serve garnished with the cilantro and lemon juice and with some naan, flatbread, rice, pulao, or luchi, which is a fried Bengali flatbread.
What to Serve with Kosha Mangsho
Serve garnished with some naan, flatbread, rice, pulao, or luchi, which is a fried Bengali flatbread.
Frequently Asked Questions
This recipe is naturally gluten-free. For nut-free, just be sure that your non-dairy yogurt is nut-free. To make it soy-free use a soy-free vegan chicken substitute, chickpea flour tofu, chickpeas, beans, or vegetables.
You can store leftover kosha mangsho in a closed container for up to 3 days in the refrigerator. You can also freeze it for a couple of months in a freezer safe container. Just reheat in the microwave, in the skillet, or in the oven, and serve.
