vegetable kofta curry

Balls of vegetables, in a mild, creamy rich sauce. Malai sabzi kofta is a dish to delight your vegetarian diners.

prepare: 30

cook: 2

soak: 1

total time: 1 2 30

difficulty: complex

yield: 4 servings

calories: 770 kcal

diet: gluten free, vegetarian

cuisine: Indian, punjabi

equipment

large pot
food processor
wide pan with lid
small frypan
baking tray

ingredients

for the koftas

200 g chickpeas - (kabuli channa)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp fruit salt - see notes
2 potatoes - peeled and finely diced
1 sweet potato - peeled and coarsely diced
1 tbsp salt
300 g cauliflower - coarsely chopped
1 large stalk broccoli - coarsely chopped
50 g green beans - coarsely chopped
2 carrots - coarsely grated
100 g green peas
½ cup coriander stalks - finely chopped
½ cup chickpea flour - (besan) – plus extra for dusting
1 tsp coriander seeds - toasted and ground
1 tsp salt
½ tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
½ tsp black peppercorn - ground
¼ tsp garam masala
½ cup vegetable oil - (for frying)

for the gravy

25 g raw cashews
1 red onion - coarsely chopped
1 green chilli - coarsely chopped
5 cloves garlic - coarsely chopped
50 g ginger - coarsely chopped
2 tomatoes - coarsely chopped
1 tsp cumin seeds
8 green cardamom pods - broken open
2 black cardamom pods - broken open
1 tsp black peppercorn
2 tsp coriander seeds
½ tsp fennel seeds
6 cloves
1 stick cassia - crumbled
1 tsp caraway seeds
2 blades mace
½ tsp fenugreek seeds
3 tbsp ghee
1 tsp salt
2 indian bay leaves
6 curry leaves
½ tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
½ tsp ground turmeric
3 tbsp yoghurt
½ tsp dried fenugreek leaves
¼ tsp garam masala
200 ml pure cream
50 g ghee

for serving

50 ml crème fraiche
25 g ginger - finely julienned

metricUS

instructions

for the koftas

Rinse chickpeas, then leave to soak at least overnight in five cups of water. Drain and rinse when ready.
Place drained chickpeas in a large pot with water to cover, salt, and fruit salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to very low, cover, then simmer for one hour, or until the chickpeas are tender. Scoop off any foam that may appear. Drain and set aside.
Whiisr chickpeas are cooking, place the potato and sweet potato in a large pot of water. Add the tablespoon of salt and simmerfor 10 minutes, or until softened. Drain and set aside.
Place chickpeas, potato and sweet potato in a large bowl and coarsely mash using a fork.
Thoroughly wash and dry the remaining vegetables.
Place cauliflower, broccoli and beans in a food processor and chop to the consistency of breadcrumbs. Add this mixture to the potato and chickpeas, along with the carrot, peas and coriander stems. Add the chickpea flour, ground coriander seeds, salt, Kashmiri chilli powder, ground black peppercorns and garam masala. Mix well. If the mixture is too thin, add some more chickpea flour. Set aside for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 150 °C.
Mix well, then shape the vegetable mixture into eight medium-sized balls using your hands. Press into shape very firmly, so the balls are tightly packed. Lightly dust the koftas with chickpea flour whilst shaping them to keep them dry.
Heat the oil in a wide pan over medium heat. Test the heat of the oil by dropping a small piece of the mixture into it. The ideal temperature is when the piece sizzles and colours slowly. If it breaks, then add more chickpea flour to the mix. If it colours too quickly reduce the temperature.
Gently slide koftas into the hot oil, adding only as many as can fit in the pan without crowding.
Fry for two or three minutes before turning. Turn only when one side is golden or else the koftas can break. Continue frying for another two minutes before turning again. Continue frying and turning several times for an even golden colour. and a crisp surface. This will take around ten minutes per batch of koftas. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on absorbent paper. Once drained, place on a baking tray and put into the preheated oven for 30 minutes whilst you make the gravy.

for the gravy

Grind the cashews and as little water as possible to a smooth paste. Set aside.
Grind the onion, green chilli, garlic and ginger and as little water as possible to a smooth paste. Set aside.
Puree the tomatoes to a fine consistency. Set aside.
Heat a small pan over medium heat. Add the cumin seeds, green and black cardamom pods, peppercorns, coriander seeds, fennel seeds, cloves, cinnamon, caraway seeds, mace and fenugreek seeds. Toast for two minutes, or until spices darken and become aromatic. Remove from heat and allow to cool a little. Transfer to a grinder and grind to a smooth powder. Set aside.
Heat the ghee in a ckean wide pan over medium heat. Once it is hot add the onion paste. Sprinkle one teaspoon of salt over the paste and fry for ten minutes, stirring often. The paste is cooked when the raw onion smell has gone, and the paste is becoming golden in colour.
Add the tomato puree, mix well and fry for two minutes.
Add the ground spices, bay leaves, curry leaves, Kashmiri chilli powder and turmeric. Mix well and fry for two or three minutes until aromatic.
Add the cashew paste, mix well and cook for another two minutes.
Reduce the heat to low and add the yoghurt one tablespoon at a time, mixing well to combine before adding another spoonful. Fry for ten minutes, stirring frequently, or until you see oil or ghee releasing from the sides. The gravy will reduce to about half its original volume.
Add one cup of water, mix well and simmer for ten minutes. The gravy is cooked when it has reduced slightly and you can see specks of oil floating on top. Check the seasoning and cautiously add salt, if required.
Add the fenugreek leaves and garam masala and mix well.
Add the cream, one tablespoon at a time, mixing after each spoonful to incorporate into the gravy. Do not allow it to boil.
Once the cream is incorporated, add the ghee and gently mix. Bring the gravy to a simmer, then remove it from the heat.

to serve

Remove the koftas from the oven and place them into a serving dish. Pour the gravy over the koftas.
Garnish with a large dollop of crème fraiche and sprinkle with the julienned ginger. Serve.

notes

The amount of chickpea flour to be used depends on the moisture content in the vegetables.
Paneer is often used in this dish. If you would like to use it, crumble 100g of fresh paneer into the potato and chickpea mixture before mashing. You may also like to garnish the dish with some grated paneer to serve.
The technique of adding the yoghurt or cream one spoonful at a time will prevent splitting or curdling.
A vegan version of this can be made by using oil instead of ghee to cook the gravy, and using coconut milk or a vegan yoghurt instead of the yoghurt, cream and crème fraiche. Do not add the final amount of ghee.
Fruit salt is marketed under the brand name Eno. It is best obtained from a pharmacist, as supermarkets seem to only stock flavoured variants. For this recipe you can substitute baking soda - not baking powder.

private notes

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