KOFTA CURRY
(aka Chandra Malai Kofta)
My daughter got me the new Isa Chandra Moskowitz cookbook , "Isa Does It", for Christmas. Yippee Hurray! I was jumping for joy! I have already perused it cover to cover several times. I've made two of these fabulous recipes for our dinners. I see a strong future relationship with this cookbook --- much like my relationship with two of her other vegan cookbooks, "Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World" and "Veganomicon". Isa is a bit of a cooking idol for me!
Last night I took on the Indian inspired kofta curry dish on page 216 of "Isa Does It". The list of ingredients was a bit overwhelming so I chose to make this dish on an evening when I had plenty of time and patience. I also followed Isa's advice and got everything that I was going to need out, set on the counter, and ready to be prepped
The ingredients set out ready for action.
Isa writes about using her cast iron skillet so I got mine out from storage and started to use it! Love it. Here are the sliced almonds toasting.
Toasting the cumin seeds.
Chopped cilantro, garlic, and fresh ginger. (A delightful trio)
Kofta Curry
(aka Chandra Malai Kofta)
from "Isa Does It"
For the Kofta:
---1/2 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained, about 3/4 cup
---1/2 cup slivered almonds
---1 1/2 teaspoon cumin seed
---8 ounces zucchini, shredded (I used the large holes on the box grater)
---1/4 cup chopped cilantro (I used at least 1/2 cup)
---1 tablespoon minced ginger
---2 cloves garlic, minced
---1/2 teaspoon salt
---black pepper
---1 1/4 cups panko bread crumbs
For the Sauce:
---1 cup cashews (if you don't own a Vitamix, you will need to soak the cashews for at least 2 hours so they blend into cashew cream with no lumps or bumps)
---2 cups vegetable broth
---1 tablespoon coconut oil
---1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
---3 cloves garlic, minced
---1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
---1 tablespoon mild curry powder
---1 teaspoon garam masala
---1 teaspoon ground cumin
---1 14 ounce can lite coconut milk
---3 tablespoons tomato paste
---1 teaspoon salt
---1 cup frozen peas
---2 handfuls fresh chopped spinach ( I added this to the recipe but it was delicious!)
Prepare the Kofta Mixture:
1. In a medium bowl, mash the chickpeas until they are mushy but not pureed.
2. Preheat a large heavy pan over medium heat. Toast the almonds for about 7 minutes, tossing frequently, until they are golden and browned in some spots. Transfer immediately to the mashed chickpea bowl. Next, toast the cumin seeds in the same pan for 3 minutes or so, until fragrant and a shade or two darker. Transfer those to the bowl, as well.
3. Add the zucchini, cilantro, ginger, garlic, salt, and black pepper to the chickpea bowl and mix well.
4. Add the bread crumbs and use your hands to mix and mush until it holds together. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Prepare the sauce:
1. Drain the cashews and add them to a blender with the 2 cups broth. Blend until very smooth. This is called "cashew cream" and is often used in vegan recipes to make things taste super yummy and rich! It may take 1 - 5 minutes to blend this smooth so give the blender a break every now and then. (My Vitamix blended unsoaked raw cashews with the broth in about a minute to a smooth cream)
2. Preheat a 4 quart pot over medium heat and add the coconut oil. Saute' the onion in the oil for about 3 minutes, until translucent. Add the garlic and ginger, and cook just until fragrant, 15 seconds or so. Add the curry powder, garam masala, and cumin and toss for a minute or so, just to toast the spices a bit.
3. Add the coconut milk, tomato paste, blended cashews, and salt. Bring to a low simmer and let cook for 15 minutes or so. It should thicken up nicely. Add the peas and spinach and allow them to warm through. Taste for seasonings, then turn off the heat and cover until ready to serve.
Cook the Kofta:
1. Line the counter with parchment paper to keep the formed kofta from sticking. Scoop up a scant 1/4 cup of the mixture and roll between your hands to pack it well and roll into football shapes. Set on the parchment and continue to form balls - should make about 12.
2. Preheat a large cast iron skillet, add some coconut oil and make sure it coats the bottom of the pan. Now add the kofta balls, rolling each one around in the pan when you add it, making sure to coat all sides. Use extra oil as necessary - this is not a low fat meal!
3. Fry them for about 7 minutes, rolling them around in the pan to get them browned on all sides. They don't have to be uniformly browned. Do your best and be careful because they may start to fall apart. Once browned, turn off the heat.
To Assemble:
Scoop some rice onto each plate, place 3 koftas on top of the rice, and cover with sauce. Garnish with more chopped cilantro, if you like, and serve.
Foot ball shaped koftas awaiting the cook!
The curry sauce all thickened up and ready for pouring over kofta and rice!
Up close view of a kofta cut in half, smothered in yummy delicious rich curry sauce, over brown basmati!
This was really a delicious meal and worth the effort. It's not hard work, just a lot of steps. One thing I would suggest is to look at both the kofta and sauce recipes and do things like chopping all the garlic and ginger at once so you can expedite the process. This is the kind of recipe where you can be cooking the onions for the sauce while forming the kofta after refrigerating the mixture. This planning ahead really saves time while cooking.
We made two full meals out of this recipe and had a large portion of sauce left over. We used the curry sauce on some rice and beans later in the week.
Yes, and finally.... two of my dogs sleeping butt to butt over Christmas vacation.
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