Dal Kofta
This recipe is totally scrummy. I borrowed it from Jess@Wellness Warrior, who borrowed it from Trudy@Veggie Num Num. I’ve since passed it onto some of my colleagues and now to you all; it’s certainly doing the rounds! I’d save it for when you have a bit of time on your hands because although the recipe itself isn’t labour-intensive, there are a few points where you have to wait and a watched oven never cooks… The alternative is to make the balls in advance, as Trudy suggests, then quickly whip up the sauce and rice to serve.
It doesn’t take too much more effort to make it hypoallergenic if that’s what you need. Just make your own curry paste by blending a tablespoon each of ground cumin, coriander, turmeric with a few garlic cloves, some freshly grated ginger, a good handful of fresh coriander and olive oil and use a bread made from allowed grains. If making the curry below, just omit the offending ingredients (eg. use more coconut milk instead of the tomatoes); it’ll still taste delish!
Dal Kofta
Preparation time: 80 mins. Makes 25 Kofta Balls
- 1½ cups x split red lentils, rinsed (I’m on a soaking mission so left them in water overnight then used less water to cook them)
- 3 cups x vegetable stock or water
- 125g x raw cashew nuts
- 1 x brown onion, finely mined
- 1 cup x wholegrain breadcrumbs
- 3 tsp x madras curry paste
- 3 TBSP x sultanas/raisins (optional)
Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/356°F.
Bring the stock to boil in a good sized saucepan, add the lentils and allow to gently simmer for 25 minutes until lentils are soft and liquid absorbed. Set aside to cool.
Using a food processor, or by hand, process/grind the cashew nuts; don’t process them too fine, keep a little chunkiness to them.
Combine the cooled lentils with the cashew nuts, minced onion, breadcrumbs and curry paste. The mixture should come together nicely forming a mass. Add a little more breadcrumbs if the mixture is too wet or an egg (for non-vegan) or a little oil if the mixture is too dry.
Roll a tablespoon of mixture into a ball, placing a sultana/raisin in the middle of each kofta ball (if using).
Place the rolled kofta balls on lightly greased baking trays (the kofta can be made ahead and refrigerated; this can help to hold them together). Place the kofta balls into the preheated oven and cook for 40 minutes, check after 20 minutes and turn the kofta balls over to allow to cook evenly.
Once lightly golden remove from the oven and set aside. Kofta balls can be served as an appetizer with raita or prepared with a curry sauce as below.
Dal Kofta Curry
Preparation time: 30 mins. Serves 4.
- 25 x Dal Kofta Balls (prepared as above)
- 2 tbs x peanut oil (or coconut oil)
- 1 tsp x mustard seeds
- 1 tsp x garam masala
- 1 tsp x cumin
- 1 tsp x ground coriander
- ½ tsp x paprika
- ¼ tsp x cayenne pepper
- 2 x garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tsp x freshly minced ginger
- 1½ cups x vegetable stock
- 1 cup x homemade roasted tomato paste (try this recipe) or a 400g (14oz) tin x chopped tomatoes
- 1 x lime
- 200ml x coconut milk
- fresh coriander
- cooked basmati rice, to serve
Heat the peanut oil in a good sized heavy-based frying pan or saucepan over a medium heat. Add the mustard seeds and allow to heat in the pan for 30 seconds until they begin to pop. Add the powdered spices and fry over a low heat until they form a paste, add the garlic and ginger and continue to cook for a further minute.
Add the stock and tomato puree and bring to a gentle simmer, allow to cook for 3-4 minutes until reduced slightly. Gently add the roasted kofta balls and allow to cook for a further 3-4 minutes moving the kofta balls around carefully, they may begin to break-up a little but this adds to the texture and thickness of the curry sauce so don’t be too alarmed. Just be careful to cook them gently so they do stay mostly together.
Add the coconut milk a little at a time and continue to gently cook over a low heat. Add a good squeeze or two of lime juice and scatter with fresh torn coriander before serving.
To make the raita combine all ingredients together in a bowl adding cracked pepper to taste.
Serve with plenty of steamed basmati rice.
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