Vegetable Kofta Balls In Tomato Sauce

As I reflect on the year that was 2016, many thoughts cross my mind. 2016 was quite momentous for me in many ways. Judging Oorja and travelling to Babrala in UP and Mithapur in Gujarat for the Tata folks, working with some great clients and making mesmerising dishes were some of the hallmarks of 2016. Another highlight of 2016 was my show "Divine Taste With Anushruti" coming to a close on Rajshri Food. And it has been quite overwhelming to see the hundreds of messages from many of you, after the last episode went live.

As 2016 came to a close, I had the sublime opportunity to meet my 90 year old grandmother. You can read all about it here.

On the personal front, the highlight of 2016 has to be my brother getting engaged and here is a picture of me with his lovely fiance. I'm so excited about this new development and to have the privilege of having another sister.

Now let's talk about the recipe in this post. A vegetarian meat ball recipe in the Higher Taste Cookbook had caught my attention many years ago, but somehow I never thought about making it.

These vegetarian kofta balls can easily substitute meat balls in a dish. The gramflour in the kofta balls is protein rich and the vegetables add many nutrients to them. These kofta balls are quite versatile. You can fold them into any curry or sauce of your choice or even dunk them into a kadhi to eat with rice.

There are many options for cooking the kofta balls as well. You can bake them in an oven, steam them, shallow fry them, cook them in an aebleskiver pan or appa chetty like I have or even deep fry them, making them rich and indulgent.

The kofta balls are infused with spices that make them full of flavor. The tomato sauce on the other hand is mild and nice and provides a perfect contrast to the spicy kofta balls.

What's more? You can serve the kofta balls over a bed of rice, quinoa, couscous, millets or pasta. The options are plenty and you can choose whatever you want based on your choice, preferences and local grains that are easily available, depending on which part of the world you live in.

I'm quite excited about 2017 and have many things to look forward to. A new birth in the family, with my younger sister expecting her second child, my brother's wedding and work on the professional front. There are a lot of exciting things lined up for the followers of divinetaste and I'm looking forward to sharing more exciting recipes, Ayurvedic cooking and living tips and other aspects that lead to a more fulfilling life.

Life throws up many expected and unexpected situations and circumstances. As I look at 2017 and make my resolutions to improve myself, my relationships, my work and resolve to contribute to the world in a more meaningful way, I thank the universe for the support and inspiration that I derive from each and everyone of you and I want to take this opportunity to express my gratitude for every visit, comment, feedback and mail that you share with me. I wish 2017 is going to be wonderful for all of you.

This is my 12th recipe with 24 Mantra Organic and its been great working with them and creating recipes for an organic life. With so many organic products to choose from for your day to day cooking, its really easy to make the switch to an organic life. So do check out the Organic Mantras initiative and stay connected by following the movement on Facebook and Instagram.

Vegetable Kofta Balls In Tomato Sauce Recipe

Ingredients:

For the tomato sauce

8 to 10 tomatoes, quartered

1 carrot, peeled and chopped

3 cups (750 ml) water

2 tbsp olive oil

1 bay leaf

½ to ¾ tsp cayenne or red chili powder

½ tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 tsp raw sugar

1 tbsp fresh basil or 2 tsp dried basil

1 tsp salt

 

For the kofta balls:

1 cup cabbage, grated

1 cup carrots, grated

1 cup beetroot, grated

1 ½ to 2 cups gram flour (besan flour)*

1 tsp salt

½ tsp asafetida

1 tsp cumin seed powder

1 tsp coriander seed powder

½ tsp turmeric powder

¾th to 1 tsp red chili powder

1 tsp garam masala powder

 

Method:

Make the sauce:

Wash the tomatoes, scoop out the eyes and quarter them. Peel and chop the carrots. Place the tomatoes and carrots in a pressure cooker and cover them with water. Pressure cook until the first whistle and then turn off the heat.

Allow to cool and blend to a fine puree.

In a pan, heat the oil and once the oil is warm enough, add the bay leaf and the ground tomato puree.

Put in the cayenne or red chili powder, freshly ground black pepper, and sugar. Season with salt and boil for 5 minutes or until the sauce is nice and thick.

Make the kofta balls:

Grate the veggies in a bowl. In another bowl, put in the gramflour, salt and all the spices and mix well. Put in the grated veggies and mix until the flour and veggies are well combined. Add more flour if required. Do not over mix or over knead the dough as over kneading makes the dough sticky and difficult to handle.

Make small balls or koftas and bake them (at 180 C for about 20 minutes), fry them in an appa chetty or aebleskiver pan or deep fry the koftas in hot oil.

Mix in the koftas into the tomato sauce. Serve over spaghetti, pasta, quinoa or millets.

* If you use watery vegetables, the amount of gramflour used solely depends on the water content of the vegetables used.