Delicious Kofta Recipe

Delicious Kofta Recipe

Sometimes we have to leave aside the easy, simple dishes and go for the gourmet type dish. Koftas fall into this category. This is one of the intricate recipes on this website for which I have given elaborate directions and instructions, including numerous pictures and a long slide show.

Yes, it will take a little bit of work to make this dish, I agree. However, just as it seems too cumbersome when you describe “walking” but easy when you actually do it, this recipe looks harder than it really is. The more often you make it, the easier it gets. You can either make a small quantity often, or prepare a big batch and refrigerate it for future use. And as I always say, when you enjoy a good dish, you will find that it is worth the effort. 

Hover over the highlighted Keywords below for Images and/or Description of some of the Ingredients: 
Carrots, Cayenne, Cumin, Coriander, Garlic, ~Rice, ~Tamarind, Turmeric

Delicious Koftas

Delicious Kofta Recipe

Serves 2 - 4
Prep time 10 minutes
Cook time 20 minutes
Total time 30 minutes
Dietary Diabetic, Vegetarian
Meal type Side Dish
Misc Gourmet, Pre-preparable, Serve Hot

Ingredients

  • 2 Medium Russet Potatoes (washed and peeled, finely grated)
  • 2 - 3 Large Long Carrots (washed and peeled, finely grated)
  • 1/2 cup Rice Flour
  • 1/2 cup Besan (Channa Gram Flour)
  • 1 Large Onion (finely chopped)
  • 1 Bell Pepper (finely chopped)
  • 1 - 2 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper (If the cayenne pepper is of the very hot kind, use less of it.)
  • 1 teaspoon Garam Masala Powder (or Chaat Masala Powder)
  • 1 teaspoon Turmeric Powder
  • 2 teaspoons Cumin Powder
  • 2 teaspoons Coriander Powder
  • 4 - 6 leaves Bay Leaves (Tej Patha)
  • 4 tablespoons Tomato Paste (1/2 of 4 oz can)
  • 3 teaspoons Salt
  • 4 - 6 cups Canola Oil (for deep frying the Koftas)

Optional

  • 1 cup Cauliflower (finely grated)
  • 1 cup Bell Pepper (finely grated)
  • 4 - 6 cloves Garlic (finely chopped)
  • 1 teaspoon Tamarind Paste
  • 1 - 2 cup Paneer (Indian Cheese Cubes) (these will not melt when stir-fried)

Note

To make this a Vegan Recipe, do not use the Paneer Cheese cubes.

Directions

Sauce for Koftas
Step 1
Place a medium to large sauce pan on medium heat. There should be enough room in the pan for the sauce and the koftas.
Step 2
Add oil. Add chopped onion, chopped bell pepper and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Stir fry for a minute. Add the garlic. Add 2 tbsp water. Cook for 2 minutes or until the vegetables are cooked. Add tomato paste. Cook for a minute.
Step 3
Add 6 cups of water, 1 teaspoon each of cumin powder, coriander powder, turmeric, garam or chaat masala powder and 1 tsp salt. If you like your sauce to be very tangy, add the tamarind paste. Add the bay leaves. Add 1 tsp cayenne pepper. Mix well.
Step 4
Mix 1 teaspoon of rice flour in half a cup of lukewarm water. Add this to the sauce pan for thickening the sauce a little. Cook for 5 minutes on medium heat. Check for salt. If necessary, add more salt, half a tsp at a time. Mix well. Turn off the stove.
Grating or shredding the Koftas
Step 5
If using a hand grater, grate or shred the carrots into a small bowl. Gratings should be small. Or if you want to use the food processor see next step.
Step 6
If you want to use the food processor, use the food processor’s grating blade to grate carrots as usual. The gratings will usually be long. To shred them into smaller pieces, remove the grating blade, place the all-purpose blade and pulse the carrots a couple of times. Now you will have finely shredded carrots. Keep the shredded carrots in a small bowl. Shred the optional cauliflower and bell pepper the same way. Place these two shredded vegetables in a different bowl.
Step 7
Grate or shred the potatoes the same way into small shreds, but place them in a different small bowl.
Preparing the Koftas
Step 8
Squeeze the shredded carrots, removing all the moisture from it as much as possible. Dry them on paper towels. Place the dry shredded carrots in a medium or large bowl.
Step 9
Squeeze the shredded potatoes, removing all the moisture from it as much as possible. Dry them on paper towels. Add the dry shredded potatoes into the bowl containing the shredded carrots. Add the shredded cauliflower and bell pepper to this bowl too.
Step 10
Add 1/2 cup of besan and 1/4 cup of rice flour to the bowl containing the shredded vegetables. Add 1 teaspoon each of salt, cumin powder, coriander powde and cayenne pepper. If you like, add 1 teaspoon of garam or chaat masala powder too. Mix thoroughly. Taste a little and if you like, add more salt or spices. Mix well.
Step 11
Take a little of the mixture in your hand and make a ball of about 1 inch diameter. If you make them too big, you will need to use a lot of oil to fry them. Also, if you make them too big, the center may not be cooked well while deep frying them.
Step 12
If the mixture does not hold together to make a ball, add 1/4 cup more of besan to the mixture and mix thoroughly.
Step 13
Using all the mixture, make kofta balls each about 1 inch diameter and place them on a platter, leaving a little space between each of them.
Deep frying the Koftas
Step 14
Note: The koftas should be dropped into very hot oil. But when the oil starts sizzling, the heat should be lowered a little. Frying in lower heat in sizzling oil makes the raw koftas get cooked well in the center too. If the koftas are left to fry in very hot oil, the surface will get fried too much quickly, while the center remains uncooked.
Step 15
Add 4 to 6 cups of oil to a small sauce pan and place it on medium heat. Have a large bowl ready, lined with a couple of paper towels to place the fried koftas.
Step 16
When the oil is very hot, add one kofta ball. The oil should start sizzling. If not, remove the ball using a flat metal spatula. Wait until the oil gets very hot and add it again. After a few seconds, lower the heat a little. Turn the kofta with the metal spatula. Let it fry until it is golden brown all around. Remove the kofta with the spatula carefully, letting the excess oil fall back into the frying pan. Place the fried kofta in the bowl lined with paper towels. Test it. Break it and taste a piece. See if it is cooked well in the center too. If not, next time you may want to fry the koftas a little longer. It is a learning process.
Step 17
Increase the heat to medium. When the oil is very hot, add a few raw kofta balls into the oil consecutively. As you add one, you will know how much unused room is left in the pan. Add 5 or 6 at a time in one batch, depending upon how big the sauce pan is and how much free room there is. Add them one after the other in the open areas of the oil. Don't over crowd the oil with too many koftas.
Step 18
Lower the heat. After a few seconds, when the koftas are fried a little, carefully turn the koftas around with the metal spatula. Let them fry until they are golden brown all around. See picture. Remove the koftas, a few at a time, with the spatula carefully, letting the excess oil fall back into the frying pan. Place the fried koftas in the bowl lined with paper towels.
Step 19
Repeat steps 17 to 18 until all the koftas are fried.
Step 20
If you feel the sauce may be insufficient for the amount of koftas, add 1/2 of water to the sauce. Add 1/2 of each spice and salt. Mix well.
Step 21
Make sure the sauce is not hot, but at room temperature or lukewarm. When the koftas are about room temperature, add them to the sauce all at once. Otherwise, all of them will not marinate in the sauce uniformly.
Delicious Koftas
Step 22
Place a small fry pan on medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon oil.
Step 23
When the oil is hot, add the optional Panner cheese cubes. If they are not already salted, sprinkle a little salt over the cheese cubes. Stir fry for a couple of minutes, until some of them are light golden brown. Add the cheese cubes to the sauce.
Step 24
Let the koftas soak in the sauce for about 3 to 4 hours before serving or refrigerating.
Step 25
Serve Koftas hot, with Rotis, Naans, Chapatis, Tortillas, Rice or Toasted Bread.
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