I made these koftas with simple ingredients. I wanted a sort of crunchy paneer taste, and then I wanted a contrasting semi-sweet sauce to tease the buds and satisfy all the senses – a medium to hot curry sauce to accompany these wonderful and unique koftas. Then a mild vegetable such as spinach, I thought, would be ideal not to overburden the system. A slight twist, with a sweet and savoury mix, creating a very exotic and unique delicious curry – ideal for creating a special environment for love, warmth and contentment. Added to which, this recipe is relatively easy to make.
HOW TO MAKE THE KOFTA BALLS
INGREDIENTS
- 1 can of chickpeas, drained
- 1 cup of mixed nuts (cashews & almonds work well)
- ½ tsp curry powder
- salt (it will need some, otherwise it will taste like a dessert)
- 3 tbsp Tofutti plain cream cheese
- 1 tbsp parsley or coriander, finely chopped
- the zest of 1 lime
- the juice of ½ lime
METHOD
Place the nuts in a blender, and blend till rough crumbs form. Then add the chickpeas, and pulse again a few times. Now add the remainder of the ingredients, and pulse for a few moments – you want a very thick consistency, akin to a big dough ball. Place this ball onto a lightly floured surface.
Next, pour some oil in a little saucer, and rub the palms of your hands in the oil. Then pinch around an inch and a half of the chickpea mix, roll into a ball with the palms of your hands, then place the ball on a plate. Repeat this process until you have made approximately 13-14 balls, making sure they are a little oily in order that the pistachio and rose coating adhere to the balls.
INGREDIENTS AND METHOD FOR KOFTA BALLS COATING
- ¼ cup of unsalted pistacchio nuts
- 1 tsp dried rose edible petals
Place the above in a coffee grinder or processor, and process until crumbs are formed, then remove and set aside.
Next step is take each ball and immerse it into the pistachio and rose mix – turn it around quite a bit, so you get a good coating all over. Place each coated ball onto a greaseproof surface – best to use greaseproof paper, and grease that a little too.
Place all the coated balls in a hot oven – just under 200ºC degrees – for 25 minutes or so until they turn golden, but since ovens vary, do keep an eye on them. Once they are ready, take them out of the oven and set aside.
Meanwhile, let’s make the sauce.
INGREDIENTS FOR THE SAUCE
- 1 onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- ¼ tsp ginger powder
- ¼ tsp turmeric powder
- ¼ tsp cardamon granules or powder
- 1 tsp curry powder
- ½ tsp garam masala
- 2 tsp tikka paste
- 2 cups of spinach (frozen thawed will do fine)
- 2 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 cup of dairy-free cream – use either soya or other of your choice
- 3 tbsp agave nectar syrup
- salt to taste (will need 1 or 2 tsp)
- 1 cup of water
- 1 cup of coconut cream
- 1 tsp natural red food colouring, or the dried version, such as the following link : http://www.souschef.co.uk/natural-red-food-colour.html
- 1 tsp rose essence
METHOD
Pulse the onion and garlic in a processor. Meanwhile heat some olive or coconut oil in a saucepan, and fry the onion and garlic, mixing all the time. When all turns transparent, add all the spices, and continue to mix – I suggest you add a little more oil at this point.
Next, add in the remaining ingredients, except for the cream. Lower the heat, and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally so that it won’t stick or burn.
Finally, add the cream (coconut and other), and leave the sauce uncovered until it reduces and thickens. Don’t allow it to boil or separate – you’ll need to keep the heat low to avoid this.
When it’s ready, leave it uncovered until it cools down, then cover it.
HOW TO SERVE
Serve on a bed of basmati rice – place your cooked basmati rice on an oven-proof serving dish, add the sauce in the centre, and the balls around the edges of the rice, making sure to squeeze plenty of fresh lime juice on top of them too.
Voila, a feast to the eye, soul and palette.
Enjoy !
All recipes, content & design © Miriam Sorrell www.mouthwateringvegan.com 2010
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This looks fantastic! We will definitely be making this!
This dish is a work of art, Miriam! Thank you so much for sharing it with us and ensuring another wonderful vegan experience. As they say, you’re the bomb!
such a cute idea!
Totally agree Miriam, It doesn’t get any better!!! Yum! My type of meal! kofta masala and basmatti rice, I’ll prepare it soon! What cute presentation!♥♥♥
Hi there dear Alma, thank you so much for bringing delight to this recipe with your wonderful words. I do hope you enjoy it and I really look forward to your feedback on this as and when. Very, very best to you truly.
Hi there Billie, thanks so much for dropping by and I do hope you enjoy this recipe at some point. Cheers to you.
Van Hi there, truly you make the cooking experience very much a worthwhile one with your wonderful words that I embrace. Thank you and I await your feedback and comments on my blog wholeheartedly. Cheers, best to you and enjoy this !!!
Jessica dear Hi there and welcome to my site. I am delighted that you will be making this soon and I dearly look forward to your feedback on this dish and all my others. Very best to you and Cheers !
I love the presentation and the kofta balls!
Hi there Rich and welcome here – thanks for dropping by with your compliment. Hope you make them and comment. Cheers to you !
Do you have a soy free option?
Hi there Mark and welcome here – thanks for dropping by with your comment. I think that you may add 1 or 2 tablespoons of vegan cream of your choice, non-soya – am not sure what is available where you live – or plain vegan yogurt may well do the trick. Hope you make and enjoy it, do let me know. Cheers to you in the meantime.
OK, I must say that I was excited to have a new recipe to experiment with upon visiting my girlfriend and her family over the week. What a GIFT it was to share in the preparatiuon of this amazing and delicious treat!! We love your balss so much, that we devoured them twice this week. Thank you for sharing your incredible culinary talents with us Miriam! You have won our stomachs and our hearts with this one. BRAVO!!
OK, I must say that I was excited to have a new recipe to experiment with upon visiting my girlfriend and her family over the week. What a GIFT it was to share in the preparatiuon of this amazing and delicious treat!! We love your Kofta Masala balls so much, that we devoured them twice this week. Thank you for sharing your incredible culinary talents with us Miriam! You have won our stomachs and our hearts with this one. BRAVO!!
Hi there Miguel and welcome here. So wonderful to have received your delightful comment – I am over-joyed at this win-win situation and that everybody enjoyed my masala balls which were devoured twice this week ! Wow, that really is something. Thank you for letting me know and I do hope you try out my other curries, I promise you they will not disappoint you (the roast curried one, or the red bomb one are really awesome !). I look forward to your future comments on my blog Miguel. Cheers and very best to you !
Have responded to your previous comment – am pleased you all enjoyed this dish. Cheers.
Incredible!! Sounds like it would taste as good as it looks. Well done Miriam, and thank you 🙂
Hi there Food Lovers International and great to have you again – it does taste rather yummy I have to say ! Very best to you always !
I made this last night and it was a hit! I will definitely make this over and over again. Loved the kofta balls smothered in the masala sauce! Miriam’s recipes are always so full of flavor, I felt like I was at a restaurant.
Lori Hi there and many thanks indeed for dropping by here with your wonderful comment. I am delighted that this dish was a hit and hope you enjoy my other curries and recipes, I will look forward to your future comments on my blog. All the best to you !
Hi Miriam,
What can I replace Tofutti with? I couldn’t find it in our local shops. Or can I just skip it?
Guli Hi there and thanks for dropping by here with your comment. If you cannot find tofutti you will need to replace it with a vegan cream substitute – I suggest you make your own vegan cream real fast and easy. Use one quarter of a cup of raw cashews (having soaked them in clean water a few hours before and drained them) – then add 1 cup of water to them and process until you get a creamy consistency, add 1/2 a teaspoon of sweetener to it, and voila, you have vegan cream (do taste it for texture and taste, so that it suits your palette if it needs more water or sugar or nuts, remember the more nuts the more creamier the result) – the dish will need this. Good luck and enjoy !
Very nice, Such a great resource, appealingly presented, inspiring confidence of the simplicity in the Vegan Diet thank you,Vince E.
Vincent Hi there and welcome here. Many thanks for dropping by here with your comment and wonderful feedback. I hope you enjoy making my recipes and I very much look forward to your future comments here on my blog. All the very best wishes to you in the meantime.
What can you substitute for the rose petals. I don’t know where I could find edible petals here in SC. (In the USA)
this is the next one on my list
Let me know how it goes as and when Vicki !
Another gem! I will make it this weekend.could I substitute beet juice for food coloring?
Great idea Dawn, I look forward to your feedback on this ! Cheers !
Miriam this looks delicious !
But more importantly – Happy Birthday!!!
Many thanks to you Shirley for the greetings ! 🙂
ok so my mouth is watering now ! will HAVE to try these soon! could you double up on the coconut cream instead of the dairy free cream? dont think we have that in this part of the world.
Sure you can Carla, be sure to use thick coconut cream in that case and not the ‘low fat’ brands as it won’t work as well at all. Enjoy and come back with your comment. The roast vegetable curry is also astounding, go and have a look at that, very rich, creamy and a favourite amongst many. Do come back with your feedback as and when ! 🙂
Hi Miriam. I didn’t know where to leave this comment as I’m making the other kofta, the one in the book.
So far I’ve only made the kofta balls, but they are fantastic!
I might make them again without the sauce and have them with fresh naan, chutney and vegan raita.
I’ll report back in a couple of hours once I’ve made the sauce and eaten it. I’m using oat cream and hoping that goes well.
Sounds good to me Simon, hope you enjoy them. Let me know how it all goes as and when. Cheers ! 🙂
It took me a while to find fresh cilantro until I looked it up and found it is coriander!
I’ve just made a minor error in the sauce and put the chillies in the creamy stuff instead of the onion stuff. I like it hot anyway.
I also couldn’t find cardamom seeds so painstakingly sliced pods open, extracted the seeds and crushed them in a pestle and mortar!
I can’t begin to describe how tasty this was!
The good thing is I have some in the freezer for another day!
Anyone thinking of buying your book should do so on the basis of this recipe alone.
2 weeks almost vegan now (still using up a few things with milk powder etc. in).
Simon Hi, that’s super awesome news, you’re doing really well and time well spent in your kitchen too ! The other curries are also awesome, so when you taste those you’re in for a treat ! 🙂 Would love a customer amazon review if you haven’t left one already, I would really be grateful to you if so. Cheers, and carry on this road, the journey is a lot of fun, kind to both your health and the animals too (a win-win) ! 🙂
A labour of love Simon, but well worth it ! 🙂
🙂
I wrote one a few days ago, Miriam. 😀
Thank you Simon, will go check. 🙂
I’ve had my eye on this recipe for ages but finally made it for Valentine’s yesterday. So delicious! The kofta are amazing, such a scrumptious combination with the spinach curry. My husband who is not vegan loved it too. Will definitely be making this again.Thanks Miriam!!!
Hi there Jane and thanks for dropping by here. Am so glad you made and enjoyed this and hope you enjoy many more recipes from my blog – check out the rest of the curries, they won’t disappoint (that includes vegans and non-vegans). Best wishes and Cheers ! 🙂