‘Indian food touches your soul before it touches your taste buds’
This is one of my grandmother’s signature dishes, Indian Kofta Curry, the Indian version of meatballs and sauce as Mr B likes to say. I love the fragrance that comes from the layers of spicing, in both the kofta’s and the curry. My grandma used to serve this as a main dish on the table at Sunday lunch, accompanied by lentils, rice, roti and salad. It was always quite the feast and there was enough food that we almost expected another 10 people to turn up. Of course, my grandma had an open-door policy and so that was always a possibility.
My grandma used to make meat for the family, but I decided to reinvent this dish using a meat substitute to make it vegan. I used Beyond Meat, which is my preferred substitute due to the pea protein and beetroot content. I also love the taste.
I hope in this dish to honor the old and embrace the new, just like my grandma did throughout her 93 years of life.
Ingredients
Koftas
- 2 Beyond Meat Patties
- ¼ cup red onion, diced
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 1 tsp. ginger, chopped
- 1 tbsp. fresh coriander, chopped
- ½ tsp. cumin powder
- ½ tsp. coriander powder
- ½ tsp. turmeric
- ¼ tsp. red chilli powder
Gravy
- 2 tbsp. oil
- 1 tbsp. garlic, chopped
- 1 tbsp. ginger, chopped
- 2 onions, finely chopped
- 1 cup tomato puree
- 1 tsp. red chilli powder
- 1 tsp. cumin powder
- 1 tsp. coriander powder
- 1 tsp. garam masala
- Salt to taste
Method
- For the kofta’s mix all the ingredients together until well combined
- Roll 8-10 meatballs
- Cook kofta’s in a pan on a medium heat, approx. 1.5 minutes per side
- For the gravy, heat the oil, add the garlic and ginger and fry for 30 seconds
- Add the onion and fry the mixture until it starts to caramelize and turn brown
- Once brown, add all of the spices and mix well
- Add the tomato puree and let simmer for 5 minutes to make sure the gravy has a deep flavor
- Add the meat balls and let simmer for another 5 minutes, on a low heat so as to not overcook the meatballs
- Serve with rice or roti
