Koftas, a name of Persian origin, are meatballs made from beef, lamb, chicken, or pork or a combination of them with spices and onion. These minced meat meatballs are commonly found in the cuisines of South Asia, the Middle East, the Balkans, and Central Asia. In India, there are delicious vegetarian specialties that combine vegetables with potato.
Koftas in India are served in curry or with a spiced sauce; they can even be accompanied by boiled eggs, steamed rice, or some variety of Indian bread, such as a chapati. In other Middle Eastern countries they are served with spiced sauces. In Greece these meatballs are served with yogurt or Tzatziki.
This recipe is a version of vegetarian Koftas, so popular in India. They are made with cauliflower, potato, red lentil and are seasoned with garam masala. These are juicy meatballs with a crunchy point thanks to the cashews and a sweet touch from the dates. They are served with a double sauce made of yogurt and a natural mint-lime syrup.
It is a very versatile recipe because you can enjoy them as a starter or appetizer or as a main course accompanying basmati rice or they make a fantastic filling for a pita bread with the same sauce.
Pallarès carbon steel knife, croquette and meatball tongs La Croquetera and Skeppshult cast iron skillet
Ingredients (for 4 people)
For the meatballs:
- 450gr of old potatoes (or floury)
- 300gr of cauliflower (flowers only)
- 75gr of red lentils
- 60gr of rice flour
- 75gr of cashews
- 4 Medjool dates
- 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
- 25gr of grated ginger
- 1 onion
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 tablespoon of garam masala
- 4 or 5 tablespoons of water
- 2 teaspoons of fine sea salt
- Extra virgin olive oil for frying
For the sauce:
- 1 1/2 lime
- 1 bunch of mint
- 2 tablespoons of agave syrup
- 1 Greek yogurt
Preparation
- Peel, clean and cut the potatoes and boil in salted water. Push through the potato ricer and set aside. Also boil the red lentils for 10 to 15 minutes, drain and set aside.
- Peel, clean and finely chop the onion. Peel and chop the garlic. Grate the ginger. Chop the dates. Roughly chop the cashews. Pulse the cauliflower in the food processor until it resembles rice-sized grains.
- In a frying pan (I used an iron one, the Skeppshult) with 2 tablespoons of oil, sauté the onion for 5 minutes until softened. Add the ginger, garlic and garam masala and let it toast for a couple of minutes. Add the cauliflower and sauté 10 more minutes until the cauliflower is cooked.
- Separately roughly chop the cashews and sauté with a few drops of oil in the pan.
- In a bowl mix the potatoes, the lentils, the cauliflower mixture, along with the cashews and the dates. Add salt and pepper. Knead well with rice flour and the water. If you find they are not consistent add a little more rice flour. (their consistency will depend on the type of potato used)
- Shape the koftas with the help of 2 spoons or the croquette scoop (I found this better, so they all come out the same size). Coat them in a little rice flour to make them easier to handle. Fry in plenty of hot oil until golden. Drain on paper towels.
- Prepare the mint and lime sauce. In a hand blender mix the chopped mint with the juice of one lime and 2 tablespoons of agave syrup and blend until it becomes a fine syrup.
- Serve the meatballs on a bed of Greek yogurt and the mint-lime sauce. Enjoy them a lot inside a pita bread or accompanied by Indian basmati rice.
Pallarès carbon steel knife, Skeppshult cast iron skillet and croquette and meatball tongs La Croquetera
