Mum made these koftas often when we were children - it was one of the few ways we ate cabbage 😂 I’ve tweaked her recipe a little. This isn’t a quick weekday meal, great for a leisurely weekend though!
Makes 20 koftas, serves 4-5
What you need
3 cans chopped tomatoes in juice
2 red onions, sliced
2 tbsp ginger garlic paste
Handful fresh coriander
1 small white cabbage
1 medium carrot
1-2 green chillies
Gramflour
Cumin seeds
Coriander powder
Garam masala
Turmeric
Red chilli powder
Heeng (asoefetida)
Salt
Vegetable oil
What you do
If you have a slow cooker, make your sauce in that. If not, in a pan is good too
Slow cooker - Add 2 tbsp vegetable oil, 3 cans chopped tomatoes, 2 red onions sliced, 1 heaped tbsp ginger garlic paste, 1 tbsp coriander powder, 1/4 tsp turmeric, 1/2 tsp red chilli powder, 1 tsp garam masala, salt to taste. Cook on high for 4 hours.
In a pan:
Heat 2 tbsp vegetable oil in a deep pan
Add 2 sliced red onions and sauté until turning colour
Then add 1 heaped tbsp ginger garlic paste, and sauté for 3-4 mins
In go 3 cans of chopped tomatoes, give it all a good stir, cover and simmer for about 30 mins. You’ll need to stir occasionally and add water if it starts to stick to the pan
Then 1 tbsp coriander powder, 1/4 tsp turmeric, 1/2 tsp red chilli powder, 1 tsp garam masala, salt to taste
Mix well, cook for a minute
Then add a cup of water. You may need a cup and a half, depending on how dry it all is. Stir well, cover and simmer for another 15-20 minutes, until the oil has separated (you’ll see it speckled at the top of the sauce!)
2. While that’s cooking, make your koftas!
Finely grate 1 small head of white cabbage and 1 carrot (once you’ve scraped and taken off the top and tail)
Add 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste, 1 tsp coriander powder, 1/2 tsp garam masala, salt to taste. Mix it all together
Now let it sit for 15 mins, so the vegetables release water
In the meantime, heat vegetable oil in a deep pan - enough to deep fry your koftas
Start by adding 2 tbsp of gramflour to the vegetable mix and using your hands to mix it in. You don’t want a sloppy mess, you need to be able to bring portions of ‘dough’ together to make lime-sized balls that hold. Add more gramflour if you need any. I didn’t, but it all depends on the size of your veggies!
Roll the kofta ‘dough’ into balls and deep fry until brown. You want to get past golden to proper brown!
Keep aside
3. Final step (you’re almost there!)
Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan
Add 1 tsp cumin seeds, 1 fresh green chilli sliced, and 1/4 tsp heeng (asoefetida. Optional)
Then add the blitzed tomato sauce
Mix through, thin down to a pouring (but not watery) consistency with water, cover and simmer for 10 mins
Finish off with a handful of fresh finely chopped coriander
Serve the sauce into bowls, top with koftas (you may or may not need to warm these again). Enjoy!