Last weekend I was lucky to learn the art of Indian cooking with celebrity chef Reza Mahammad at recreational cooking school African Relish in Prince Albert. I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with Reza – he’s such a wonderful guy, full of humour and energy and fun – and I learned so much from him in a short space of time. As a vegetarian, I love Indian food because of the variety of incredible veggie-only dishes the cuisine offers. These spicy vegetable koftas, cooked in a tomato-curry sauce, is one of these dishes. It’s quite a lot of work but it’s all easy to do, and so worth it.
Spicy vegetable koftas
Serves four to five
For the koftas:
- 250g washed unpeeled potatoes
- 250g carrots peeled and diced
- 125g peas
- 2 green chillies finely chopped
- Salt to season
- 2 tbsp chick pea (gram flour), more may be required to bind
- 1tbsp chopped coriander
- 1 tsp roasted ground cumin
- Oil for deep frying
For the sauce:
- 3 cloves
- 2,5cm cinnamon stick
- 2 finely chopped medium onions
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- 2 tsp grated ginger
- 1 tsp finely chopped garlic
- ½ tsp chilli powder
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 6 large ripe tomatoes blended to a smooth puree
- Salt to season
- 1 cup vegetable stock, reserved from cooking the vegetables
- 3 tbsp lightly whisked yoghurt
- ¼ tsp saffron strands steeped in 2 tbsp hot milk for 15 minutes
- 1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
- 1 tsp garam masala
To make the stock, cook the potatoes with their skins until done. Remove the potatoes and let cool. In the same water cook the carrots and the peas successively. Reserve approximately 1 cup of the liquid and set aside.
Peel and mash the cooled potatoes and place in a bowl with the carrots and the peas. Add the chopped chillies, salt, gram flour and the beaten egg. Add the chopped coriander and cumin and mix thoroughly. Moisten your fingers and roll the mixture into walnut sized balls and set aside.
Heat the oil in a heavy bottomed pan and deep fry the koftas a few at a time until they form a golden crust. Remove and drain on kitchen paper.
In a separate saucepan heat 2-3 tbsp of oil until hot, add the cloves and cinnamon sticks and fry until they crackle. Add the onions and the turmeric until the onions are light golden brown. Add the ginger and garlic and cook for a minute, then add the chilli, coriander and cumin powders and stir-fry for approximately 2 minutes. If the mixture tends to stick add a little of the reserved stock. Reduce the heat and add the pureed tomatoes and some salt and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Add the reserved vegetable stock and simmer for a further 3-4 minutes. Discard the cinnamon stick and gradually add the yoghurt and the saffron with the milk. Now add the koftas and simmer for a further 5 minutes. Finally sprinkle on the garam masala and the coriander leaves.
African Relish is running the same two-night, three-day cooking course with Reza Mahammad this weekend. Book soon before it fills up! For more information, go to African Relish’s website.
Recipe by Reza Mahammad
Photo by Joseph C Lawrence
