Vegan Creamy Kofta

The kofta is a favorite among all ages and cuisines in India. It arrived in India much like kebab did, and quickly became a staple. The flavorings, sauces and base ingredients were changed to suit the sub continent tastebuds. Today, anything which is cooked in ball form is called a kofta. Everyone has their own recipes, but of course there are the more commonly known varieties like Malai Kofta, Nargisi Kofta etc.

In my house, kofta is made out of ingredients nobody likes otherwise. This includes all squashes for sure. This recipe was born out of the need to use up some acorn squash I had, and we didn’t want any soup. Once we ate it though, we realized we were going to keep making it. I switch up the gravy I use with these, but the one included here is hands down the most decadent of the lot and it’s vegan!!

Servings: 6, Prep Time: 20 minutes, Cooking Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

For the Kofta

• Acorn squash 1 small
• Yukon gold potato 1 medium
• Cornflour 1 tbsp
• Chili powder 1/2 tsp
• Coriander powder 1/2 tsp
• Garam masala 1/2 tsp
• Turmeric 1/4 tsp
• Salt according to taste
• Oil for cooking

For the Gravy

• Onion 1 large
• Cashews 8-10
• Ginger 1/2” piece
• Garlic cloves 5
• Fennel seeds (saunf) 1 tbsp
• Cardamom seeds (elaichi ke dane) 1/2 tsp
• Chili powder 1/2 tsp
• Coriander powder 1 tsp
• Garam masala 1 1/2 tsp
• Oat milk 1/4 cup
• Canola oil 4 tbsp divided
• Cumin seeds 1 tsp
• Water as needed for consistency
• Salt according to taste

Instructions

1. Add 2 tbsp oil to a pan and set it on medium heat.
2. Roughly chop onion, ginger and garlic. Then add to the hot oil and sauté till translucent
3. Add the fennel seeds, cardamoms seeds and cashews. Cook for 2-3 minutes
4. Add all the spices to the pan and sauté until fragrant, maybe 2-3 minutes. Set aside to cool completely
5. In the meantime, roughly peel and chop the squash. Then funky mince it using a food processor
6. Prick the potato all over with a fork or toothpick. Microwave in 5 minute intervals till a knife slides in easily
7. Peel the potato once cook enough to handle and mash in a bowl
8. Add the minced squash, cornflour, salt and the spices to the potato and mix well
9. Make golf ball sized patties (kofta) out of the mix and flatten slightly
10. Add a thin layer of oil to a pan in medium heat, then cook and sear the kofta till crispy on the outside
11. Once the gravy mixture is cool enough, blend with a little water
12. Add the remaining 2 tbsp oil to a the pan in which you cooked the gravy mix, then add cumin seeds when hot
13. Add the blended gravy mixture to the pan and sauté for 4-5 minutes
14. Add the oat milk and mix well. Then add salt and water as needed.
15. Let the gravy come to simmer and then it’s ready to be served. Place a kofta or two in a bowl, too with gravy and enjoy!

Tips

• This recipe with work with any squash, but excess water will need to be removed. You can also skip the squash entirely and use carrots, or just potatoes!
• I like to on fry the koftas and that’s why they’re flat. You can definitely deep fry them as well. Add another teaspoon of cornflour if they start to collapse in the fryer
• These also taste amazing in the gravy I made in my post on paneer gravy: https://everything-nothing.home.blog/2019/10/03/paneer-curry-and-butter-naan/
• The gravy in this recipe is also super versatile and I can eat it by the spoon. Just add tofu or paneer if you aren’t vegan and it’s ready to go! This will also taste good with any other koftas you might make.. 😬

Anyone who loves Indian food knows how delicious koftas are, and this recipe is doubly amazing because it’s vegan! I hope you give this a try soon and let me know how it goes!