Cyrus Todiwala’s Alubokhara Kofta
“A Kofta is a dumpling of sorts but more like a croquette that is then served in a sauce or even simmered in a sauce. In South Indian cuisine kofta’s of various kinds exist and quite honestly it is the creativity of the cook that makes the difference between an average kofta and a great one. In some communities such as ours, we prefer texture so I would add chopped raw almonds or other nuts to give an internal crunch when you bite into it, hence added in.
Most vegetarian koftas contain potato, this one is made using bottle gourd normally. But you don’t get gourd easily except in Asian stores so we will use marrow and potato blended. The idea is to use the best of British produce and adapt it to suit“.
Cyrus Todiwala
Patron Chef at Café Spice Namasté
SERVES: 6
DIFFICULTY: Hard
Ingredients
FOR THE MEATBALLS
1 Large Marrow peeled, de-seeded and grated
2 Medium Potatoes baked in their jackets until soft, then cut and scooped
120g of Chickpea or any Bean flavour
2 Green Chillies, seeded and very finely chopped
1 heaped tbsp of finely chopped peeled Ginger (or paste)
1tsp coarsely crushed Black Pepper
Salt
16-18 Dried plums or prunes seeded and chopped (they will be sticky but cut them into small pieces)
20 or so Almonds roughly cut into pieces
FOR THE SAUCE
1tbsp ground Coriander
1tsp of Chilli powder
1/2tsp of ground Turmeric
2 heaped tbsp of Ghee (or 3 of oil)
3 Green Cardamom pods, just crushed
2 Cloves
1-2″ piece of Cinnamon stick
2 Bay Leaves (if you have a tree use fresh)
2 small Onions, grated or finely chopped (or minced in a food processor)
1 level tbsp of Ginger paste
1 level tbsp of Garlic paste
6 Tomatoes, pureed or use a 450g tin of Tomato Pulp
1 level tsp of ground Fenugreek leaves (if you can get them, they’re also called Quasoori Methi. If not don’t worry too much)
Method
STEP 1
Place the grated marrow in a saucepan, cover with water, add some salt and boil for a minute or two at best then strain and squeeze out dry in a muslin cloth or a kitchen towel. Spread out with a fork and cool. Keep the mashed potato with the marrow.
STEP 2
Take the 16-18 dried chopped plums or prunes along with the 20 or so roughly cut almonds and mix the two in a small bowl.
STEP 3
Blend the 120g of chickpea (or bean of your preference) with the chopped green chillies, 1 tbsp of finely chopped peeled ginger (or paste), 1/2 tsp of crushed black pepper and some salt. Once blended, mix this into the marrow and potato and blend well.
STEP 4
Divid your plum / prune and almond mix into as many balls as you like, either 6-8 large Kofta’s or 12-14 small, depending on what size you prefer. Wet your hands a little and in your palms flatten each ball then fill with the prune and almond mix. Close the marrow and potato mix over with the stuffing in the centre and form into a ball once again. Once all done, refrigerate for a little white to become firm. Once firm and nice, heat some oil in a deep pan or wok to roughly 1/2″ deep.
STEP 5
Once firm, heat some oil in a deep pan or wok to roughly 1/2″ deep. Heat and fry one kofta first to see that it does not split or break in the oil. If they crack, one of two things is the problem. Either they have not been well rolled or that the mixture is wet. So roll in a little flour and try again. Fry them a few at a time, turning frequently until well coloured on all sides, then drain well on a paper towel.
DO NOT keep the oil too hot but not too cold either and let it reheat before adding the next batch.
STEP 6
To make the sauce you can either make it now, or start earlier and make the sauce well in advance and simply reheat it. I would do that as the sauce can be used for other things too, not just these kofta’s. Blend the ground coriander, chilli powder and turmeric in a small bowl with roughly 3-4 tbsp of cold or tepid water and stir to make a paste. Cover and set aside. Heat the ghee or oil in a large, heavy based pan over a medium heat until you see a haze forming, then add the cardamom pods, cloves, cinnamon and bay leaves and stir fry for about 1 minute, or until the cardamom pods start to change colour and the cloves swell. Add the onion and sauté until pale in colour. Crushed onions do stick so keep stirring with a flat wooden spatula.
Add the ginger and garlic pastes and continue cooking until the garlic smell is not raw anymore. Put on a low to medium heat not high, now add the ground powder mixture and season with a little salt. Add some more water to the bowl stirring it to mix in any solid residues around the edges.
Continue cooking for 2-3 minutes, or until the moisture has evaporated and now you have a masala forming. When the masala is cooked, the bubbles in the pan will soon start to show oil, when this happens your masala is cooked.
Add the pureed tomatoes to the pan and cook for about 5 minutes, or until specks of oil begin to reappear on the surface. Pour in approx. 250ml water and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring frequently, for 2-3 minutes. Add the fried kofta’s and simmer for 2-3 minutes or until they are hot.
Sprinkle over the powdered fenugreek leaves (if you have them), stir and remove from the heat. Adjust the seasoning (if necessary) and garnish with chopped coriander. You can add chopped coriander to the sauce too if you like it as much as I do.
Serve with pilau rice and other dishes to make your meal complete.