These life-changing vegan kofta balls are a new staple of mine! They are super versatile, ridiculously tasty on their own, plus they absolutely soak up the flavors of the veg kofta curry sauce that they are cooked in.
Made using almighty chickpea flour (also known as chana flour), these veg kofta balls are super good for you – bursting with the goodness of protein-packed pulses. At around 22 grams of protein per 100 grams, these chickpea kofta balls go a long way to answering ‘but where do vegans get their protein.” They’re also high magnesium and iron.
Because they are so good on their own, they can be used to make vegan meatball subs, Italian wedding soup, added to your regular curry in place of vegan meat, in casseroles, South African bredies (hello tamatie bredie!), served on a bed of mash or polenta with a thick gravy, or even to make spaghetti and meatballs!
They freeze like a dream, so when you make them, triple or quadruple the recipe then portion out and pop them in the freezer for an endless supply of vegan kofta curry balls.
Veg Kofta Balls Recipe
Serves 4
VEGAN KOFTA BALLS INGREDIENTS
- 4 cups of chickpea flour
- 1 yellow onion, very finely chopped
- 1 cup of oil + 3 tablespooons for frying
- 1/2 cup of water, added two table spoons at a time to check consistency
- 1/2 cup Italian parsley, chopped
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1 tablespoon red chillies, finely chopped (Optional. Omit or adjust quantity to suit your tolerance for heat.)
- Salt
- Black pepper
VEGAN KOFTA BALLS METHOD:
- Form a soft dough. Mix chickpea flour, parsley, oil, chilis (if using), salt, pepper, nutritional yeast and finely chopped onions in a bowl to form a dough with two tablespoons of water. If the mixture is too dry, add more water, one tablespoon at a time, until the correct doughy consistency has formed. The dough mixture should be soft, and somewhat sticky. Just a little bit firmer than thick mashed potatoes.
- Heat a pan with 2 / 3 tablespoons of oil.
- Form Kofta balls. Prepare a plate by dusting it with a small amount of flour or cornmeal to prevent the balls from sticking. Create the kofta balls by rolling them in the palm of your hands, rinsing your hands in water and patting them dry on a towel from time to time if they become sticky. Place the kofta balls on a plate and proceed to step four.
FREEZING NOTE: If you have made a larger batch, you can freeze the balls at this point by placing them on a plate covered in cling wrap. Once they have frozen the next day, you can remove the balls from the plate, and store them in ziplock bags. - Shallow fry the vegetarian kofta balls. Check the that oil is sufficiently hot by placing one kofta ball into the pan. If it does not sizzle, remove it and allow the oil to heat until it does. If the oil is not hot enough, instead of crisping the outside of the kofta to create a delicious crust, the kofta will simply absorb the oil, becoming soggy. Allow the vegan kofta balls to brown on each side by turning them once or twice. Remove with a slotted spoon, and allow to drain on absorbent paper.
Vegetarian Kofta Curry Recipe
VEGAN KOFTA CURRY INGREDIENTS
- For the kofta curry tempering:
- 1 large white onion, finely chopped
- 2 teaspoons of coriander seeds
- 2 teaspoon of cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon of black mustard seeds
- 6 – 8 curry leaves
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 3 dried chiles (Omit or adjust according to your desired level of heat.)
- For the kofta curry gravy
- 1 of can whole peeled tomatoes, chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 cup of fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
- Salt
- 1 1/2 cups water
- Black pepper
VEGAN KOFTA CURRY METHOD
- Begin the curry by creating your spice tempering. Heat the oil in a medium-sized saucepan. When hot add the coriander, mustard and cumin seeds, as well as the curry leaves, and dried chiles – if using. The tempering is ready when the seeds begin to pop, after about 1-2 minutes.
- Caramelize onions and tomatoes. To the same saucepan, and the chopped onions, tomatoes, turmeric, and ginger with a sprinkling of salt. Cook until soft and caramelized, 5 – 10 minutes.
- Add water and bring to boil. Reduce to a medium heat; cook until thick, 10 minutes. Adjust for salt, heat and black pepper.
- Add dumplings to gravy. Cook for another 5 minutes.
- Garnish with freshly chopped cilantro and serve!
Vegetarian Kofta Balls Curry - Vegan Recipe
Ingredients
VEGAN KOFTA BALL INGREDIENTS
- 4 cups of chickpea flour
- 1 yellow onion, very finely chopped
- 1 cup of oil + 3 tablespooons for frying
- ½ cup of water, added two table spoons at a time to check consistency
- ½ cup Italian parsley, chopped
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1 tablespoon red chillies, finely chopped (Optional. Omit or adjust quantity to suit your tolerance for heat.)
- Salt
- Black pepper
VEGAN KOFTA CURRY INGREDIENTS
For the kofta curry tempering:
- 1 large white onion, finely chopped
- 2 teaspoons of coriander seeds
- 2 teaspoon of cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon of black mustard seeds
- 6 – 8 curry leaves
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 3 dried chiles (Omit or adjust according to your desired level of heat.)
For the kofta curry gravy
- 1 of can whole peeled tomatoes, chopped
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 cup of fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
- Salt
- 1½ cups water
- Black pepper
Instructions
VEGAN KOFTA BALL METHOD:
- Form a soft dough. Mix chickpea flour, parsley, oil, chilis (if using), salt, pepper, nutritional yeast and finely chopped onions in a bowl to form a dough with two tablespoons of water. If the mixture is too dry, add more water, one tablespoon at a time, until the correct doughy consistency has formed. The dough mixture should be soft, and somewhat sticky. Just a little bit firmer than thick mashed potatoes.
- Heat a pan with 2 / 3 tablespoons of oil.
- Form Kofta balls. Prepare a plate by dusting it with a small amount of flour or cornmeal to prevent the balls from sticking. Create the kofta balls by rolling them in the palm of your hands, rinsing your hands in water and patting them dry on a towel from time to time if they become sticky. Place the kofta balls on a plate and proceed to step four.
- FREEZING NOTE: If you have made a larger batch, you can freeze the balls at this point by placing them on a plate covered in cling wrap. Once they have frozen the next day, you can remove the balls from the plate, and store them in ziplock bags.
- Shallow fry the vegetarian kofta balls. Check the that oil is sufficiently hot by placing one kofta ball into the pan. If it does not sizzle, remove it and allow the oil to heat until it does. If the oil is not hot enough, instead of crisping the outside of the kofta to create a delicious crust, the kofta will simply absorb the oil, becoming soggy. Allow the vegan kofta balls to brown on each side by turning them once or twice. Remove with a slotted spoon, and allow to drain on absorbent paper.
VEGAN KOFTA CURRY METHOD
- Begin the curry by creating your spice tempering. Heat the oil in a medium sized saucepan. When hot add the coriander, mustard and cumin seeds, as well as the curry leaves, and dried chiles – if using. The tempering is ready when the seeds begin to pop, after about 1-2 minutes.
- Caramelize onions and tomatoes. To the same saucepan, and the chopped onions, tomatoes, turmeric, and ginger with a sprinkling of salt. Cook until soft and caramelized, 5 – 10 minutes.
- Add water and bring to boil. Reduce to a medium heat; cook until thick, 10 minutes. Adjust for salt, heat and black pepper.
- Add dumplings to gravy. Cook for another 5 minutes.
- Garnish with freshly chopped cilantro and serve!
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