Lauki Kofta Curry/Kofta Curry/Kofta in appe pan

Kofta curry is a fantastic way to incorporate veggies and make the dish look fancy. This dish will make anyone want to indulge right away when they see it :). Koftas are normally deep fried, but I made this using the appe pan which helps me use less oil to cook these koftas. These koftas taste great like the deep fried ones, only important thing is that they have to be cooked on low flame. I have been making this curry for years now. I had the recipe written down on a piece of paper when I first tried it. As I kept making it, made some tweaks to the notes on the paper. Once I had perfected the recipe to my liking I decided to upload it on the blog. As an effort to upload the recipe I first typed up the recipe notes I had on paper to the notes on my phone. It sat there and I made this curry few more times. I have been meaning to upload this recipe on my blog for long, it just takes more time for some recipes to get uploaded..

Recently I wanted to make this curry but was running out of bottle gourd, so decided to use zucchini instead. The koftas turned out great with zucchini as well. This makes for a nice dish when entertaining guests or a dish to take for a pot luck.

for koftas

Ingredients
grated bottle gourd/zucchini 2 cups
chickpea flour 2-3 tbsp
breadcrumbs 2 tbsp
salt to taste
grated ginger 1/2 tsp
red chilly powder 3/4 tsp
fresh coriander 3 tbsp, chopped fine
hing/asafetida a pinch
cumin powder 1/4 tsp
coriander powder 1/2 tsp

Method
Grate the lauki, sprinkle a bit of salt and place in a colander to drain for about 20 mins, press out the water with the back of a round spoon. (ps: if using zucchini this step is not needed)
Put all of the ingredients together and mix with a spoon.
Take 1 tablespoon of the mixture, grease the hand and roll them roughly into balls.
Heat the appam kadai, put a few drops of oil in each of the depressions.
Place the kofta balls in the appe/paddu kadai depression and cook on low flame till golden brown.
Turn over and fry on the other side as well.
Drizzle a few drops of oil if needed.
Set aside and cool.ghtr

for gravy

Ingredients
oil 3 tsp
kalonji (onion seeds) 1 tsp
onion 1, chopped big
tomato 1, chopped big
red chilies 3
whole almonds 5
green chillies 1
turmeric a pinch
khus khus 1/2 tsp
salt to taste
garam masala 1/2 tsp
coriander powder 1/2 tsp
cumin powder 1/4 tsp
ginger garlic paste 1/2 tsp
milk 1/4 cup
water 1 cup
fresh coriander to garnish

Method
Heat onion, tomato, red chili in lil oil before frying so raw smell is gone.
Grind all the ingredients listed above except the milk and coriander leaves and kalonji to a thick paste, with 1/2 cup water.
Heat the oil in a pan, add kalonji, the paste, add another 1/2 cup of water and bring to a boil (about 3-4 minutes).
Add garam masala and mix. Turn down the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
Add the milk and stir well, heating through but not boiling.
Add the fried koftas, gently mix.

serving

Add kofta balls to the prepared gravy.
Garnish with fresh corainder leaves and serve hot with parathas, roti or pulav.
note: If making ahead, do not put the koftas into the gravy, store them separately. Heat the gravy a few minutes before serving, arrange the koftas into the serving bowl, pour the gravy over it and let stand about 5 minutes before serving.

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