Thursday 22 January 2015

SANTRA PANEER AUR GANTH GOBHI KE KOFTE/ COTTAGE CHEESE AND KOHLRABI DUMPLINGS WITH ORANGE FILLING - LET'S GO GREEN



Food historians say that the word KOFTA, used in variations throughout the Middle East, India and Central Asia probably comes from the Persian word Koofteh which means "pounded meat". From Persia ( today's Iran) Koofteh spread throughout all the Middle East and travelled into India with the Mughals.

There are hundreds of variations of Koftas ranging from spicy lamb Koftas grilled on the streets in Turkey to vegetable Koftas served with Naan in India. In fact Koftas made at home use extremely flexible recipes where cooks adjust the ingredients as desired.




In India Koftas are made with an assortment of vegetables, often served with a thick, flavourful gravy, which may be ladled over rice or served with breads such as Naan.


To continue my Go Green mission I had to do a lot of deliberations as to whether the kofta should be green or the gravy. I did not want both to be green. By green I mean the predominant natural colour. I finally settled for the gravy taking the complete green hue from the natural greens that I would be using and the kofta having a good amount of greens but would acquire a golden colour from its sizzling coat.

I used a not so common kofta vegetable called Kohlrabi/Ganth Gobhi as the main green ingredient in my Koftas. I wanted a little drama and therefore incorporated some tang in the heart of my koftas. After all what is life without a little drama and I like it in my food too. I have placed my Koftas in a silky smooth minty green gravy where you may experience sometimes mentholy sometimes citrus overtones.

And I have paired my delicious, subtlety flavoured Kofta Curry with a spiky tongue smacking CURRY LEAVES RICE which will be the perfect yin and yan on my dinning table.



This post is part of the Blog Hop that I am currently in and I am really looking forward to the other exciting kofta dishes from my fellow bloggers.

So let's get cooking.
Reference :
The idea of the Koftas have been taken from a dish by the same name prepared by Master Chef India 2013 contestant Khoku Patra. As it was noted from television hence could not provide link to the original recipe. The gravy is however my own creation.

SANTRA PANEER AUR GANTH GOBHI KE KOFTE/ COTTAGE CHEESE AND KOHLRABI DUMPLINGS WITH ORANGE FILLING RECIPE:

SERVES : 3
YIELDS : 6 GOLF BALL SIZE KOFTAS
CUISINE : INDIAN
TYPE : MAIN COURSE/ CURRY
TIME : 15 MINUTES PREPARATION+20 MINUTES FOR MAKING THE KOFTA BALLS+ 25 MINUTES FOR THE GRAVY


INGREDIENTS : 

For the Koftas:

1) 1 Orange ( Remove Pulp)
2) 100 Gms Fresh Cottage Cheese /Paneer
3) 1 Kohlrabi/Ganth Gobhi/Kadam grated
4) 50 Gms Gram Flour/Besan
5) 1 Green Chilly/Hari Mirch finely chopped
6) Salt to taste
7) 1 Tbsp Chaat Masala (Optional) (available in Indian Stores)
8) 1Tbsp Oil 















For the Gravy : 

1) 1 Cup Fresh Mint /Pudina Leaves
2) 1/2 Cup Fresh Coriander/Dhaniya Leaves
3) 7-8 Raw Almonds/Badam
4) 2-3 Green Chillies/Hari Mirch ( Increase or decrease depending on the amount of heat you require)
5) 1 Tbsp Melon Seeds/Charmagaz
6) 2 Brown Cardamom/ Badi Elaichi
7) 1/2 Inch Cinamon/Dalchini
8) 2-3 Cloves/Laung
9) 2 Green Cardamom/Choti Elaichi
10) 1 Medium Sized Onion / Payaz Thinly sliced
11) 1 large Tomato thinly sliced
12) 2 Tsp Ginger Garlic Paste / Adrak Lasun Paste
13) 1 Tbsp Oil
14)  Salt to taste
















COOK WITH ME IN EASY STEPS:

LET'S GET THE KOFTAS READY FIRST:

STEP 1:
Take the Gram Flour in a wok or pan add dry roast it on a low flame. Please take care not to burn the gram flour as this will ruin your Koftas. Set aside. Next wash the Kohlrabi nicely, peel out the skin and grate it very finely. Please note that Kohlrabi takes a long time to cook so you need to grate it very fine. Set aside. Chop chillies finely.Remove orange pulp and set aside.


STEP 2:
In a mixing bowl add the Cottage Cheese, finely grated Kohlrabi, finely chopped chillies, roasted Gram Flour and salt. Then using your hands mash the cottage cheese first and then mix all the ingredients in the bowl. The mixing action is almost similar to kneading here. I like to add Chat Masala to the mixture as it heightens the zesty flavour of the Koftas,but you may omit it if you want. The mixture should not be soggy and should be able to be shaped into ball sized dumplings without sticking to your palms easily. If the mixture sticks to your palm, add a little more roasted gram flour to it.

  

STEP 3:
Take a little of the mixture and with the help of your palms shape it into ball sized dumplings approximately the size of a golf ball. Now using your finger create a dent in the the ball, big enough to fit in a little orange pulp. Once you put the orange pulp in the well of your dumpling, press it in a little very gently and again with your palms shape the mixture back to a ball by bringing the outer sides towards the center. This entire step should be done very gently.
  

STEP 4:
You can deep fry your Kofta Balls, Bake them or like I did use a Paniyarakkal pan. I like to use a Paniyarakkal pan because the Koftas can turn golden brown with the use of very little oil. So I placed my kofta balls in the pits of the Paniyarakkal pan and drizzled a few drops of oil over each of my kofta balls and cooked them till them they turned golden brown. My Koftas are ready.

    










LET'S NOW GET THE GRAVY READY IN EASY STEPS:

STEP 1:
Chop the fresh Mint leaves, Coriander leaves and Green Chiillies roughly and blend them to a smooth paste in your food processor. Keep aside.



STEP 2:
Next chop the Onions, Tomatoes roughly. Take a wok or pan. Add 1/2 Tbsp oil and add the spices Cloves, Green Cardamom, Cinnamon, Brown Cardamom, Almonds, Melon Seeds, Onion, Tomatoes and ginger Garlic Paste and saute them till fragrant and onions become transparent, tomatoes soft. Cool. Grind everything from the wok or pan in a food processor into a smooth paste. Keep aside.

  










STEP 3:
In a wok or pan add the remaining 1/2 Tbsp oil and add both the Green paste and the paste you made in Step 2. Saute for a couple of minutes. Add water exactly that much as you would like the consistency of your gravy to be. Normally Kofta gravies are thick and not very runny. Also don't add too much water and keep boiling to reduce the gravy as this will kill the beautiful green colour of the gravy and spoil both its creamy texture and flavours. Just wait for the gravy to reach a single boil and remove your wok or pan from the heat.

 


To plate your Kofta Curry first ladle the gravy into your serving bowl and gently place the Koftas on top. Garnish with tiny pieces of Orange.
Serve with flavoured rice , Indian flat breads or bread of your choice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
COTTAGE CHEESE AND KOHLRABI DUMPLINGS WITH ORANGE FILLING RECIPE :



INGREDIENTS : 

For the Koftas:

1) 1 Orange ( Remove Pulp)
2) 100 Gms Fresh Cottage Cheese /Paneer
3) 1 Kohlrabi/Ganth Gobhi/Kadam grated
4) 50 Gms Gram Flour/Besan
5) 1 Green Chilly/Hari Mirch finely chopped
6) Salt to taste
7) 1 Tbsp Chaat Masala (Optional) (available in Indian Stores)
8) 1 Tbsp Oil

For the Gravy : 

1) 1 Cup Fresh Mint /Pudina Leaves
2) 1/2 Cup Fresh Coriander/Dhaniya Leaves
3) 7-8 Raw Almonds/Badam
4) 2-3 Green Chillies/Hari Mirch ( Increase or decrease depending on the amount of heat you require)
5) 1 Tbsp Melon Seeds/Charmagaz
6) 2 Brown Cardamom/ Badi Elaichi
7) 1/2 Inch Cinamon/Dalchini
8) 2-3 Cloves/Laung
9) 2 Green Cardamom/Choti Elaichi
10) 1 Medium Sized Onion / Payaz Thinly sliced
11) 1 large Tomato thinly sliced
12) 2 Tsp Ginger Garlic Paste / Adrak Lasun Paste
13) 1 Tbsp Oil
14)  Salt to taste

COOK WITH ME IN EASY STEPS:

LET'S GET THE KOFTAS READY FIRST:

STEP 1:
Take the Gram Flour in a wok or pan add dry roast it on a low flame. Please take care not to burn the gram flour as this will ruin your Koftas. Set aside. Next wash the Kohlrabi nicely, peel out the skin and grate it very finely. Please note that Kohlrabi takes a long time to cook so you need to grate it very fine. Set aside. Chop chillies finely.Remove orange pulp and set aside.

STEP 2:
In a mixing bowl add the Cottage Cheese, finely grated Kohlrabi, finely chopped chillies, roasted Gram Flour and salt. Then using your hands mash the cottage cheese first and then mix all the ingredients in the bowl. The mixing action is almost similar to kneading here. I like to add Chat Masala to the mixture as it heightens the zesty flavour of the Koftas,but you may omit it if you want. The mixture should not be soggy and should be able to be shaped into ball sized dumplings without sticking to your palms easily. If the mixture sticks to your palm, add a little more roasted gram flour to it.

STEP 3:
Take a little of the mixture and with the help of your palms shape it into ball sized dumplings approximately the size of a golf ball. Now using your finger create a dent in the the ball, big enough to fit in a little orange pulp. Once you put the orange pulp in the well of your dumpling, press it in a little very gently and again with your palms shape the mixture back to a ball by bringing the outer sides towards the center. This entire step should be done very gently.

STEP 4:
You can deep fry your Kofta Balls, Bake them or like I did use a Paniyarakkal pan. I like to use a Paniyarakkal pan because the Koftas can turn golden brown with the use of very little oil. So I placed my kofta balls in the pits of the Paniyarakkal pan and drizzled a few drops of oil over each of my kofta balls and cooked them till them they turned golden brown. My Koftas are ready.

LET'S NOW GET THE GRAVY READY IN EASY STEPS:

STEP 1:
Chop the fresh Mint leaves, Coriander leaves and Green Chiillies roughly and blend them to a smooth paste in your food processor. Keep aside.

STEP 2:
Next chop the Onions, Tomatoes roughly. Take a wok or pan. Add 1/2 Tbsp oil and add the spices Cloves, Green Cardamom, Cinnamon, Brown Cardamom, Almonds, Melon Seeds, Onion, Tomatoes and ginger Garlic Paste and saute them till fragrant and onions become transparent, tomatoes soft. Cool. Grind everything from the wok or pan in a food processor into a smooth paste. Keep aside.

STEP 3:
In a wok or pan add the remaining 1/2 Tbsp oil and add both the Green paste and the paste you made in Step 2. Saute for a couple of minutes. Add water exactly that much as you would like the consistency of your gravy to be. Normally Kofta gravies are thick and not very runny. Also don't add too much water and keep boiling to reduce the gravy as this will kill the beautiful green colour of the gravy and spoil both its creamy texture and flavours. Just wait for the gravy to reach a single boil and remove your wok or pan from the heat.

To plate your Kofta Curry first ladle the gravy into your serving bowl and gently place the Koftas on top. Garnish with tiny Orange pieces.
Serve with flavoured rice , Indian flat breads or bread of your choice.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



CHECK LIST :
For Koftas
1) Orange, 2) Cottage Cheese /Paneer, 3) Kohlrabi/Ganth Gobhi, 4) Gram Flour/Besan, 5) Green Chilly, 6) Salt, 7) Oil, 8) Chaat Masala (optional)
For the Gravy
1) Fresh Mint Leaves/Pudina Patte, 2) Fresh Coriander Leaves/Hara Dhaniya, 3) Almonds/Badam, 4) Melon Seeds/Charmagaz, 5) Cloves/Laung, 6) Green Cardamom/Choti Elaichi, 7) Brown Cardamom/Badi Elaichi, 8) Cinamon/Dalchini, 9)Onion, 10) Tomatoes, 11) Ginger Garlic Paste, 12) Green Chillies/Hari Mirch, 13) Salt, 14) Oil

Reference:

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