Kofta curry & tamarind chutney

Yesterday, while at the  supermarket , I casually asked my husband, "kal kya khana hai aapko" (what do you want to eat tomorrow). Without saying a word , he just vanished into the aisles. After what seemed an eternity, he emerged with a bunch of raw bananas. With a huge grin on his face and pointing at the bananas said “ Honey , make anything you like” I asked again, “What”, he just smiled. So i came home , and sat down thinking. Something, somehow , reminded me of my Grandma’s keema koftas (minced meatball) and it then struck me “banana koftas”.

An idea struck me again that my husband always need something after coming back home after work . So, I made dozen of Koftas more to double up as an evening snack accompanied by tamarind chutney to be enjoyed with a nice cup of tea .

Kofta recipe :

1 raw banana boiled and mashed

4-5 tsp chickpea flour

1tsp ginger – garlic paste

1 chopped green chilly

1 teaspoon salt ( always put accordingly to your taste)

1 teaspoon red chilli powder

1 small onion coarsely chopped

Directions for making kofta:

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Divide the mixture in 9-10 equal portions and shape each portion into round flat balls. Heat the oil in a kadai ( Deep cooking pot) and deep fry till golden brown. Fry them on medium heat.Drain on absorbent paper and keep aside.

Curry Ingredients:

4tsp oil

2 Cardamom

2 cloves

Small stick of cinnamon

1 Onion grated

1tomato pureed

1teaspoon chilli powder

 1teaspoon Salt ( please use accordingly to taste )

½ teaspoon Cumin powder

½ teaspoon coriander powder

1teaspoon garam masala

1teaspoon turmeric

Fresh green chopped coriander

Directions:

Heat the oil in a pan, add cardamom,clove cinnamon. When the spices start to crackle add the onion and sauté for 3-4 minutes till the onion turns golden brown. Add the tomato puree and allow it to simmer for 5-6 minutes.Add the chilli powder, salt , cumin, coriander , turmeric powder, and garam masala. Cook for another 5-6minutes.

Remove from flame. Arrange the kofta on a serving dish, pour the hot gravy on top  and serve with rice rice. Garnish with chopped coriander.

Tamarind chutney ingredients:

Tamarind 1 cup
jaggery 1 1/4 cup
cinnamon 1 inch stick
raisin 2 tsp
black salt 1/4 teaspoon
red chilli powder 1teaspoon
roasted cumin powder 1teaspoon
dry ginger powder 1/2 teaspoon

Directions:

Soak the tamarind (without seeds) in two cups of warm water for half an hour. Extract pulp and strain to remove fiber. Take a heavy-bottomed pan, add the tamarind pulp and jaggery. Cook on low heat. Add cinnamon stick and cook for fifteen minutes. Wash and pat dry raisins. Add raisins, salt, black salt, red chilli powder, roasted cumin powder and dry ginger powder. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Store in an air-tight container.

*Please remember that while making koftas for the curry use less salt , as the gravy itself have some salt and it will compensate the salt in the kofta.

Do let me know how this recipe turned out for you :)