Veggie Meatball Curry aka Pakoda Kurma

Veggie Meatball Curry aka PAKODA kurma is made with lentils and soaked in a rich, flavorful curry. Great when served over ghee rice or jeera rice.

Sunday lunches have always been and still are very special. It’s mostly chicken curries with rice. There were days when it used to be vegetarian meals due to religious reasons and then came this meal.

Pakoda Kurma or Veggie Meatball Curry. The hearty curry base is a onion tomato base and the lentils vada is soaked and simmered in the curry.

This is traditional Indian recipe, that reminds me of my mum. And trust me, this is definitely full of  flavor and will remind of your family recipes. These soft veggie balls are served in a rich and creamy masala sauce, the pakoda kurma is heavenly. In all honesty, this sauce is just incredible. Super creamy and flavorful, it makes everything you put in it 10 times better. Plus this sauce is very versatile, you can use it with chicken or shrimp.

In my opinion, this pakoda kurma/veggie meatball curry is a great vegan dish to serve when you have vegans AND meat eaters at the table. Everyone loves these veggie meatballs curry!

The masala sauce for the veggie meatball curry is easy to make and relies on onions, garlic, ginger, tomatoes, and spices. It takes some time to prepare though since you have to cook it for 30-40 minutes. The sauce gets its magical smell and taste from the spices: fennel, cumin, whole spices and turmeric. Once you fry the onion and coconut is cooked, transfer to a blender and blend until smooth and creamy. I like it to be smooth and you can add a crunch later with the onion and cashews.

Now onto the veggie balls/pakoda kurma. The base is legumes, my secret is grated onions and spices. I also added fresh chopped cilantro, feel free to add your favorite herbs. It almost looks like shammi kebabs, so good. I prefer steaming it, but you can pan fry it or deep fry.

Pakoda Kurma

 

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Vegetarian Meatballs in a spicy curry aka PAKODA kurma is made with lentils and soaked in a rich, flavorful curry. Great when served over ghee rice or jeera rice.

Author: Ash

Recipe type: Entree

Cuisine: Indian

Serves: 8

Ingredients

for the pakoda

• 1 cup channa daal
• 6 garlic
• 1 inch ginger
• 4 green chili
• ½ tsp fennel seeds
• 2 slices bread
• ½ onion grated
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 4 stalks chopped cilantro
• 10 curry leaves
• ½ red onion grated
• ¼ tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp salt or accordingly
• OIL for deep frying or you could steam this

For the kurma

• 2 tbsp vegetable oil + 2 tbsp oil
• 1 inch cinnamom stick
• 4 cloves
• 3 cardamom pods
• ½ tbsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• 2 tsp coriander seeds
• 6 red chillies(use according to your taste)
• 6 cloves garlic
• 2 inch piece of ginger sliced
• 1 medium red onion chopped
• 2 medium tomatoes
• ¼ cup fresh grated coconut or frozen coconut
• 1 tbsp poppy seeds
• ¼ tsp turmeric
• 1 tbsp red chili powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 cups water
• 2 tsp finely chopped cilantro for garnishing
• 3 stalks mint,chopped

Toppings

• 1 tbsp ghee
• ½ onion thinly sliced
• 15 cashews

Instructions

1. Wash the channa daal and soak it overnight in water or 3 hours minimum. Grind it with garlic, ginger, green chilies, fennel with salt t a fine paste without any water. The dough has to be thick in consistency. Add 2 slices of bread and blend it again
2. In a pan, add 1 tsp oil, add cumin seeds, curry leaves and grated onion. Fry it well until the raw smell goes away. Take it out, let cool and add it the ground channa paste. Add finely chopped cilantro, taste test it for salt and set aside for 15 minutes.
3. Make small balls and steam it for 15 minutes in a steamer. At this point you can fry it too. Set aside after it's steamed.
4. In a fry pan, add 2 tbsp oil. Let it get hot and add the cinnamom stick, cloves cardamom, cumin,coriander and red chillies. Fry a bit until you smell the spices, making sure not to burn it.
5. Add the chopped onion, garlic, ginger and fry on medium heat till it’s lightly browned. This will take about 10 minutes.
6. Add the coconut and chili powder and fry for a minute. Add ¼ cup of water and cook it for 2-3 minutes. Turn off the heat and let cool and come to room temperature. Add the mint.
7. Grind the mixture to a fine paste along with the tomatoes, adding a little bit of water I used a BLEND TEC equivalent. You can also use a Oster, make sure to add enough water to grind, not a lot. Get it to a smooth texture.
8. In another pan add oil and add the ground mixture to it, add some salt and turmeric. Add the rest of the water and on medium flame let the mixture cook. Let boil and then turn down the heat to medium for 15 minutes.
9. After it has simmered and cooked, add the steamed kofta and simmer it for another 15 minutes.
10. Check for salt and the curry should not be too runny or thick.
11. In a pan, add ghee. Add onion and cashews, fry until the cashews are golden brown and add it to the curry.
12. Garnish with cilantro.

Notes

Traditionally served with coconut rice( brown butter -coconut -peas pilaf), dosa( rice pancake) or rotis.
ENJOY!
Note: You can steam the koftas alternatively to reduce the fat calories, it works good.
You can use the curry base to make chicken curry or fish or shrimp
This is a very traditional recipe which uses a lot of dry spices, you can alter the spice level to your taste.

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If you make this Pakoda kurma/Veggie Meatball curry, rate the recipe and leave a comment.

*Please do tag me on Instagram @foodfashionparty if you make this, using the hashtag #foodfashionparty.  Check out my book MASALA AND MEATBALLS.

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