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This is my version of dal kofta, with vegetarian lentil balls and a silky-smooth curry sauce. Give it a try!Β
This is not your regular vegetarian dal kofta recipe. I experimented with textures, flavors, and ingredients, and a new kind of dal kofta recipe emerged. π
I was inspired by Veggie Num Num’s recipe and decided to add a personal touch to it. Even though I’m not a huge fan of Indian food, I do love a good curry or dal from time to time.
This recipe is worth the extra time in the kitchen. You’ll love how all the spices blend so well together. The contrast of textures between the crispy lentil koftas and the creamy curry sauce turns this recipe into a perfect comfort meal. I just loveΒ veg kofta recipes!
You can serve this with a side of rice, or just do as I did. Place it in a bowl with some baby spinach and top it with fresh parsley and sliced avocado. The combination may seem unusual, but it’s so good! Trust me! π
There’s not much else I can tell you about this dal kofta recipe, so just head straight to the ingredients list and give it a try! Let me know how it turns out for you!
Dal Kofta | Lentil Balls in Curry Sauce
Ingredients
- Lentil Balls:
- 1 cup red lentils
- 1 onion diced
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 cup wholegrain breadcrumbs
- 1 Tbsp psyllium husks or ground flax seeds
- sea salt and ground pepper to taste
- oil
- Sauce:
- 5 button mushrooms sliced
- 1/2 cup sweet corn
- 2 spring onions chopped
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 2 cups vegetable stock or water
- 250 ml coconut milk full fat, unsweetened
- 2 tsps corn starch or flour
- 2 Tbsps olive oil
- fresh parsley fresh baby spinach and sliced avocado for serving
- Spices:
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp ginger powder
- 2 tsps turmeric
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1/2 tsp ground pepper
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Boil lentils for 15 minutes. Drain them very well and place them into a large bowl.
- Using a hand blender, mash them until they turn into a paste.
- Add the rest of the ingredients for the lentil balls and mix. Let the composition sit in the fridge for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, prepare the curry sauce.
- Heat oil in a large pan. Add sliced mushrooms, garlic, spring onions and saute for 5 minutes. Add all the rest of the ingredients, except corn starch. Cook for 15 minutes, on medium heat, while stirring ocassionaly.
- Add corn starch in a cup. Take 5-6 Tbsps of the curry sauce liquid from the pan, and pour it over the corn starch. Mix well. Add 5 more Tbsps of liquid from the pan. Pour this over the curry sauce in the pan and mix well. The sauce will start to thicken.
- Cook for 5 more minutes and remove from heat.
- Take the lentil balls composition out of the fridge.
- Heat some oil in a large non-stick pan.
- Make small lentil balls, with about 1/2 Tbsp of composition per ball. Fry them on each side, until goldern and slightly crispy. Do this until you finish all the composition.
- Once ready, place all lentil balls in the curry sauce.
- You can serve this with rice, or like I did, with some fresh baby spinach and avocado slices.
Elina says
Another great recipe! It was an easy and super tasty dinner for the whole family! Thank you so much!
Ruxandra Micu says
Thank you, Elina! π
Kelly J. says
This is really creamy! My husband doesn’t usually like ‘exotic’ recipes but he loved this one π
Ruxandra says
Glad you both liked it! π
Christi says
Can i make this with regular lentils?
Ruxandra says
You mean green lentils? Yes, but you’ll have to soak them and boil them more. Red lentils cook really fast, but other types of lentils are harder to cook.
Lilu says
Do you think I could bake these instead of fry them?
Ruxandra says
Sure! But make sure you spray them with a little bit of oil, so they don’t turn too dry.
Heather B. says
Made this tonight and it’s delicious!
Thumbs up from everyone around the table.
I made a few changes.
1. fried up the corn with the garlic and green onions.
2. The instructions say to make 1/2 Tbsp-sized lentil balls, but I made 1 Tbsp-sized and flattened them slightly into patties rather than balls. They fried up nicely.
Love finding a recipe like this that is both nutritious and tasty.
Heather B. says
Sounds delish! Am making this now.
The recipe reads “2 tsps turmeric”. Is that meant to be tbsp or tsp? Thanks!
Ruxandra says
Teaspoons. π Hope you’ll like it!
Heather B. says
That’s what I guessed and the sauce turned out wonderfully π
Ruxandra says
Awesome! π
MPaula says
This is almost green enough to qualify as a St. Patrick’s Day recipe! Perhaps with parsley/cilantro in the sauce?
Ruxandra says
Great idea! let me know how it turns out! π