You may look at the list of ingredients here and think: no. Just no. But once you’ve assembled all your bits and pieces (and feel free to sub in other spices if your spice cupboard isn’t forthcoming with these ones), it’s actually not a tricky dish to cook and the koftas are surprisingly well behaved and hold together nicely for a vego ball. When we first started out with the Dinner Ladies we made our own paneer (“begin this recipe one day before…” was one of our mantras in those days, owing to a shared streak of masochism) but now it’s available in the cheese section of most supermarkets, so we’re not going to put you through that particular ordeal. If you can’t find it, substitute a dry ricotta.
Serves 4
For the koftas:
1 tbs rice bran or other neutrally flavoured oil
0.5 onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
3 cm piece ginger, grated
1 small green chilli, chopped finely
0.5 tsp salt
1 tsp garam masala
0.25 tsp ground black pepper
Pinch cloves
Pinch cardamon
0.25 tsp cinnamon
100g frozen spinach, defrosted
1 potato, peeled, boiled and mashed
120g paneer, grated
1 tbs raw cashews, ground
1 tbs panko breadcrumbs
2 tbs fresh coriander, chopped
70g chickpea flour
For the sauce:
1 tbs rice bran or other neutrally flavoured oil
0.5 tsp cumin seeds
0.5 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 cm piece ginger, grated
1 tbs raw cashews, ground
1 tsp salt
0.5 tsp turmeric
1 tsp ground coriander, toasted
1 tsp ground cumin, toasted
0.5 tsp garam masala, toasted
400g tin crushed tomatoes
100ml coconut milk
To serve: extra coriander, steamed basmati rice and/or roti
Method
Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
For the koftas: heat the rice bran oil in a small frying pan and gently fry the onion, garlic, ginger, chilli and salt until soft and sweet. Add the ground spices and cook till fragrant.
Mix through the defrosted spinach and cook till its water has evaporated. Allow to cool.
In a mixing bowl, stir together the spinach mixture, grated paneer, mashed potato, ground cashews, breadcrumbs, coriander and chickpea flour. Add extra breadcrumbs if the mixture is too wet.
Chill to allow the mixture to firm, then roll into ping pong sized balls and flatten into patties.
Place patties on baking-paper lined trays and cook for 12-15 minutes or until golden and cooked through. Set aside.
For the sauce: heat the rice bran oil in a medium frying pan, add the cumin seeds and fry till fragrant. Turn the heat to low, add the onion, garlic, ginger, ground cashews and salt and cook gently till soft and sweet.
Add the ground spices, stir to combine, then add the tomatoes and coconut milk. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 15 minutes. Taste for seasoning and keep warm on a low heat.
To serve: reheat the koftas in the sauce for five minutes and serve, with rice and/or roti, sprinkled with extra coriander leaves.