Baked Kofta Balls in Tomato Sauce

Submitted by Chef Joey Z.

"This recipe comes out of the Hare Krishna cookbook, The Higher Taste. I took a short cut and used organic tomato sauce from a jar instead of making my own. Of course home made is best. I also baked the Kofta balls instead of frying them in butter. I am only including the recipe for the Kofta Balls. I have changed some of the ingredients to suit my tastes. I didn't add any binder to this as the mixture was moist enough without it. Traditionally these Kofta balls are put over spaghetti, but I put them over Quinoa for something a little different."

 

• Ready In: 45mins
• Ingredients: 12
• Yields: 24 balls
• Serves: 6

ingredients

• 2 cups cauliflower (grated)
• 2 cups cabbage (grated)
• 1 1⁄2 cups spelt flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄2 teaspoon hing
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1⁄2 teaspoon coriander powder
• 1⁄2 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 pinch cayenne
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 (25 1/2 ounce) jar pasta sauce

directions

1. Preheat your oven to 400'F.
2. Coat the bottom of a 9x13 inch oven proof dish or pan with the 2 tablespoons of olive oil so all of it is well covered. If you want to use more then do, these balls will stick to the bottom.
3. Grate the cauliflower and cabbage. I used my food processor and it saved a lot of time.
4. Put all the other ingredients except the olive oil in a large bowl and add the grated cauliflower and cabbage. Mix until well combined.
5. Let the mixture sit for about 20-30 minutes so the moisture from the veggies is absorbed by the flour, this will ensure that the mixture will stick together and you can roll it into balls.
6. Roll into 1 inch balls. I found squeezing them back and forth in my hands worked well.
7. Place the Kofta balls in the oiled casserole dish.
8. Drizzle a little more olive oil over each Kofta ball.
9. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes. The Kofta should be a nice golden colour when you remove them.
10. Let them cool for a few minutes. If they stick gently slide a spatula under each ball to remove.
11. Put the Kofta balls in another dish.
12. Spread 1/2 of the jar of pasta sauce in the bottom of the casserole dish. Place the Kofta balls on the sauce.
13. Pour the rest of the sauce on top. I added a little water to the jar to get the rest of the sauce out. Let them sit for about one hour. The Kofta balls will absorb the sauce very well.
14. You can reheat the Kofta balls in the microwave or in the oven.
15. Bon Apetit!

Reviews

[MsBindy]

DH liked these a lot; I was less enthusiastic. I believe my main issue was that serving them over pasta, my mind was telling me Italian Meatballs....but of course, these are nothing like that. Served plain or over rice or noodles might be my preference. I had to add some egg for binder, and because of my dificulty in getting them to stick together ended up making them quite large...about double the recommended size.

 

[Cherlyndria77]

Delicious!! I couldn't believe how well these turned out. I did commit a cardinal sin though, because we aren't vegetarians I added an egg for binding (please don't hurt me). And I needed to use a bit of curry powder as I didn't have any hing or any cumin on hand. But beautiful flavour and texture, we served it with polenta. Thanks for posting xx

 

[VegSocialWorker]

These turned out nice. I did have some problems with getting the balls to stick together and eventually had to add a bit of water to get them to do it. The taste was great and I served with a home made sauce with some fresh noodles. Thanks for posting.

 

[Wendy's Kitchen]

We loved these. Will become a family staple. Thanks for a great healthy recipe. I included broccoli in the mix as well. Very little oil used.

 

[kelly in TO]

Excellent! wonderful with a hint of spice. I know they are always fried (which is good) but for a healthier version these are great. I also like the Cauliflower, Cabbage mix instead of potato, along with using the Quinoa which I love. Nice refinement on a great dish. I added the tomato sauce to the casserole dish just before they finished baking, which warmed up the sauce and allowed the kofta balls to absorb some of the sauce as well. The food processor also worked great. Thanks.