Recipe of the Month: Simplified Malai Kofta

Last year during Passover, I bought a box of instant mashed potatoes, thinking perhaps I could use them for a cheaper alternative to the potato-based hot cereal I usually eat for breakfast during that week. That experiment didn't work out, so most of the box ended up just stashed away in the pantry. Then, earlier this year, we suddenly discovered a use for them. In a thread on the Frugal forum on Reddit about things that are much cheaper to make or do for yourself, one Redditor mentioned making homemade gnocchi with instant mashed potatoes. This caught my attention because gnocchi were one of the few convenience foods Brian and I bought regularly, since they came in so handy for a last-minute meal on a busy evening. We'd once tried making our own using the recipe in Mark Bittman, but it was a big hassle, and the result wasn't as tasty as the store-bought stuff. So we (or, more accurately, Brian) decided to give it a go with the potato flakes, and it turned out to be much quicker and easier, and produced better results, to boot. Since then, it's become a staple in our recipe collection.

That's not what this post is about, however. It's just an intro to explain how, once we'd discovered this use of instant mashed potatoes, Brian got to thinking about other recipes in our collection that we might be able to simplify through the use of these handy little flakes. And that's how he came to develop this recipe for easy malai kofta.

Malai kofta, for those not familiar with them, are Indian potato dumplings with bits of chopped veggies in them, served in a creamy tomato gravy. Brian already had a recipe for vegan malai kofta made with coconut milk and ground cashews in place of cream, but he didn't make it often because it took about an hour all told, with 30 minutes of hands-on work. The substitution of instant for fresh mashed potatoes simplified the recipe considerably and inspired him to tinker with it more. He adjusted the spices, tweaked the amounts of other ingredients, and started using grated rather than chopped carrot. He first substituted ground almonds (which we usually have in the pantry) for the ground cashews (which we usually don't), and eventually simplified the recipe still further by using almond flour.

Brian's simpler version of this dish cuts the prep time from about 30 minutes to 15 or 20. It still needs around half an hour of cooking time, so it's not ideal for a busy weeknight, but it's easily doable for a weekend. It's also tasty, with a rich creamy sauce that's full of flavor but not overpoweringly spicy, and makes a dinner for two with a couple of lunches to spare. And I consider it to be different enough from the original to count as a new recipe. 

So here it is:

    SIMPLIFIED MALAI KOFTA 

1. Preheat oven to 450°F.
2. Combine 1 1/2 cups water, 1/2 cup frozen peas, and 1/2 cup grated carrot in a pot. Bring to a boil and simmer about 10 minutes.
   
3. While veggies are cooking, heat 1 tablespoon oil in a deep skillet. Add 1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds and cook until they begin to sizzle. Then add 1 cup finely chopped yellow onion, 1 teaspoon peeled and chopped ginger root, and a pinch of cayenne pepper. Cook 3-4 minutes, until onion starts to brown. Add 1 cup tomatoes (chopped, crushed, or pureed) and cook another 3-4 minutes.
   
4. When veggies are done, stir in 1 cup potato flakes and mix until water is all absorbed. Transfer to a large mixing bowl to cool.
5. Transfer tomato mixture to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Return to pan and stir in 2 tablespoons almond flour, 1 cup canned coconut milk, 1/4 teaspoon garam masala, 1/4 teaspoon turmeric, 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander (no more! Be careful!), 1/4 teaspoon cardamom, and 1 teaspoon salt (or more, to taste). Add enough water to make a nice gravy consistency, up to 1 cup, keeping in mind it will continue to thicken as it cooks. Stir well and let it bubble gently over low heat as you prepare the koftas. If it's too watery, add more almond flour.
6. Add another 2 tablespoons almond flour to the potato mixture, along with 1/4 cup chickpea flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/3 teaspoon turmeric, 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin, and a pinch of black pepper. Stir to form a thick dough.
7. Oil a metal baking sheet. Form dough into balls, about golf ball size, and place a few inches apart on the sheet. Bake at 450°F for 10-12 minutes until crisp on the bottom. Flip balls and bake another 10-12 minutes until crisp on all sides.
8. Drop the baked dumplings into the heated gravy. Serve immediately with rice or your favorite Indian bread. (If you cook your rice in the pressure cooker, as we do, you can prepare it in the time it takes the kofta to bake.)
   

And that wraps up my first full year of vegan Recipes of the Month! I'll return with more in 2021.