Vegetarian Kofta: Raw Banana Kofte

During Ramazan my mom cooked beef koft’s and I have to say , they were the most yummiest kofte I have ever eaten. After Ramzan it was natural I had increased weight and wanted a lighter version of kofte and hence ended up asking mom to cook veg koftes.
Full of fresh herbs and spices, beef kofta has always been delicious. But when my mom cooked raw banana kofte’s I loved them as much as the beef koftes. Though they take a lot of patience and time , the result and outcome is worth all the trouble. Plus eating green bananas offers some advantages you won't get from eating the ripe, yellow ones. Green bananas or raw bananas have benefits for both dieters and diabetics and contain resistant starch which helps to keep the digestive tract healthy by acting as "food" for friendly, probiotic bacteria.
Though I love raw banana bajjis I also like to have plantain(raw banana ) kfote’s. Its a special dish famous in the north of India and is cooked when guests visit them. Undoubtedly this recipe is labor intensive dish but the final result is a great one!

Raw Banana Kofta

• Prep time: 45 min
• Cook time: 50 min
• Serves: 4

Ingredients For Koftas:

• Raw bananas - 2, boil in 3 cups water till soft
• Onion - 1, small, very finely chopped
• Grinded Channa dal (besan) - 1 tbsp
• Ginger garlic paste- 2 tsp
• Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp
• Amchur powder (raw mango powder)– optional
• Coriander leaves - 2 tbsps, finely chopped
• Salt to taste
• Oil - for deep frying koftas
• For Gravy:
• Cinnamon stick - 1
• Cardamom - 1
• Onion - 1, finely chopped
• Tomato - 1, large, pureed
• Green chillies-ginger paste - 1 tsp
• Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
• Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
• Cumin powder – 1/4 tsp
• Coriander powder - 1 1/2 tsps
• Garam Masala - 1/4 tsp
• Cashew - 10 (soak in 1/4 cup milk for 15 mts and grind to a paste)
• Salt to taste
• Oil - 2 tbsps
• Coriander leaves for garnish

Method

1. Cut each raw banana into two pieces. Do not peel the skin. Let them boil with 4 cups of water along with 1/2 tsp salt on low to medium flame. It will take around . Insert a knife into the raw banana and if it goes through smoothly then its cooked till soft. Turn off heat and drain the water. Cool and peel the raw bananas and mash them. Set aside.
2. Add the mashed raw bananas, finely chopped onions, cut green chilly, coriander powder, amchur powder, coriander leaves, channa powder and salt. Mix well and if necessary add another tbsp of chenna powder to bind the mixture such that you can make  lime sized balls (koftas). Make medium sized balls and keep aside.
3. Now heat oil for deep frying. Once the oil is hot, reduce flame to medium and gently drop the balls into the oil. Deep fry to a golden brown shade and remove into a bowl . Make sure to remove excess oil. Keep aside and get to cooking the gravy.
4. To prepare the gravy, heat oil in a cooking vessel. Add the cinnamon stick and cardamom and allow to splutter. Add the chopped onions and sauté till golden brown. Add Now add all the paste’s . Later add salt and all other powders and mix well. Add tomato and cook until oil separates from the masala.
5. Add 2 cups of water and bring the gravy to boil. Reduce flame and simmer for around 10 minutes or till it reaches the desired curry consistency. Turn off heat. You can add water according to the thickness you want your gravy to be.
6. Now add the kofte’s into the gravy and simmer for 4-5 minutes, serve warm. Garnish with coriander leaves.

Do you love kofte’s ? Have you tried other veg versions like lauki kofte or kele kofte? Temme !