Vegan Malai Kofta.....kinda

Who loves a cell phone photo....show of hands? Alright then. This lovely dish is what we had for dinner tonight, and I gotta tell you it knocked my socks off. Malai Kofta is a dish made of... you guessed it unmeatballs (I know that is kind of becoming my thing) and a creamy sauce. Well traditionally they are packed with nuts and raisins, and all sorts of things my kiddos are allergic too. So this is my version, without the allergens, and packed full of chickpeas instead of cheese so they are vegan. They are great for a celebration, or special evening. You can make the unmeatballs a day ahead of time and cook them up when you are ready to make the sauce. Great served over rice, this recipe is also gluten free (be sure to check your ingredients).

For the unmeatballs
1lb bag of chickpeas, soaked overnight and cooked according to package directions
3 baked potatoes with the skins removed
2 tbs olive oil
3 cloves of garlic minced
2 tsp garam masala
2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp salt or more to taste
cayenne to taste

Heat the oil over medium low heat and add the garlic, salt, and spices. Cook for two minutes or until fragrant, being careful not to burn the garlic. then remove from heat.

Puree the chickpeas until smooth in your food processor and pour into a large bowl.

Mash in the potatoes and the spice/oil mixture until well combined. Taste, and add salt and cayenne as desired.

Shape into balls and refrigerate until ready to cook.


For the sauce

2tbs olive oil
4 cloves pressed garlic
1 tsp minced ginger
2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp ground cumin
cayenne to taste
1/4 tsp salt (or more, the amount you need will depend on the saltiness of your tomato sauce, I'm erring on the side of caution here. You are welcome to add more salt)
1 can of tomato sauce
1 cup of coconut milk

Heat the olive oil over medium low heat and add the garlic and ginger. Cook for about a minute taking care not to burn the garlic.

Add the spices and salt all at once. Add a dash of cayenne (you may add more later for more spice). Cook for another minute or two while stirring.

Add the tomato sauce, (lower the heat if your stove runs hot, mine does :) tomato sauce burns quickly) and stir in the coconut milk.

Heat just to a simmer (not boiling) and lower heat. Cook for about five minutes and add salt, and more cayenne to desired spicyness. *

Pour sauce over unmeatballs...enjoy! :)

Little man ate 5 of these over rice. Big man had about that many too, and would have had more, but he was saving room for pie. My darling girl only ate one, and some rice, it seems she was saving room for pie as well.

*Did you know that spicyness isn't a word?? A fact my spell check keeps trying to inform me of. That can't be right.....