Mince(soya)meat Kofta Curry

Serves 3

Ingredients:

For meatballs:
Mince meat from soyabeans: 1 packet (180g)[1]
Steak sauce (or ketchup): 2 tablespoons
Optional: Cig Kofte Baharati hackfleisch[2] spicemix: 2 teaspoons
Chili powder: 1 tablespoon - I used rosenscharf paprika[3]
Chickpea flour/Besan: Hand-full
Ginger power; Garlic powder: pinch each
Salt: pinch

For Gravy:
Bhuna masala (2 large onions+3 medium-sized tomatoes+4-5 garlic cloves+piece of ginger+2 hot chilies)
A lug of olive oil or tablespoon of cooking butter
2 tsps Chilli powder
1tsp Garam masala powder
Salt: to taste
2 tsps Dried fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi)
Pinch of Turmeric powder
2tsps Cumin powder
1 Bay leaf
1 tbs of cream (optional)

I was raised a vegetarian and, after a short phase of rebellion, I settled down with the sobering reality that I will remain one. I am curious about meat though and I have lately turned my attention to the multiple options for fake meat in the West, quite a hipster trend, after a visit to Native Foods Cafe in Denver, USA.

Germany has adapted this trend with its own twist for sausages (more about this in another post) but I worked with soya-based mincemeat for this dish. Apart from drawing from the memories of my mother's raw banana kofta curry, I looked up half-a-dozen (South Asian) kofta - Kofte in Turkish (the original that has inspired South Asians as well as the Swedish) - curry recipes that work with minced beef. So here goes:

The meatballs were supposed to be simple enough but when you have bought a Cig Kofte hackfleisch (literrally, mincemeat) spice mixture for no particular reason in the past, you might understand why I got tempted to use it. Most recipes recommend ketchup as, I assume, a gluing ingredient. I switched this with steak sauce as I don't like ketchup but this did not seem to adversely affect the dish. My proportions are an estimate - especially chickpea flour, which I added only to make sure the mixture had a reasonable consistency.

Mix meatball ingredients in a bowl. Try rolling one walnut-sized ball to check the solidity, add more flour if needed. A useful tip from some of the websites I surveyed: place balls on a parchment paper and leave them in a refrigerator for 30-odd minutes). I could make 9 meatballs in total.

Indian flag from meatballs?

Next, start working on the gravy:
For bhuna masala, I prefer more onions than tomatoes, which is perhaps a bit unusual.
Let the mixie run with all the bhuna masala ingredients and get a pan with oil/cooking butter hot on the side. Pour the bhuna masala mix into the pan and cook on low flame for approximately 15-20 minutes. If you are using more onions than tomatoes, like I am, masala may require more cooking time. Masala is done when you no longer smell the onions and the mixture starts sweating on the sides.

Over-bhuna masala

Mix spices, bayleaf and add a little water. Keep cooking on low flame as you take the kofta balls out of the fridge.

So close to finish

Shallow-fry with generous supply of oil on a non-stick pan. Start dropping them into the gravy as they get done - or, if you are me, when you are done taking pictures. Cover the balls with gravy with a ladle - do not stir for a few minutes as the balls could fall apart.

Cook for 10-15 minutes, pour cream if you are not inclined to be healthy today, close the lid and switch off the heat. You can serve in 5-10 minutes - I did and it turned out well.

Notes:
[1] I do not wish to advertise any brands but in case there is confusion on the product used, here is a link.  
[2]Hackfleisch - Literally, mincemeat. Spicemix Ingredients: salt, paprika, onion powder, parsley, oregano, chili, pepper, cumin
[3] red (pepper) hot - but not really very hot