Oats + Lauki ki Kofta Curry-- Oats + Bottle Gaurd Kofta curry

No Meal was complete with the authentic creamy Kofta curry when we ate out. Traditionally koftas were made with potato and paneer/cottage cheese and then dipped in a curry of cashew paste and cream. Ideally it would have been the case had I kept in sync with the recipe. But with my promise to eat healthy and live well, I could not bring myself to use the paneer, cream and cashew nuts in this dish. So I tweaked the recipe. Some time back, my very sweet and darling friend R had invited me for dinner and she had made this kofta curry. She explained to me in detail her recipe, but I kind of forgot the recipe and knew her use of lauki/bottlegaurd in the recipe and that she baked the kofta in the muffin tray. This is so far as I could remember of her recipe. The lauki I had grated that day, left out so much water that I was amused that such a small vegetable can hold so much water. Then came into picture some oats to absorb the ridiculous water left by the lauki. I had the option of choosing bread crumbs and oats; oats was the way to go being super healthy and wayy too much to finish.( still have  a huge box leftover from my enthusiastic shopping.

You will need;
For Kofta's
 1/2 medium sized lauki grated--around 2 cups
1 cup oats-- This would depend on how much water the grated lauki gives away.
1/2 cup wheat flour
1 tspn cayenne pepper powder
1 tspn Garam masala powder
1 tspn cumin powder
1 tspn coriander powder
2-3 crushed cloves of garlic
1/2 inch ginger grated
salt to taste
oil or spray to shallow fry the kofta's

In a bowl, mix in the grated lauki, oats and wheat flour, add all the spices and mix well, the mixture will be slightly sticky. Heat a skillet and grease the base with oil and drop little dumplings  of this mixture and spray them with an oil spray and fry till they get cooked. I use an ice cream scoop to drop them. Cover and cook to ensure an evenly cooked kofta. once fried, remove and keep aside. Alternatively cook it in an Appe pan.

For the curry;
 1 medium sized onion
1/2 cup tomato puree
1 tbspn ginger garlic paste
1/2 tspn haldi/turmeric
1 tspn cayenne pepper powder
1 tspn Garam masala powder
1 tspn cumin powder
1 tspn coriander powder
1 cup water
Salt to taste
Garnish with Cilantro

Tempering;
2 tbspn oil
1 tsp cumin
1 tspn shahjeera/Caraway seeds-Optional

In a deep wok, heat the oil on medium. Once the oil is hot add the seeds and let them sizzle for 2-3 seconds, then add the ginger-garlic paste and onions, then add in the tomato puree and cook till the oil leaves the sides of the onion and tomato mixture, then add in the haldi, and the spices and add water and salt and cover and let it boil. Garnish with cilantro.

While serving,

 Take the kofts in a bowl and pour the curry on the koftas. and garnish with cilantro. Serve hot with phulka or flat bread of your choice or rice. Remember to assemble the dish when you are about to eat it. Keeping the koftas in the curry for long will result in the koftas absorbing the curry and losing the shape and everything will turn into  a mess. This will certainly not interfere with the taste, but it will not look very pleasing.

Enjoy with your family and update me on how you are eating healthy.