L ifestyles /C ulture
Vegetarian Indian, Two Ways
F O OD
WE RECENTLY HOSTED
a backyard dinner for neigh-
borhood friends. One half of
the couple has gone vegan for
health reasons and, in an effort
to accommodate her regimen,
I created a recipe for vegan
“koftas,” or meatballs.

Having overprovisioned, I
had a lot of surplus ingredients,
so I ended up making chana
masala, a chickpea vegetarian
curry, later in the week.

The flavor profile for both
dishes is similar — classic
Indian — but the textures
and presentation are different,
and the curry allows for
significant variety with the
addition of whatever vegeta-
bles you choose to include.

I had some past-their-prime
string beans, but you can be
creative: Add fresh greens like
spinach or kale, or frozen peas,
sweet potatoes, parsnips or
cauliflower. I served brown basmati rice
with both of these meals, as
well as warm naan, and sliced
cucumbers sprinkled with lime
juice, salt, pepper and chopped
cilantro. Healthy, simple and
delicious! VEGAN KOFTAS
Makes about 12 koftas, which
serves 4-6 people
These are not difficult to make,
but there are several steps
involved — not your average
“throw it in the pot and
simmer” Indian dish, but well
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worth the effort. They are sort
of like an Indian falafel in a
spicy tomato sauce.

A word on the curry powder:
I used a packaged masala spice
blend that was intended for
chicken biryani but it worked
beautifully here (brand name:
Shan). Any version that you
like or have on hand works,
such as garam masala, red or
yellow curry powder, etc.

½ onion, coarsely chopped
1-inch piece ginger, sliced in
a few pieces
4 cloves garlic
½ of a jalapeño pepper
(more or less, to taste)
3 tablespoons canola oil
2 tablespoons curry or
masala powder
½ teaspoon salt
2 14-ounce cans chickpeas,
drained well
½ cup bread crumbs
3 tablespoons tomato paste
2½ cups water
Fresh cilantro and/or
scallions for garnish
Vegan koftas
minutes until crusty on the
outside. Place the cooked koftas in
the tomato gravy and stir to
coat. Return the dish to the
oven to keep the dish warm, or
serve immediately, garnished
Puree the onion, garlic, with fresh cilantro and/or
jalapeño and oil in a blender or scallions.

food processor. Remove half of
this paste and put it in a skillet. CHANA MASALA
Add the chickpeas and bread Serves 6
crumbs to a blender and puree
until well mixed. Place this “Chana” is the word for chick-
mixture in a bowl and refrig- peas and “masala” refers to a
erate for 20 minutes to solidify. blend of spices used in Indian
While the chickpea mixture cooking. This dish is an Indian-
chills, sauté the onion mixture style curry or stew of vegetables
in the skillet until fragrant. and chickpeas swimming in
Add the curry powder and salt, an aromatic, flavorful tomato
then add the tomato paste and gravy.

stir until it begins to separate.

You can vary it with
Add water, stir well, scraping whatever vegetables you wish
the bottom of the pan, and to use, or need to get rid of.

bring it to a simmer. Cook until
slightly thickened, remove it
1 onion, chopped
from the heat and set aside.

1-inch piece ginger, grated
Heat your oven to 350 F, and
4 cloves garlic, crushed
line a cooking tray with parch-
½ of a jalapeño pepper,
ment. Remove the chickpea
finely chopped (more or
mixture from the refrigerator.

less, to taste)
With wet hands, form the
3 tablespoons canola oil
mixture into golf ball-sized
2 tablespoons curry powder
rounds and place them on
½ teaspoon salt
a cooking tray. Bake for 30
4 carrots, sliced
JEWISH EXPONENT
Photo by Keri White
1 large or 2 medium-sized
potatoes, cut in bite-sized
chunks 1 28-ounce can crushed
tomatoes ½ cup water, more if needed
2 14-ounce cans chickpeas,
drained well
2 cups string beans, cut in
1-inch pieces
Cilantro and scallions for
garnish Heat the oil in a large pot
and add the onion, garlic,
ginger, jalapeño, curry powder
and salt. Sauté until fragrant,
about 5 minutes. Add the
carrots and potatoes, and
sauté to coat. Add the crushed
tomatoes and water, bring it to
a simmer and lower the heat.

Add the chickpeas and
simmer for 30-60 minutes.

Check periodically to make
sure the liquid has not cooked
down too much; it should be
soupy — add water in half-cup
increments to keep the consis-
tency, if needed. Add the string
beans for the last 15 minutes of
cooking (they will get soggy if
overcooked). Serve the curry
over rice, topped with chopped
fresh cilantro and scallions. l
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