Lauki Ka Kofta

I have been a Lacto Vegetarian all my life and now slowly trying transitioning into being Vegan. This is going to be very very difficult for me as I love my masala chai , paneer dishes and all the ghee laden Indian sweets like mysore pak to its core. So to give myself a boost I have joined 21 Days Vegan Kickstart India challenge and hope I can stick to it. 

Most of our Indian gravies and curries are vegan, that is if we don't add ladles and ladles of cream or ghee tadka to make it rich. One such gravy dish which is my favourite is Lauki Ka Kofta. I love those kofta balls floating in delicious gravy. I have made the kofta balls in non stick aebleskiver pan ( appam pan) with very less oil and have not added any cream in the gravy, thus it's completely vegan.

Ingredients:

For the kofta balls-

Bottle Gourd/ Lauki/ Opo Squash- 2 Cups grated

Chick Pea Flour( Besan)- 1/2 Cup

Salt- To taste

Red Chilli Powder- As per taste

Amchoor (Dry Mango Powder)- 1/4tsp

Green Chillies- 2( Optional)

Canola Oil- To shallow fry in aebleskiever pan

For the gravy-

Onion- 1 Large

Ginger- 1 Inch Piece

Garlic- 2 or 3 Cloves

Tomatoes- 3 Medium Sized ( ground)

Whole Dry Red Chillies- 2

Green Chilly- 1(optional)

Salt- To Taste

Red Chilli Powder-1/2 tsp

Coriander Powder- 1 tsp

Turmeric Powder- 1/2 tsp

Garam Masala Powder- 1/2 tsp

Canola Oil- 2 Tbsp

Procedure:

• Add salt in the grated bottle gourd and keep aside for few minutes, then squeeze out the water.
• Mix with it chick pea flour, red chilli powder, dry mango powder and make a dough out of it.
• Make 12 equal balls of the dough. In the appam pan put few drops of oil in each section and then put the kofta balls for shallow frying. 
• Keep the pan covered and once the bottom side turns light brown turn it over and cook covered the other side as well.
• Take out the kofta balls from the pan and keep aside. 
• For the gravy grind onions, ginger, garlic and red chillies together. 
• Heat oil in a deep pan and once hot add in the onion paste and fry till raw smell disappears.
• Add in the tomato paste along with turmeric powder, coriander powder, green chilly, salt and red chilly powder. Fry till the mixture starts leaving oil from the side.
• Add in 2-3 cups of water and bring to boil. Now keep the gravy in simmer for another 5 minutes.
• Add in garam masala and switch off the gas. 

Before serving add the kofta balls in the gravy and heat it for another minute or so. Serve hot with rotis or parathas.

Linking this to Squashlove blog hop 

Oats And Honey Bread

After devouring all the Diwali sweets and snacks I have developed an aversion to sweets....but I know it's going to be temporary and soon I will again enjoy sweet treats. 

So for a change I baked this bread and I was really impressed by it. It has got beautiful crust and soft insides and tastes excellent with either honey or even butter. My kiddo enjoyed this with spoonfuls of honey and has ordered me to make this more frequently. I was quite surprised at her request since the only bread she eats is white milk bread. And this bread is now going to feature regularly in my kitchen.

Recipe Source: Allrecipes

Ingredients: 

All Purpose Flour- 3 Cups

Rolled Oats- 1/2 Cup + little more for sprinkling on top

Honey- 3 tbsp

Unsalted Butter- 2 tbsp (at room temperature)

Salt- 1 tsp

Active Dry Yeast- 1 1/2 tsp

Warm Water- 1 1/4 Cup

Milk- For brushing the top

Dried Melon Seeds, Sunflower Seeds- little for sprinkling (optional)

Procedure:

• Combine flour, oats and salt in a large bowl and keep aside.
• In the warm water add in butter, honey and yeast. Mix till dissolved and leave aside for a couple of minutes till the yeast turns frothy.
• Add the yeast mixture to the bowl containing the dry ingredients and mix.
• Knead the dough for 10-15 minutes till the dough turns smooth and elastic. Transfer the dough to another bowl and cover the bowl with a greased cling film. Leave the dough to rise for about an hour.
• Punch back the dough and knead for a couple of minutes.
• Divide the dough into 12 equal parts and roll each piece in a ball. Arrange the balls in a greased baking dish and cover again with cling film. Leave it to rise for another 45 minutes.
• Remove the cling film and brush the top with milk and sprinkle oats and seeds on top.
• Preheat the oven at 180 degrees C for 10 minutes. Bake the bread for 35-40 minutes or till the crust turns golden brown.

Serve the bread warm with honey....it tastes divine.

Sending these to Radhika's Winter Carnival and Vardhini's Bake Fest#1