Lotus Stem Kofta

So I've been looking around for a good recipe for lotus stem kofta and I came across one in spinach gravy. I thought it was interesting and have added it to this post. Its from a website called petitchef.com and has been posted by Cinnamon N Chillies. I would definitely like to try it out, save perhaps adding the besan to the koftas. Wonder if that would be possible. This is the link to the recipe.

Lotus Stem Koftas In Spinach Gravy (Kamal Kakdi ka Kofta)

This recipe runs in my MIL's side of family. First time when I had it at one of the family functions I just fell in love with this. Before that I had eaten Lotus stems in the form of pickles or as a gravy dish with potatoes. This combo seemed very interesting to me. The Spinach gravy gives a certain character to this dish. Without wasting any further time, here is the recipe :-)

Ingredients:

For Koftas

1 Lotus Stem, about a foot long

1/4 cup of Cottage Cheese (Pref home made), crushed

1 tsp grated Ginger

4-5 tbsp Chick Pea Flour (Besan)

1/4 tsp Red Chilli Powder

Salt to taste

Oil for frying

For Spinach Gravy

About 750 gms of Spinach (2 bunches)

1/4 tsp Sugar

6-8 tbsp Ginger and Tomato Puree

a pinch of Asafoetida (Hing)

1/2 tsp Garam Masala

2 tbsp Oil

Salt to taste

Before I start with the preparation just want to emphasis on how to choose a good Lotus stem from the market. The ideal Lotus stem should be covered from both the side i.e, the holes should not be exposed, else it will be difficult to clean.

Method:

For Kofta

Cut the ends of the Lotus stem. Peel the skin. Now wash the Lotus Stem under running water so that the water passes through the holes. Dry it and grate it.Mix together the grated Lotus Stem, Cottage Cheese, Chick Pea Flour, Ginger, Salt and Red Chilli powder. The mixture should not be too moist nor too hard. Add some more chickpea flour if needed.Make round balls of about 1 inch diameter. Deep fry in oil till they are dark brown in colour. Set side.

For Gravy

Boil Spinach with Salt in pressure cooker for 10-15 minutes. Make a puree.Heat Oil in wok. Add Asafoetida. (You can garlic paste and onion paste at this step. I am omitting). Add Ginger and Tomato Puree. I have a combined Ginger-Tomato homemade puree. You can add them separately. Add a pinch of salt for the puree. Cook till the oil separates.Add Spinach Puree. Add sugar. Bring to a boil. Add Koftas. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for 10-12 minutes such that the koftas soak the gravy well. Turn off the heat. Add Garam Masala.Serve hot with Chapatis