The theory of Autumn & veggie meatball curry

Hello! hope like me you are enjoying autumn's sun or may be wishing to have some. Autumn sun shines and chilly-winds together make outdoors so mystic and give indoors such a cozier feel. As growing old i always  feel autumn is just like spring it has colors even it is a beginning of new life. It  reminds me of a quote my grand mother used to say"  Oh Dear leaves why are you make such crunching sounds its your time to leave and make place for new". At that age i could not understand this, but as you grow some realities just become crystal clear as this one for me. Now Autumn is time of new beginning,its a start of an other:)"circle of life" . 

So dear autumn you are extra special. I know days gonna be darker and colder. And I want to enjoy last bits of warm sun shines and lots of candles indoors .....but more than ever i would like to cook some hearty comforting autumn family meals, because this is best expression of love i know.

a cosy autumn  evening in my kitchen

This was my love letter to autumn:).  I hope my spirits will be high to accomplish this dream. 

Lets starts from today! i would like to share my first hearty autumn meal, i cooked yesterday. It is vegetarian meal because we are 5-day vegetarian family:). It is necessity of our times, being a mother i am worried about the climate change. i often think how difficult we are making this for our future generations. Yes i understand collective efforts are needed but at-least we can try .... we can try to low our carbon footprint and individual levels. Even there is extra pressure on us who are mothering kids who are aware of changes, who wants to have environmental friendly lifestyles. Its time to change as parents to help them  to adapt. With awareness i just would like to quote what my son always reminds me when i kill an insect inside my home " Mom you are killing future food:("  and i always say him " NEJJJJJJ!"and say him to pray for us for his future. But with pray actions are necessary. I am cutting down use of plastic in our household, eating more vegetarian meals. Moreover in future dreaming to minimize our consumption as low as i could. May be fewer trips to super market or  for shopping  can help it? Lets see! i am not ready for taking dramatic steps, steps that are very much needed. But i am not fond of changes:( but i am almost there.

Until then 5- day vegetarian is what i am practicing from last 2-3 months. I must say its super easy :) we have lentils, seasonal veges and many  other options. And what about creating new options from the existing ones?

Challenges do open doors for creativity:). Here is a recipe i tried yesterday to make midweek mealtime little exciting. "Veggie kofta curry"Kofta are subcontinental meatballs. I must add in subcontinent they were for special meals. As it took lot time and effort to make perfect ones. I remember my mother use to say all balls must be equal, no cracks on surface even after cooking:). Definitely achieving this is time consuming . But when i came to this "Meat ball heaven"  Sweden ,all you need just meat balls no strict aesthetic rules:). So with three kids i try my best to make them smooth and similar as much as i can. I guess clocks in my  times are extra faster than  the mother's:).

Long story short here is the recipe of  a hearty spicy vegetarian kofta curry.

Veggie Kofta/meatball curry:

Ready to eat in 50 minutes 

Serves 5

Veggie kofta curry with cumin rice all ready to be eaten:)

Ingredients:

Masala or Curry Sauce :

• 1 yellow onion
• 1 tbsp tomato puree(concentrated)
• 100 gm tomato paste (can)
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 tbsp curry
• 0.5 tsp ginger, ground
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp oil 
• 2 tsp garam masala
• 1/4 cup creamy yogurt (for cooking )
• 1/2 cup vegetable stock( homemade or from ready made stock cubes)

vegetables kofta or balls:

• 600 gm canned red kidney beans   (completely drained) 
• 1 small red bell pepper grilled and finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tbsp taco seasoning 
• 1/4 cup  breadcrumbs
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
• 2 tsp olive oil plus extra for greasing
• salt and pepper according to taste

Method:

Curry Sauce/Masala

1. In a large skillet over medium heat fry onions in butter and oil  until soft and translucent.  Add garlic stir fry for max 1/2 minute.Add the tomato puree, stir in the curry, ginger, cayenne pepper and salt stir fry until for few seconds. Add tomato paste and vegetable stock and cook for 5 minutes over medium heat. Stir in cooking yogurt. Let everything simmer on low heat.

Veggie  meatballs/Kofta

      2. Put the beans in a bowl with the chopped bell pepper and spices and mash until smooth.

        stir in bread crumbs,olive oil and coriander.Mix well and shape into balls the size of a                          walnut, and place on a baking tray lined with greased baking parchment.

      

     3. Heat oven to 220C/200C fan and bake the veggie meatballs for 15- 20  mins until firm.                          

     4. Add veggie meatballs in curry mixture and fold in gently.Stir in fresh chopped coriander and              dried chili flakes and cover for 2 minutes to make this curry more fragrant. Serve with steamed          rice and mint yogurt. Garnish with all you want :).

cumin rice and kofta curry

This was a very successful experiment kids loved this so do i. Moreover i served this curry with cumin veggie rice and mango chutney. I deliberately try to add more and more veggies to our meals as much as possible but you don't need to be that much extreme to try this. Hopefully you will make some very relish memories around the table with this recipe.

Time to switch off my computer as kids will be arriving soon and i need to persuade them to minimize their screen time.

until next time Bye and stay blessed !






Note: Kindly ignore the countless smiles in my text. i was trying to be spontaneous and no time to edit and i bet if you will smile this much in day any day can be better.