Kanch Kolar Kofta Curry- Green Bananas Kofta Curry

Last time when I was doing the vegetable grocery, I had purchased some green bananas as well.Usually we make a simple"patla jhol"- recipe with green bananas and few chunks of brinjal and potato thrown in , sometimes even ridge gourd/jhinge or add green bananas in charchari and Shukto.But past couple of months we have been wishing to make kanch kolar kofta curry.And it has never occurred to me that this recipe has not been part of the blog so far, until I clicked at the recipe box,although have made kanch kolar kofta curry many times but surprisingly never mentioned it here.So, this time I made sure to click pictures and write recipe before I forget again.

I don’t have to re-iterate the benefits of green vegetables, everybody these days are aware about it.Steamed and boiled green bananas mashed with some green chillies and mustard oil; tastes absolutely tasty with warm cooked rice.Some even make a very delectable kosha bata- like here at Cooking and Recipes and here at Bongmom Cookbook....

Koftas in general are like many other introductions to Bengali cuisine due to the influence of Mughals in the region.And I think, many other recipes of koftas are quite staple in many Bengali homes, like this lao-kofta curry, which is another frequent in our home.Non –vegetarian keema kofta curry is another preparation with minced chicken or meat.Although we as family, don’t eat red meat any more, so most of the time keema kofta curry that we make is only of chicken mince.

Anyhow this post is about a vegetarian recipe for "green bananas koftas" and believe me this preparation is also a crowd puller in case you are struggling to fix a menu for your vegetarian friends.

Now to the recipe

Kanch Kolar Kofta Curry

Recipe requirements

*For the koftas-vegetarian fried balls*

• 4-5 green bananas
• 2 medium size potatoes
• 3-4 heaped tbs of besan/gram flour
• 1 tsp of freshly churned cumin powder or you may use home-made masala powder , recipe listed below
• ½ tsp of garam masala
• Salt as per taste -I added 1/2 tsp of salt

*For the wet masala paste to be used in as base for gravy*

• 2 medium size purple onions
• 4-5 fat garlic cloves
• 1 inch ginger roots
• 1 medium size tomato or 7-8 cherry tomatoes

Grind all the above with about a 2-3 tbs of water and 1 tbs of mustard oil

*For Tempering/phoron*

• 2-3 tej patta
• 3-4 cloves
• 1 crushed cardamom
• 1 tsp of sugar
• 3-4 tbs of mustard oil
• about half cup of oil to deep fry the koftas

Seasonings for the gravy

• 2 tsp of red pepper powder(adjust heat as per personal preference)
• 1 tsp of turmeric powder
• 3-4 tsp of freshly prepared masala powder
• 1 tsp of salt for the gravy

Now the recipe for freshly prepared masala powder

• 3-4 tbs of coriander seeds
• 3-4 whole dry red pepper
• 2 tbs of cumin seeds
• 1 tbs of fennel
• 1tsp of fenugreek
• 2-3 cardamom
• 2 black cardamom
• 2-3 cinnamon

#Roast above whole seeds  for couple of mints and then dry grind them very finely. Use this as base masala for other vegetable based gravy if you have left-over.#

Method

• First make all the masala powder necessary to make kanch kolar kofta curry/green banana fried balls in gravy.
• Toast some cumin seeds separately and then grind them finely. Reserve this to be used in fried vegetable balls.
• Then roast –4 tbs of coriander,1 tbs of fennel,1 tsp of fenugreek, 2 tbs of cumin,4-5 dry red pepper,3 cardamom, 2 cinnamon and 1 black cardamom for 2-3 mints at med flame. Then dry grind those in mixer or wet grind them over sheel/nora-shil/batta.But if you wet grind them over shil-nora then reserve it in fridge with some oil added so that next time you may use this left-over paste.Use within 2-3 days of storage.Generally I always dry grind them and store in air-tight containers.
• There will be left-over of this freshly prepared masala, reserve in air tight containers to be used later on.

• Now to making of koftas-
• Wash green bananas. Put to pressure cook them or boil them along with potatoes. One whistle and then take it off. Let it cool off properly, and open the lid. Take out boiled green bananas and potataoes. Take off the skin and add the freshly prepared cumin powder and 2-3 tsp of home-made masala powder..
• Add in besan/gram flour and mash the boiled green bananas and potatoes well with the seasonings-cumin powder+fresh masala powder, mentioned. 
• Now divide this into small portions to be made into round balls, roll them round with the help of your palms. P.S.- many times these small balls are dipped in to besan batter and then deep fried. I generally don’t do that.
• Now heat up a fry pan, add in mustard oil. Let it heat up properly, add in 2-3 small balls at a time and deep fry them. Keep on doing the same and fry rest of the small balls/koftas
• If the oil is left, use it for making the gravy, add in little bit of more cooking oil if required.
• Add in tej patta, and sugar, let the sugar melt and caramelize for about a mint or two.
• Add in cloves and crushed cardamom.
• Add in the freshly made wet masala paste now. Keep on stir /fry it. Add in dry seasonings- red pepper powder, turmeric powder, salt and home-made fresh powder. Add in finely chopped tomato and splash bit of water. Keep on stir/fry for 4-5 mints at med-high flame. Then splash more water as it will tend to go dry. If you see some oil coming out by sides, then the masala is ready , otherwise keep on stir/fry till the masala paste turns somewhat dark in colour.The entire stir/fry process will take about 10-14 mints at medium flame.
• Add in 3-4 cups of water now. Cover and let it simmer for 8-10 mints. At the last phase of making the gravy add in fried vegetable balls/kanch kola kofta now and cover. Let it cook for a minute or two. Do not over cook them they will tend to break and go soggy. Take off and let it rest.Don't forget to add about 1tsp of ghee and 1/2 tsp of garam masala at the end if you need more flavour, I don't add them these days any more.
•  At the time of serving garnish with cream, ginger julienne  and coriander leaves. Koftas tends to soak up gravy way too fast, so add ample water at the time of making the gravy. Anyhow mine always turns little bit ‘makho-makho” which we tend to like more than runny gravy for kanch kolar kofta curry.

Note

If you are not into making as such fresh home powders for the kofta curry, then any regular spice packet powders can also be used. But believe me the key to a favorable kanch kolar kofta curry is the freshly churned spices in home, no matter how much time it requires to grind them all , but it's all worth it at the end.

Happy Cooking Friends