Cultural twist on the old spaghetti and meatballs. Completely vegan and vegetarian. 100% good for you.
I always try and make dinner at least once a week to ease the burden on my mother. It's a nice change because she has a very set style of cooking and no matter what new dish she makes, it always ends up tasting distinctively indian (one time she put tandoori masala in the chicken stuffing for the empanadas I was making. I got so mad at her). So whenever I cook, our family gets to eat something a little different.
Although this recipe is made with traditional indian spices, it tastes very different from any of the indian food my mom's made before. The soba noodles add an international element to it and the coconut milk offsets the dense, hearty "meatballs". I like my food spicy so I got a bit carried away with the cayenne pepper, but if you prefer mild flavors I suggest cutting back on it.
And the no. 1 thing I liked about this dish was how the colors all played with each other. The yellow sauce paired with the inky noodles and earthy meatballs was a combination almost too beautiful to eat...
Original recipe can be found here.
I always try and make dinner at least once a week to ease the burden on my mother. It's a nice change because she has a very set style of cooking and no matter what new dish she makes, it always ends up tasting distinctively indian (one time she put tandoori masala in the chicken stuffing for the empanadas I was making. I got so mad at her). So whenever I cook, our family gets to eat something a little different.
Although this recipe is made with traditional indian spices, it tastes very different from any of the indian food my mom's made before. The soba noodles add an international element to it and the coconut milk offsets the dense, hearty "meatballs". I like my food spicy so I got a bit carried away with the cayenne pepper, but if you prefer mild flavors I suggest cutting back on it.
And the no. 1 thing I liked about this dish was how the colors all played with each other. The yellow sauce paired with the inky noodles and earthy meatballs was a combination almost too beautiful to eat...
Original recipe can be found here.
Ingredients For "Meatballs" 1 cup small, brown lentils (don't ask me the name) 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa pinch of fennel seed powder (or 1 tsp fennel seeds) 1/3 cup fresh chopped coriander 6 oz firm tofu 2 Tbsp oil 1 tsp cayenne pepper powder garlic salt to taste pepper to taste sesame seeds For Sauce 6 cloves minced garlic 1 Tbsp shredded ginger 2 Tbsp vegetable oil 1 tsp turmeric powder 2 medium sized tomatoes, chopped finely 3 Tbsp chopped fenugreek (dried or fresh - I used fresh) 1 13 oz can coconut milk 2 tsp cayenne pepper powder 2 Tbsp brown sugar juice of 1 lime Soba noodles makes 15 "meatballs" |
To prepare
Meatballs
Meatballs
- In a pressure cooker, cook lentils with 3 cups water and fennel seed/powder on medium heat for about 20 -25 minutes, or until soft.
- In a small, covered pot, cook quinoa in 1 cup water on medium heat for about 15 minutes.
- In the meantime, make the sauce.
- Preheat oven to 400 F
- After lentils and quinoa are cooked, add half the lentils and all of the quinoa into a food processor and blend until smooth.
- Take the mixture out into a large bowl and add the rest of the lentils.
- In the same food processor, blend together tofu and oil. The tofu will bind the "meatballs" together
- Add the tofu to the lentil mixture, and mix in cayenne pepper, coriander, garlic salt, and pepper.
- Form into small balls and place on a baking sheet covered with aluminum foil.
- Top each lentil ball with a drizzle of olive oil, freshly ground pepper, a sprinkle of more garlic salt, and a pinch of sesame seeds
- Bake for 20-25 minutes. Then turn oven to the "high broil" setting and broil for 2-3 minutes until a nice crust has formed on the "meatballs"
Sauce
- Place minced garlic and ginger in sauce pan and sautee with olive oil until golden.
- Add turmeric powder and cook for 1-2 minutes longer
- Add minced tomatoes and cook until most of the juice has evaporated
- Stir in coconut milk, fenugreek, cayenne pepper, salt, brown sugar, and lime. Let the sauce come to a boil and then turn off the heat
To assemble
- Cook soba noodles according to package directions
- Serve with a ladle of the coconut sauce and two warm lentil "meatballs"