Carrot and red lentil koftas
I actually made these carrot and red lentil koftas aaages ago (my Instagram picture serves as proof – I wonder whether Instagram has ever been used as evidence in court?), but I’ve only just got around to sharing them. Sorry if you were waiting for the recipe!
Koftas are usually balls of meat, but here I’ve made a lentil version (the whole ‘vegetarian’ thing, and all), and let me tell you, you won’t miss the meat! These little koftas are so hearty and filling, and the dense lentil mixture is just as satisfying as a meaty version could ever be.
Heaps of countries in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Southern Asia have their own version of the kofta, but since Indian food is so amazing for veggies, I decided to serve mine Indian-style, with curry sauce. I’ll admit, I didn’t make my own curry sauce this time, I used one from Just Ingredients, who I’ve told you about before. But if you’d prefer to make your own, this dopiaza sauce was a total winner, and would go perfectly with these lentil koftas!
These little lentil koftas are really easy to make. You half-cook the red lentils with the carrot, then give everything a good whizz in a food processor, and you’re done. The mixture looks a bit like a big ball of dough…
… but once you dollop it into a pan with a bit of oil, and the koftas begin to crisp up, any reservations you may have will disappear. You don’t need to be too precious with your koftas – don’t worry about what shape they are, just spoon the mixture into the pan and see what happens. I quite like the fact that they all look a bit different!
The fact that the red lentils are only part-cooked means they keep their shape and have a great texture, rather than turning into mush like they do if you cook them for too long. These koftas are soft inside, and beautifully crispy on the edges. I also love the little fleks of red and green that the chilli and coriander give!
When you add these little lentil koftas to some curry sauce, they hold their shape – but personally I enjoyed breaking them down a bit, and letting them crumble into the sauce. So yummy.
If you don’t have any of these little silver Indian-style dishes, by the way, you should get some! They make even a bog-standard curry feel special and authentic (not that this is a bog-standard curry! But you know what I mean). I think from now on my Friday night take away will be eaten this way, as opposed to being scoffed straight out of the tub on the sofa.
(we’ll see how long that lasts)
Carrot and red lentil koftas
Ingredients
- 1 medium carrot finely diced or grated
- 200 g dried red lentils ~1 cup
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 small red chilli finely chopped
- 2 tbsp fresh coriander cilantro, chopped
- Salt
- Black pepper
- 4 tbsp oil for frying
Instructions
- Add the diced / grated carrot to a saucepan with the red lentils, and add plenty of water. Bring to a boil, and cook for about 5 minutes, until the lentils are about half cooked (they should be soft enough to eat, but still with a bit of bite, and still holding their shape).
- Drain the carrot and lentil mixture, and transfer it to a food processor. Blitz until a paste is formed. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl, and add the remaining ingredients (except the oil). Mix well.
- Heat the oil in a large frying pan, and add dollops of the lentil mixture (don't worry about shape). Don't overcrowd the pan - you may need to do a couple of batches. Cook the koftas for a few minutes, until the underside is golden brown and crispy, then gently turn each kofta over, and repeat. Continue to turn until they are golden brown on all sides.
- Serve with curry sauce and more fresh coriander.
These are some of the easiest and tastiest vegan kofte I’ve seen. But I want to note that you can definitely bake them on a silicone mat and they turn out great! It’s so much easier and less messy.
Great to know, thanks Andrea! Glad you enjoyed them :)
These look delicious! Question: what happens if you use green or brown lentils instead of red lentils? Acceptable?
Green and brown lentils don’t cook down as much as red lentils, but since they’re blitzed in a food processor in this recipe anyway, I think you’d probably get away with it. I haven’t tried it myself though!
OMG! This has made me SO HUNGRY! I’m not a very big meat eater and often opt for a veggie choice so I’m deffo going to give these a go at some point in the close future. They look utterly delish!
Becca
Haha! Sorry for the hunger ;) let me know if you make them!!
Hi Becca, This sounds like a nice and easy recipe. I like that! I love lentils and will definitely try this.
These look amazing. I have a bag of red lentils so I plan to make these koftas at the weekend. Be perfect with a sweet and sour Curry sauce.
If you do try them make sure you report back and let me know how they went! :)
Ooh I love this idea! Love meat kofte but the food photographer in me loves the pretty colour of these :)
They really are pretty! Especially with the little flecks of red and green :)
Love Koftas but have never tried them vegetarian. Now I know I am missing some and this one looks so good and delish!
They look so good! Definitely going to try these.
I have to admit that I’m a kofta crazy fan and the fact that there is a recipe that makes them healthier is an idea that I can live with. So the next time that I have a Sri Lankan curry night I will be sure to add this. Will make a nice change from the usual potato and lentil curry.
Hope you enjoy them Lorraine! :)
Wow these look amazing! I’m so uncreative, but you make this sound so simple that I might just givr it a try! x
These look delicious. A great meatless alternative with lovely flavours.
These look right up my street Becca. I’m currently trying to shed a few pounds with Slimming World, they’d be perfect for that if not fried in oil, I wonder if I could bake them? I’ll try and report back! Thanks for sharing the fab recipe.
You could definitely try baking them! They might dry out a bit, and won’t be quite as flavourful, but once you’ve slathered them in curry sauce anyway I doubt you’d notice!!
These little balls look lush. I bet they are slightly sweet too thanks to the carrot.
These look gorgeous! Yummy :-)
This looks absolutely stunning Becca, I love your food. The homity bites were such a HUGE hit with my family I have been told to make more. Now this. Wow. I cannot wait to cook these wonders and try your curry sauce. Just YUM
I’m glad the homity pie bites were a hit! :) If you make these I hope you enjoy them as much!
Oh I love the sound of these! Love any excuse to through some lentils in too. Great recipe Becca!
Those do sound good. And I got some turmeric root in Tesco’s the other day (didn’t even know that was a thing!) so I think, if I make them, I’ll add that to it…..
Ooh I’ve never used turmeric root. Bet it’s very yellow! It would be great in this :)
Wow they sound lovely, I am a big fan of red lentils.
I love this idea. Lentils are the best! Combining them with sweet carrots and lots of spice sounds like the perfect plan. Now I just need a food processor… :)
Ooh you should definitely get a food processor! I use mine allll the time, they come in handy so often :)
Going to Cork for a short holiday. When I come home I am going to make these. Found a bag of red lentils in the cupboard the other day, have all the curry spices. Am so looking forward to making these.
Another winner. Thank you Deirdre
I think everyone has a bag of lentils at the back of the cupboard somewhere hehe, this is a really tasty way to use them up!
Gosh, I love how creative you are with your cooking! (I guess being a food blogger kinda makes that a necessity, huh? :) I seriously can’t wait to make these. Lentils are criminally underused in my kitchen, and that must be remedied!
Haha yes this blog is the only reason I eat anything other than frozen pizza!! ;) lentils are definitely something I should use more often, they’re so so cheap but really versatile!