Vegetarian jackfruit seeds kofta curry

Shwetha

Creamy and flavourful kofta curry with melt in the mouth jackfruit seed koftas.

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 45

Course Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine Indian

Servings 4

To de-skin jackfruit seeds, crush them with a pestle and remove the outer, white plastic-like skin. The thin brown skin inside does not have to be removed.
Add jackfruit seeds and ½ tsp salt into a pressure cooker or an instant pot with enough water to cover the seeds. In instant pot, pressure cook on high for 15 minutes and let the pressure release naturally. In a regular pressure cooker, pressure cook for 3-4 whistles. The seeds can also be cooked in a pot until soft.
When jackfruit seeds are cool enough to handle, drain off all the water. Mash the seeds using hands or a potato masher so that no big chunks remain.
Heat a heavy bottomed pan on medium heat and add 1 tbsp of oil.
Add in chopped onions, green chillies, crushed garlic and ginger. Saute until onions are translucent.
Add the salt, coriander powder, cumin powder, red chilli powder and mix well. Saute for half minute.
Finally add the cilantro/coriander leaves, mix and turn off the heat.
When the mixture is cool enough to handle, make lime sized balls. This mixture makes about 14 koftas.
Brush appam pan/ebelskiver pan with oil and set it on medium heat. Add the kofta into the depression on the pan and allow the kofta to turn golden brown on all sides by turning them around.
Alternatively, the koftas can be brushed with oil and air-fried. In my air fryer, at 400 F it takes 15-20 minutes for them to brown, turning them over once after 10 minutes.

Heat a heavy bottomed pan over medium heat and add 2 tsp of ghee.
Add the kashmiri dry red chillies, coriander seeds, fennel seeds(saunf), cardamom, cloves and saute for 30 seconds.
Next add chopped onions and saute for half a minute. Then add chopped garlic and ginger and saute for another minute until the raw smell of the aromatics goes away.
Add in the cashew nuts and tomatoes. Cover and cook until the tomatoes are cooked through, about 4 minutes. Turn off the heat and allow the mixture to cool down.
When the mixture cools down transfer it to a blender jar, add 1/4 cup water and blend it into a smooth paste so that no gritty pieces of spices and ginger remain.
Heat a heavy bottomed pan on medium heat and add the remaining 2 tsp ghee.
Add in the blended puree and sauté for 5-6 minutes to help deepen the flavours. Keep stirring so that the mixture does not stick to the bottom and burn. Give it a taste and add Indian red chilli powder if you need more spice.
Add sugar, salt and 1¼ cup of water and mix well. When the mixture comes to a gentle boil, lower the heat and add garam masala and crushed kasuri methi.
Add in the fresh cream and simmer for 1 minute. Add the koftas and turn off the heat.
Serve kofta curry hot/warm with basmati rice/naan/roti.

For a less time consuming curry, use paneer/tofu instead of the koftas.
Using tomato paste is optional, but it does add to the depth of flavours. If not using tomato paste, use 1 1/2 cups of tomatoes.
I haven't tried deep frying these koftas. If trying to deep fry, make sure the oil is hot. The mixture may need a binder like corn starch/besan to keep it from disintegrating in oil.
Kasuri methi can be found in Indian grocery stores. Cilantro/coriander leaves can be used instead but I recommend using kasuri methi for the best flavour!

Keyword kofta curry