Spicy carrot kofte
The other day, I needed to use up a bunch of carrots that were starting to get a little old in my fridge. I didn't have much other stuff in my fridge and pantry, and the carrots had started going a little soft already. So I was looking for a recipe that called for cooked carrots and not too many ingredients.
I found a recipe for "spicy carrot kofte". I adapted it a bit, mainly removing ingredients I didn't have handy and this is what I ended up with. Not a bad result at all for turning a boring old carrot into a more interesting dinner!I've made the recipe a few times now. It's also an easy twist on the falafel!
INGREDIENTS
- 300g carrots, roughly chopped
- 2 spring onions, chopped
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
- 50g dried breadcrumbs
- 1 tsp chilli flakes (or according to your tolerance of spicyness!)
- 1 tbsp of cumin
- 1 tsp dried mint or couple leaves of fresh mint
RECIPE
1 - Simmer the carrots in lightly salted water for about 20 minutes until the carrots have softened.
2 - Drain the carrots ,add the spring onions and garlic and use a blender to mash them up until smooth.
3 - Stir through the breadcrumbs, chilli flakes, cumin and mint.
4 - Add the beaten egg. Set aside for 10 minutes or so to allow the breadcrumbs to absorb some of the liquid – the mixture will begin to firm up.
5 - Refrigerate for at least an hour until firm.
6 - Roll into balls and flatten.
7 - The first time I tried this recipe, I cooked the koftes in a frying pan. But the second time around, I tried deep frying them. I found this gave a much better result. So crank up your deep-fryer and drop in the keftas for a few minutes, until the are lightly golden brown. Drain on kitchen paper when cooked.
Once they've cooled down a bit, you can enjoy this with a mayo or aioli sauce or even tzatziki. Yuuuum!