Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Gheea Koftey





Scent is the strongest link to memory. It has been scientifically proven that scent triggers seratonin & endorphins in the brain and when people smell things they are linked immediately and unconsciously to the memory of the past. Aha! so that's what happens inside this brain of mine when I inhale the aroma of Gheea (bottle gourd) Koftey.
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Endorphins or not, I know that there are certain foods which make me happy, very happy and this one is particularly close to my heart. It was a ritual of sorts in our family to have this atleast once a week. After getting fresh gheea(bottle gourd) from the market, it was grated. A few spices were added to make a batter with chickpea flour and then deep fried. The aroma wafting through the house was unmistakable and we knew we were in for a treat. These kofta's are then served over a gravy of onion & tomatoes. Before my mom could put them in the gravy, me and my sister would gobble up more than half of them. It is so delicious as is. Many a times my mom had to "hide" them from us, so that some would be left for the gravy. It is one of the first dishes that my mom makes when I visit back home and I still savour a lot of the kofta's pre-gravy.
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I try to make this recipe whenever possible, would make it more often if I had a sous-chef ;-) .

The "other" sister of this kofta, Malai Kofta is much more popular in restaurants, where they serve it with some kind of creamy gravy??? I n fact I've never seen this one on any of the restaurant menu's. This is the kind of food that is cooked at home and served ever so lovingly.
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Kofta ingredients:
1 gheea grated
4 tbsp chickpea flour (use as per the size of gheea to bind the batter)
salt as per atste
1/2 tsp chilli powder (add as per your taste)
1 tsp
corriander powder

Sqeeze the liquid from gheea and collect in a bowl. It should still be moist. Add chickpea flour, salt, chilli powder (if using) and coriander powder. Make a thick batter. Heat oil and deep fry spoonfuls of batter till light brown and cooked through. See picture.

Gravy ingredients:
2 onions finely chopped
2 tomatoes
1" ginger
3 cloves garlic
1 big green chilli (add as per taste)
1 tbsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp
turmeric powder
1/2 tsp
garam masala powder (home made only, the mass produced ones do not work for me)
2 tbsp
ghee (can substitute with oil if calorie conscious)
1 tsp
cumin seeds
2 pinches
Hing (Asafoetida)


Heat ghee, add jeera, let splutter. Add hing and saute a few seconds. Add onion and saute till brown, keep stirring in between to avoid sticking. Puree tomatoes with green chilli. Grate or make a paste of ginger & garlic. Add this paste & tomato puree to the onions. Cook till oil separates. Add turmeric, coriander powder, salt and the liquid squeezed from gheea. Add 1/2 cup water to the gravy & simmer till required consistency is reached. Add garam masala. Please adjust consistency as per your liking.

Serving:
Just before serving add kofta to the gravy and garnish with coriander leaves.

Enjoy Gheea kofta with rice or
roti.
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I would like to contribute this for the 'Nostalgia is Bittersweet' event organized by Ellie of Kitchen Wench - http://www.insanitytheory.net/kitchenwench/2007/02/24/this-nostalgia-tastes-bittersweet-a-once-off-event/

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for participating :) I have a similar memory with the sweet and sour pork dish my mom made for me as a kid...and my sister and me would also eat half the fried goodness before she managed to get the sauce onto the plate as well ;)

Coffee said...

Sounds delicious!!!!!! And I am with you in gobbling up the koftas before they find their way to the gravy!! ;)

Nice and a simpple one there!!!! :)

Anonymous said...

Lovely recipe...I agree with Coffee to gobble them before they are put in the gravy :-)

-Sushma

Anonymous said...

Our fav too. Its me who gobbles the koftas before they land up in the gravy :)These Koftas are easy to make too. Nice post:)

Richa said...

hi Ellie, arent' we all the same at heart across all the cultures!
enjyoing the similar little pleasures of life with loved ones.
thanks

Richa said...

thanks coffee!
and they taste better when made by mom right!!!

Richa said...

thanks sushma, glad you enjoyed it.
welcome to my blog

Richa said...

thank you archana, i've to make atleast double the quantity of kofta so that i have some for the gravy. and yes they are simple and tasty soulfood!!
have a great weekend dear!

FH said...

I love Koftas.Your's looks great and a simple but tasty recie.Thanks for recipe Richa:))

Richa said...

glad you liked 'em Asha, thanks.

Sharmi said...

My mom used to make good koftas of gheea but I am a lil lazy on frying stuff. My friend recently got me great kofta subzi, urs looks so yummy yum . when are you going to make them for me. Hmmm I find a new recipe every day in ur blog. I might shift to Princeton (thats where you live right)?

hugs
sharmi

Dr. Soumya Bhat said...

hoo..This thali is really a feast i say.Lovely recipes and thier summation also.Am i also invited for this meal.....

Richa said...

hey sharmi, sure! why not shift here and we can share delicacy after delicacy. i'll be more than happy to make it for you.
thanks buddy!

Richa said...

thank you, soumya. I'm so happy to know that you enjoy my writing as well as the recipes. And yes, you too are invited for the thali, the more the merrier!!

Vaidya Aparna S. Pattewar said...

Excellent looking dish and I like kofta gravy dishesh too.
Thans for sharing this:-)

Richa said...

aparna, thanks for visiting and glad you liked it. Please do let me know if you try it.

thanks

musical said...

Ghia kofta :).

Childhood favorites :).

Love it, love it, love it !

Richa said...

hey musical, a warm welcome to my blog. Yup, it is such a liked subzi, what's not to like about fried stuff anyway ;-)

Unknown said...

hi richa,
just tried ur ghea koftas,they taste so good..wonderful way to cook bottlegourd,thanks for sharing

Richa said...

hi shyamala, i'm glad u tried & liked the gheea koftey! it is one of my favs as well :)
Enjoy...