Hari Bhari Kofta Curry !! (Spinach kofta in cilantro curry)

' Everything in Life is a Blessing ! '

Greetings to all the readers of “Oops ! in da kitchen wid Roops !!” 

…..Sat Sri Akal, Salamu 'Alaykum and Namaskar 

- Sonali

From Roopali’s wall posts on FaceBook it’s obvious that ya’ll have been enjoying her food recipes very well and I hope my recipe doesn’t disappoint your taste.

Well, on that note, let me first take this opportunity to have a word on my introduction to the author of this blog—RD.  I got reconnected to Parth as everyone else is getting connected to their school/college friends through this fantastic FB.  On March 27th of this year my college friend Parth posted his darling wife’s blog link http://anndatasukhibhav.blogspot.com/ (Bless the one who feeds us) on his wall !
Such a meaningful and catchy title for the blog …..could not wait to read it.  I was impressed with her recipe for ‘Chaha’ and 'New Beginnings' section and also got to know her gradually on FaceBook.
Soon we became good FB friends !   She caught up my attention primarily as she shared my sister’s name and also due to her genuine and frank writing style.  I started visualizing the personality of this new lil' sister of mine through her expressiveness on FB.  The way she walks us through Life is Beautiful, The sugary salt, Whose fault is it anyway & Heads or Tails sections from her blog, is simply amazing!! 
Lucky I to have RD ( Someone  who is always seen cherishing the beauty & happiness in life) in my life as a friend/sister…….truly " Everything in Life is a Blessing " and I’m a strong believer of that.  Her request to me to  send and share my favourite recipe on her blog was an honor to me. I delightfully accepted that :)

" Wishing a continued success to Roops in all endeavors !

Being a mother of a 9yr old & 18 months old, my focus in cooking is to make sure that all types of food is being fed to them.  My other belief is that all food is good.  All foods contain nutrients which have their own role to play in our body and it is especially important for growing kids.  Sometimes kids don’t enjoy the original taste of some meals and I keep experimenting myself to change that form or taste in order for them to enjoy their 'Mitahar' ……..in my attempt to give them the best of everything !
Wait wait wait……..I’ll answer what 'Mithahar' means.  'Mithahar' loosely translated means ‘sweet food’, mitha = sweet & ahar = food.  But in real meaning 'Mithahar' means food that leads to sweet feeling i.e. the satisfaction one gets after eating.  Kareena Kapoor’s diet-advisor & famous nutritionist 'Rujuta Diwekar' also believes in having 'Mithahar' and to experience that ‘sweetness’ one needs to employ all senses:  tongue, nose, eyes, ears & skin while eating one’s food.  So, in my effort to cook 'Mithahar' for my family, I managed to come up with this GREEEN recipe:   ‘Spinach kofta in cilantro curry’.  Hope ya’ll will enjoy it !

Preparation time: - 20-25 mins
Cooking time: - 25-30 mins

Serves 5-6 people

Ingredients:- 
(For the Koftas-makes approx 15 koftas)

½ bunch spinach (cleaned & finely chopped)
½ bunch green onion (cleaned & finely chopped)
1 tbsp cut green garlic stems (Green garlic stems can be found in any oriental store and is being used to get the green color)
3-4 Thai green chilies
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
3-4 Black peppercorns
3-4 cloves
½ inch Cinnamon stick
½ tsp ENO or baking soda
¼ tsp turmeric power
1 ½ - 2 cups besan
3-4 cups Oil for frying koftas
Salt to taste

Ingredients :-
(For the Curry)
3 medium sized thinly sliced onions
3 medium sized diced red tomatoes
5-6 Thai green chilies cut into pieces
12-15 Black peppercorns
8-10 cloves
2 inch Cinnamon stick
1 ½ inch ginger cut into pieces
3 tbsp cut green garlic stems   (Green garlic can be found in any oriental stores & is being used to get the green color)
2/3 cups cashews soaked in water
2 bunches cleaned and chopped cilantro
1 cup grated coconut.
3-4 tbsp oil
Salt to taste.

Method: -  
(You can customize the spice level— the above spices are adjusted according to medium level)
1. In a mixing bowl mix spinach, green onion & ENO/baking soda.
2. In a pan then – dry roast coriander seeds, cumin seeds, peppercorns, cloves & cinnamon tick.  Grind them to fine powder and add it to the above mixing bowl with turmeric powder
3. Grind green chilies and garlic stems and add it to the above mixing bowl
4. Then add besan and salt and make a dough kind mixture out of it.  Do not add water.
5. Form balls by rolling small portion of mixture (Like a medium sized laddu) between the palms.
6. Heat the oil in kadhai and deep fry the balls.  Keep them aside.
7. Again for Curry, dry roast coriander seeds, cumin seeds, peppercorns, cloves & cinnamon tick.  Grind them to fine powder and keep this ground masala aside.
8. Heat 3-4 tbsp of oil in a kadhai (wok).
9. Add the onions and saute them till they turn slightly translucent.
10. Add the tomatoes, masala powder and cook it till oil separates.
11. Then add ginger, chilies, garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes.
12. Then add coconut and cook for another 3-4 minutes
13. When this mixture becomes cool enough,   add soaked cashews, chopped cilantro and blend it with some water in a blender to make coarse paste out of it.  Just blend enough to make sure it has think consistency.
14. Pour this green mixture in a kadhai again and add salt to taste.  Add water to get the desired consistency.  Cook it on medium heat for 5-7 minutes. 
15. When the gravy starts boiling add koftas, mix it well.  Cook for another 5-7 minutes.
16. Garnish with shredded coconut.

Serve hot with Phulka or Roti or Chapati