Plantain Koftas in a Fijian Indian curry

Fiji’s influence on Australia is immense. There are so many Fijian Indians living in Sydney-one of them was my gym buddy. When I went vegan, she gave me a normal shocked reaction and she said she couldn’t live without her mum’s chicken curry. I asked her for the recipe for the curry and she sent it over. It is such an awesome curry sauce and definitely a keeper.

Plantains are such a big part of Fijian culture. I made koftas from them and it has become my signature dish now. I must have posted this ages ago. How did I miss out on this for so long? I make this once in 2 weeks and is such an unique curry. When you take them to parties and meet ups, it will stand out. Getting your hands on the plantain could be hard-but when you do-please try this recipe out

These Koftas can be baked. You can bake the koftas and toss them in a Tbsp of oil. Having said that, to me personally, I love my koftas atleast pan-roasted.

You need:

For koftas:
Green plantains-3 medium ones
Potato-1
Red onion-1/2 very finely chopped
Mint leaves-1/4 cup tightly packed-chopped very fine
Salt-to taste
Chili powder-1 tsp
Brown Rice Flour-1 Tbsp
!For the curry sauce:
Shallots-around 15-halved
Tomato-3-cubed
Cloves-2
Ginger-1.5 inch piece
Garlic-5 pods
Cinnamon stick-a small piece
Chili powder-1 tbsp (for spice lover)-1.5 tsp for others
Coriander powder-1 Tbsp
Cashews-1/4 cup-soaked in water for an hour
Turmeric-1/2 tsp
Coriander leaves-a handful-finely chopped
Dried Fenugreek leaves (Kasoori Methi)-a pinch-massaged between your right thumb and left palm
Coconut oil-2 tsp
Coconut milk-1/2 cup
Black Cumin/Cumin seeds-1 tsp

 

Method:

For koftas:

Note: Make koftas after your curry sauce is ready

• In a saucepan, bring water (2.5 cups) to boil, add salt, chop the plantain-halved, potatoes-halved, cover and cook for 12 mins on medium heat. Turn heat off and let it stay for another 5 mins, run cold water over them and peel skin of potato and plantain (at this stage, this should be easy)
• Grate them into a bowl. If it feels under cooked, it’s okay, baking/frying them should sort the issue.
• To this, add red onions, mint leaves, chili powder, salt and mix them well
• This should be very stiff dough, if it feels watery, please add some brown rice flour (it also adds crispness)
• Shape them as tiny kofta balls and you can bake them/pan-fry them in a Tbsp or two of oil.

For the curry sauce

• In a saucepan, add oil, cumin seeds, cloves, cinnamon, once they start to brown, add shallots, ginger, garlic, fry until shallots turn golden brown
• Now add tomatoes, turmeric, chili powder, coriander powder, cashews, fry for a couple of minutes, add 1/2 cup water, cover and cook for 5 mins on medium heat.
• Once dry again, add 1/4 cup water again, cover & cook again for 5 mins.
• Turn heat off and let it cool to room temperature. Add it to a high speed blender, make a puree out of it.
• Now, add it to the same pan, bring it to a boil, add salt that’s needed, add dried methi leaves, coconut milk, wait until it starts to bubble off the edges
• Take it off heat. Keep it aside
• Make koftas, add them to the curry sauce, add some coriander leaves and serve hot.
• Add Koftas as you need them, if you add them all at once, and there are some leftovers, it will not taste great.
• Awesome Fijian curry ready to serve 🙂