Oil-free Zucchini Koftas

My regular guinea pig (read husband) was not in a mood of being my guinea pig today, so had to experiment with something that would satiate his taste buds, and yet be oil free. Ah, oil free because I was participating in an event called Oil Free Cooking, hosted on FB by my friends Sonal and Shailja. And, so this is what I did for him. Zucchini koftas, absolutely oil free, milk free, cream free, and nuts free too.

Ingredients:

For Koftas

• Zucchini – 300 gms
• Gram flour – 3-4 tbsp
• Salt – 1 tsp (to taste)
• Carom seeds – 1 tsp
• Ground black pepper – 1/2 tsp
• Asafoetida – a pinch

For Curry

• Onion – 2 medium
• Tomato – 2 medium
• Ginger – 1 inch
• Garlic – 2 cloves
• Green chilies – 2
• Greek yogurt – 2 -3 tbsp
• Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
• Asafoetida – a pinch
• Salt – 1 tsp (to taste)
• Red chili powder – 1/2 tsp
• Turmeric – 1/2 tsp
• Coriander powder – 1 tbsp
• Garam masala – 1/2 tsp
• Kitchen king powder – 1/4 tsp
• Water – 1 1/2 cup
• Sugar – 1/2 tsp (optional)
• Fresh Coriander for garnishing

Baking the Koftas

1. Preheat the oven at 200 degrees, while you prepare the batter for koftas.
2. Grate the zucchini (use the thin holes on the grater, this helps zucchini release juice, which will be used in making batter)
3. Add all the ingredients mentioned under ingredients for koftas.
4. Mix well. Zucchini releases enough water to make the batter. We need not add water. However, if you feel the zucchini is not enough juicy, go ahead and use a tea spoon of regular yogurt.
5. Set aside for 5-10 minutes. Meanwhile, the oven will be ready too. I also lay down a baking sheet on the baking tray, before I put koftas to bake. Saves me the cleaning bit.
6. Now using a spoon, scoop spoonful batter and put it on the baking tray. Repeat and make multiple koftas. The above ingredients yielded around 10-12 koftas. You don’t have to make them too big in size as they will swell up when added to the curry. So, keep them of the size of spoon.
7. Bake them at 200 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until they are brown on both sides. Remember to flip them midway, i.e. after 8-10 minutes.And, the Koftas are ready. Now, onto making the curry

Making the scrumptious and healthy curry

1. Blend onion, tomato, ginger, chili, garlic and 1 tbsp of Greek yogurt, in a blender.
2. In a non-stick pan, dry roast the cumin seeds.
3. Add asafoetida, when the cumin seeds start to crackle. Let it roast for a few seconds.
4. Add the onion-tomato paste and stir after every few minutes to avoid sticking.
5. If you notice the paste is sticking to the pan, sprinkle some water and stir. Let the paste roast until the raw smell goes away.
6. Add salt, turmeric, coriander powder, and red chili powder. Stir to mix well.
7. Add the remaining Greek yogurt and mix well. Let it simmer for 2 minutes.
8. Add sugar. This is just to cut the extra tang, if any. You may skip it completely.
9. Add water and bring it to boil on high flame.
10. Lower the flame and add garam masala and kitchen king powder.
11. Finally, Add the koftas and let it simmer for 5 – 7 minutes. The gravy/curry will thicken and the Koftas will swell up absorbing the curry, so keep the consistency a little thin than required.
12. Garnish with fresh coriander and serve. (I didn’t have it, so skipped it).

Enjoy the guilt-free Koftas!