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Sindhi Vegetable Kofta

A Sindhi dish of vegetable balls simmered in a tomato and onion sauce.

From the Wikibooks Cookbook · 16 ingredients
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Why it works: Tomato and coriander are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,967 recipes. Both carry trans-2-decenal, which smells waxy, orange. The science ↓

Sindhi Vegetable Kofta

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the koftas

  1. Combine the water, a pinch of salt, and cornstarch. It should be thick and not watery.

  2. Combine the carrot, cauliflower, mashed potatoes, bell pepper, chiles, salt to taste, pepper, and garam masala.

  3. Wet the bread, squeeze it out, and mix it into the vegetables.

  4. Shape the vegetable mixture into small balls.

  5. Dip the balls in the cornstarch mixture to coat well.

  6. Fry balls in a pan of hot oil until golden brown.

  7. Remove from the oil and place on paper towels.

Make the sauce

  1. Fry the onions in a pan with a little oil until golden brown.

  2. Add the tomatoes, and fry until the tomatoes and the oil separate.

  3. Add a little water, along with salt to taste, chili powder, and coriander powder.

  4. Bring to a boil.

Combine and serve

  1. Add the fried kofta to the sauce, and cook for a while.

  2. Remove from the heat, and mix in the garam masala and pepper.

  3. Serve hot with roti, naan, or rice.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

918Calories
25 gProtein
16 gFat
171 gCarbs

Counts 10 of 12 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 10 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Potato1 medium (173g) baked161
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Broccoli1 cup chopped (156g)55
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Bell Pepper1 medium (119g)31
Carrot1 medium (61g)25
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Waternot in our table0
Coriandernot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Wikibooks Cookbook.

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Tomato + coriandertop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,967 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).

  2. Potato + oniontop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together9,023 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  3. Carrot + potatotop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,107 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (green bell pepper, earthy).

  4. Carrot + coriandertop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,297 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (green bell pepper, earthy).

  5. Potato + tomatotop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,798 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Cornstarch
Thickens the batter-like coating so it clings to the balls and crisps when fried.
Bread
Soaked and squeezed, it adds moisture and binding so the vegetable mixture holds its shape.
Potatoes
Mashed starch helps bind the vegetable mixture and gives it a soft, tender interior.
Onion
Browned in oil, it builds the sweet, savory base of the sauce.
Tomatoes
Cooked down in oil, they add acidity and body to the sauce.
Cauliflower
Finely chopped, it adds bulk and texture to the vegetable balls.

The step that matters

Frying the balls in hot oil. Oil must be hot enough to brown the cornstarch coating quickly; if it is too cool, the balls absorb more oil and may fall apart or turn greasy before they crisp.

Swap the cauliflower

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (carrot, potato, pepper, bread, onion, tomato, coriander):

  1. Capsicumfits better
  2. Spinachfits better
  3. Okrafits better
  4. Cauliflowerthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against carrot, potato, pepper, bread, onion, tomato, coriander. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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