Check out the rich and creamy North Indian dish vegetable kofta curry, that pair perfectly with any Indian flatbreads and flavoured rice. Vegetable dumplings simmered in a smooth, mildly spiced gravy.

white bowl with mixed vegetable kofta curry placed on a marble along with a napkin, spoon, parathas and a glass of water.

Vegetable kofta curry is a fabulous choice for festive menus and to serve family and friends on special occasions. These koftas can be enjoyed on their own as a snack or appetiser, or as kofta curry alongside masala roti, aloo palak paratha without stuffing, naan or with flavoured rice such as vegetable coconut milk pulao, jeera rice or saffron rice.

The best part of this dish is that koftas can be prepared a day or two in advance and stored in an airtight container in the fridge. On the day you plan to serve, reheat them in the oven or microwave, then add them to freshly cooked hot gravy just 10-15 minutes before serving so they can absorb all the flavours.

Vegetable koftas are soft dumplings made from a blend of grated vegetables and aromatic spices. While they are traditionally deep fried, I have used an alternative cooking technique to make them healthier and guilt-free.

Notes on Ingredients

Here’s everything you’ll need to make this delicious honey garlic cauliflower. Scroll down to the recipe card to find the ingredient quantities and recipe instructions.

For Koftas

Vegetables: potato, carrot, cabbage and green peas.
Spices: turmeric, chilli powder, garam masala and salt.
Pantry Ingredients: breadcrumbs, plain flour/self raising flour and oil. I used olive oil, but you can substitute it with any cooking oil that you use in your kitchen.

For Gravy

For onion tomato masala: oil, onion, cashews, tomato and water.
Spiced Yogurt: yogurt, turmeric, chilli powder, coriander powder and cumin powder.
For gravy: oil, bay leaf, cassia, cardamom, cloves, cumin, ginger garlic paste, water, salt, garam masala, kasuri methi, water (missing in the above image) and coriander leaves.

See the recipe card for quantities.

How to Make Vegetable Kofta Curry?

(This is an overview with process photos, the full recipe is at the bottom in a recipe card)

Step 1: In a bowl, add boiled, grated potatoes, grated carrots, cabbage, boiled peas, turmeric, chilli powder, garam masala and salt. Mix well.

Step 2: Now add breadcrumbs, plain flour and mix until everything is well combined.

Step 3: Grease your hands, take a lemon-sized portion of the mixture and roll into balls.

Step 4: Heat paniyaram/ Aebleskiver pan over medium heat and lightly spray oil into every cavity.

Step 5: Place koftas in cavities, spray oil on top of each and cook until they begin to brown. Flip them over and continue cooking until they are evenly browned and cooked through.

Step 6: Remove, place on plate/bowl and set it aside.

Step 7: In a bowl, combine yogurt, chilli powder, turmeric, coriander powder and cumin powder.

Step 8: Stir until you get a smooth mixture without any lumps.

Step 9: Heat oil in a pot/saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and saute until it begins to brown and caramelise.

Step 10: Stir in cashews halfway through cooking onions. Finally, add tomatoes and cook until they start to soften.

Step 11: Let the mixture cool, then blend it into a smooth paste in a blender or mixer grinder and set it aside.

Step 12: Heat oil in the same pot/saucepan over medium heat.

Step 13: Add bay leaf, cassia, cloves, cardamom and cumin. Let cumin splutter.

Step 14: Now add the freshly prepared onion- tomato paste, spiced yogurt and water.

Step 15: Stir everything well, cover the pot with a lid and simmer.

Step 16: Take the lid off the pot, add koftas, fresh coriander leaves and gently stir.

close up picture of mixed vegetable kofta curry in a white bowl placed on marble along with a spoon and plate of parathas.

Serve piping hot mixed vegetable kofta curry with flatbreads such as spinach chapati, moringa leaves paratha, or flavoured rice such as vegetable pulao, methi pulao, kashmiri pulao or green peas pulao.

Substitutions and Variations

Gluten Free: For gluten free version, substitute breadcrumbs with coarsely ground poha/flattened rice and plain flour/all purpose flour with gram flour/besan.

Vegan: For the vegan version, substitute dairy yogurt with plant based alternative.

Vegetables: You can add different vegetables, such as capsicum/bell pepper, corn and spinach.

Ginger Garlic: I used homemade ginger garlic paste. If you don’t have any premade paste, you can saute whole ginger and garlic along with onion tomato and blend into smooth paste.

Storage

Fridge: It’s best to enjoy the curry with koftas in it right away as they tend to become too soft and fall apart if left in gravy for too long. Otherwise, store leftover koftas and gravy separately in an airtight containers in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Reheat: Heat koftas in an air fryer, oven or microwave until warm. Reheat the gravy in the saucepan on the stovetop until piping hot. Stir in koftas in the gravy just 10 minutes before serving.

Freezer: If you plan to make a big batch of koftas , place them on lined baking sheet and freeze for 4-5 hours or until they are hard. Transfer them into a freezer friendly container or ziplock bag and store in the freezer for up to 2 months.

Tips and Tricks to Make Kofta Curry

Koftas and gravy: Add koftas to the gravy just 10-15 minutes before serving. If you add them too early, they absorb the gravy and break. Before serving, add koftas, gently stir to combine with the gravy and simmer for a couple of minutes.

Cooking koftas: Cook koftas in a paniyaram/Aebleskiver pan on medium low flame. Spray/brush the cavities with oil before placing koftas and also on koftas.

Breadcrumbs and flour: Breadcrumbs help absorb excess moisture from vegetables and flour helps bind the mixture together. Avoid adding too much, as excess makes koftas dense and heavy.

Cooking onions: Cook onions over medium low heat until they start browning and caramelising, stirring frequently. If they start sticking to the base of the pan, add a splash of water and stir to loosen them.

Tomatoes: Adjust the quantity of tomatoes based on how sour they are.

Sugar: If the gravy turns out too tangy, add a pinch of sugar to balance the flavours.

Looking for other curry recipes like this? Try these:

KEEP IN TOUCH

Do let me know if you try this Vegetable Kofta Curry recipe. If you like this recipe kindly consider rating it using stars in the comment section or on the recipe card to help more people find this recipe online. You can stay up to date by following me on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram or subscribing to my Youtube channel. Or why not subscribe to my blog and get simple recipes straight to your inbox?

Vegetable Kofta Curry

5 from 1 vote

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Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: Indian

Diet: Gluten Free, Vegetarian

Prep Time: 25

Cook Time: 35

Total Time: 1

Servings: people

Calories: 339kcal

Author: Geetha

Equipment

1 Blender/Grinder
1 Mixing Bowl
1 Small Bowl
1 Steel Pot/Saucepan
1 Spoon
1 Paniyaram/Aebleskiver Pan