I like to throw my favorite Indian or Middle Eastern spices into ground meat and make what I call “mini meat loaves”. The correct name for these is Koftas (or Keftas in some countries) and they are even better if cooked over hot charcoal! This goes together so fast you can be eating them in 30 minutes from the time you start mixing your ingredients. It’s what’s for dinner tonight! I’ll be tossing some leftover frozen peas and cooked carrots into the curry gravy for a change of pace. I’ll be serving a nice cucumber salad as well.
I like to mix this stuff up in my food processor, but you can just blend it in a bowl like you would meatloaf if you are more comfortable doing it that way. These little meat patties are often served without a sauce, but I like a little moisture with mine, so I included below a light cream curry sauce recipe. Greek Tzatziki is also good with these meat patties. These are often done with bread crumbs or grated potato, but my lower-carb choice of rutabaga ended up being good and made these indistinguishable from other koftas I’ve eaten in restaurants. By using grated jicama, sauteed a few minutes, instead of the rutabaga, these would be acceptable for Induction. But as written, this recipe is not suitable until OWL.
VARIATION: Use Baharat Spice Blend instead of Garam Masala, making these more Middle Eastern than Indian. 🙂
INGREDIENTS (for Koftas):
20 oz. ground meat (beef or lamb)
2 tsp. grated ginger root
2 large cloves minced garlic
1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped very fine
2 oz. onion, chopped very fine
1 beaten egg
½ tsp. turmeric
1 tsp. my Garam Masala
1 c. cilantro, chopped
1 tsp. spearmint leaves, chopped (Optional. I grow my own. :))
¾ c. rutabaga, peeled and grated (use grated jicama, pre-sauteed for Induction compliance)
2 T. olive oil for frying
INGREDIENTS (for sauce):
2 oz. heavy cream
¼ c. water
1 T. tomato paste
½ c. beef stock or bouillon
Dash more my Garam Masala spice blend (or Baharat, if doing the Middle Eastern version)
Dash Tandoori spice (I use Sharwood’s brand) (omit for Middle Eastern version)
Dash salt & black pepper
DIRECTIONS: Place all meat ingredients except olive oil in food processor (or bowl) and blend well. I process until quite smooth for this recipe. These are great cooked over charcoal, or just heat oil in large skillet and fry. I form meat mixture into 2-2.5″ oblong patties. Fry until lightly brown on both sides. Lower heat to lowest setting and add all sauce ingredients. Stir, simmer 5 minutes and serve. These go nicely with my Indian Spiced Cabbage or Indian Cauliflower dishes here on my blog. Fresh mushrooms are a nice addition to the sauce, too! For the non-Atkins folks at the table, some basmati rice is excellent with these.
NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 12 koftas, (2 patties per serving). Each serving has:
332.3 calories, 22.95 g fat, 4.13 g carbs, 1.0 g fiber, 3.13 g NET CARBS, 26.3 g protein 465 mg sodium
Buttoni's Low-Carb Recipes 