You’re probably looking at the title of this dish wondering what cuisine? Kofta is Indian and sugo russo Italian. This is what I enjoy about creating culinary fusion of cultures. Having Indian roots sometime the name I can give to the dish can often be Indian inspired and my exposure and knowledge of Indian herbs. As we’re all witnessing worldwide the shift in culinary practices to lots of herbs. Herbs have a high vibrational index and can help raise human resonance immensely therefore keeping you rid of ailments.
Even though the classic sugo rosso is made from tomatoes, onion and garlic with some basil, one of the secrets of a fabulous sugo is the the trinity of carrot, red onion and celery. The slow carmelisation of the soffritto makes it taste like a Tuscan homemade wonder. Lemon zest in the sauce is a trick I learned from Zoe at GCBC n Australia.Buon Appetito! No need to wait for Sunday, make your sugo any night. It cooks slowly while you doing a bit of light yoga and will give you many meals of pleasure!
Purple cabbage also known as red cabbage is a colorful variety from the brassica family.
When cabbage is cooked, it loses many of its valuable minerals and vitamins. However, the antioxidants in purple cabbage are easier for your body to absorb from a cooked state. Avoid boiling the purple cabbage, as the water will sap the nutrients from the vegetable. The notable difference between purple cabbage to other varieties is the antioxidant levels due to the pigmentation in purple. The deeper the colour the richer the supply of anthocyanins which is known to help risk of cancer, heart disease, macular degeneration and many other diseases.
Red Cabbage Koftas in Sugo Russo Sauce
Ingredients
For Koftas
- Juice and finely grated zest of 1/2 lemon
- ¼ cup besan chickpea flour
- ½ small purple cabbage shredded (2 cups)
- ¼ tsp coriander powder
- 1 green chilli finely chopped
- 1 tsp salt or to taste
- Vegetable Oil for deep frying
- 1/3 cup 25g fresh white breadcrumbs
For Sugo Russo Sauce
- 1 medium onion finely chopped
- 2 large tomatoes chopped
- 2 cloves garlic crushed
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 4 large basil leaves chopped
- 2 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp black pepper or to taste
- 1 tsp raw sugar
- 2 cups water
- 2 tbsp pine nuts for garnishing
Instructions
For Koftas
- In a mixing bowl mix all kofta ingredients except oil. The mixture should be like a soft dough
- Take golf ball size mixture and roll between the palms of both hands.
- In a frying pan or wok deep or shallow fry 4-6 koftas on medium heat until golden brown. Be sure not to over crowd koftas in oil as they will start to split
For Sugo Russo
- Make a criss-cross slit on the tomatoes with a knife and place them in a heat proof bowl.
- Pour boiling water from the kettle until tomatoes are fully immersed and leave for 2-3 minutes. This will allow the skin to start peeling.
- Shift the tomatoes to another bowl filled with cold water. Peel and discard the skin and chop finely.
- In a separate frying pan add olive oil, onion and garlic over medium heat, sauté until translucent.
- Add paprika, black pepper, salt, tomatoes and water. Stir for a minute until all ingredients are mixed nicely.
The recipe does require a bit of preparation i.e., peeling, grating, chopping and mixing but for so much goodness and flavours packed in this dish it’s well worth going through the effort. Additionally the koftas and sogo russo keep well in the refrigerator for 3-4 days in air tight container which means you can have ready meals on other days. Enjoy!
Create a wonderful chilli marinara pasta dish with the sugo on its own which freezes well and reheats in the time it takes to bring a pot of water to boil for the pasta. Enjoy!
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