Kofta and Vegetable Tagine

Cooking in a tagine is a favourite, I love cooking in clay pots, not only because food does not burn but because the heat and moister is trapped and circulates creating a unique flavour due to the slow cooking, have a look at my terracotta spiced lamb, chicken margoug, vegetable tagine and Chicken mishermel recipe. This dish is indeed an example of hassle-free cooking, just layered fresh, vibrant and seasonal vegetables with kofta balls in a natural earthware pot and left to its own devices to cook.

Caraway spice is an underrated spice, it has an anis seed like sweetness which adds subtleness to the dish. Alongside with the rest of the spices and saffron it creates an aromatic explosion of flavours and a memorable dinner.

This was a dish I prepared on the go when it was my turn to host my mah-jong group. They wiped their plates clean with my homemade soda bread.

Servings: 8

Preparation Time: 30 minutes

Start to finish: 1 hour 30 minutes

cooking: 1 hour

Ingredients:

• 4 X kofta recipe

• 1 green pepper

• 1 red pepper

• 600 grams eggplant

• 5 cm piece of ginger

• 2 onion

• 4 cloves garlic

• 500 grams potato

• 2 tins cooked chickpeas

• 1 tin stewed tomato or 750 g peeled and chopped fresh tomatoes

• 3 tablespoons tomato paste

• 1 tablespoon ras al hanout

• 4 tablespoons caraway powder

• 1 teaspoon black pepper

• 2 cinnamon stick

• Saffron

• Himalayan salt to taste

• 2 cups hot water

Method:

· Preheat oven to 200 C fan setting.

· Prepare 4 times the beef kofta recipe.

· Make golf size balls, place on a baking tray and insert on the middle shelf of the oven and bake for about 15 to 20 minutes until browned.

· Peel the aubergine leaving stripes of the skin and cube to 3 cm.

· Finely chop the onion and chop the peppers to 3cm cubes as seen in the photo.

· Peel the ginger and slice along with the garlic as seen in the photo.

· Mix the tomato paste with 2 cups hot water and set aside.

· Place all the vegetables and, ginger, garlic, stewed chopped tomato, tomato paste in a tagine and sprinkle saffron.

· Peel the baby potatoes and add along with all the spices.

· Add the baked kofta balls along with the juices in the tray and mix all together.

· Season with salt, then place a heat diffuser on a medium flame, cover the tagine and cook stirring every now and again and checking the liquid level. Add more water if required.

· Once all ingredients are cooked, add the chickpeas and cook for a further 5 to 8 minutes and adjust the salt.

· Serve as it is or with cuscus, any type of rice or crusty country bread to mop up the sauce.

Notes:

· Some glazed tagines have lead in them, if you bought it from a country with no regulations on this and you are not sure if it is lead-free, it is worthwhile purchasing a kit online to detect any traces.

· If Ras el hanout spice is not available use 7 spice.

· You may use lamb mince instead of beef.

· If you are vegetarian or vegan just omit the meat and I promise the dish will still be amazing.

Per Serving: 497 Calories; 4g Fat (13.3% calories from fat); 18g Protein; 40g Carbohydrate; 9g Dietary Fibre; 34mg Cholesterol; 281mg Sodium.