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How to Make Home-Made Vegetarian, Gluten Free Curry

Make easy home-made vegetarian, gluten free curry

Thomas cuisine offers NEW indian curry recipes

Indian Curry is a flavorful and comforting dish that many people enjoy, especially in cold weather. One popular curry dish is called Malai Kofta. Malai means creamy in Hindi, and Kofta is a type of vegetarian dumpling that many people use instead of a traditional meatball. To make Malai Kofta, we create a creamy, non-dairy, curry with freshly sautéed veggies, and add the Kofta (lentil dumplings) on top. This unique recipe comes to us from our Food Service Director and Chef, Norman Shaw who leads our culinary healthcare teams in Washington. Norman has unique knowledge when it comes to food; especially as a vegetarian from a long line of lentil farmers. There is truly no better teacher we could learn from to make lentil dumplings.

what is a lentil dumpling?

A lentil dumpling is  also called ‘Kofta’. Our chefs use lentils, salt, water, oil, and a skillet for frying the lentil batter in oil. Once you blend the lentils, water, and salt, you carefully pour about a quarter cup of the lentil batter in hot oil, rolling the dumpling over as it puffs up and becomes golden. The result of frying blended lentils is a delightfully hot and fluffy dumpling. But how does the dumpling become fluffy if there is no ingredient such as baking powder for leavening? The answer: aeration during the blending process. Little air bubbles form as lentils are blended together, resulting in fluffiness when the dumplings are fried. Lentils are a high-protein plant product; they are gluten free, inexpensive, and contain an array of different acids and vitamins that our bodies need. Because of these dietary benefits, our dieticians feel that using lentils is a great source of plant-based protein for our diet.

exploring indian curry

Our Kofta is paired with Malai Curry; a creamy, dairy-free, tomato-based curry with fresh spices, tomato, and coconut milk simmered in a variety of locally sourced vegetables like beans, onions, and sweet potatoes depending on the time of year and region. Our chefs create Malai Curry from scratch for our customers, because our approach to healthcare dining is always based in real food and ingredients that come from the earth. As healthcare providers seek healthier entrées for patients, guests, and caregivers, we find staples like curry to be popular across the nation as a trustworthy, healthy plant-forward option to keep busy teams on their feet for long hours, and patients on a strong path toward health and wellness.