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Vegetarian red lentil koftas with flatbreads & harissa youghurt sauce - Domestic Gothess
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Vegetarian Red Lentil Koftas With Homemade Flatbreads & Harissa Yoghurt Sauce

Serves 8
Author Domestic Gothess

Ingredients

Red Lentil Koftas

  • 180 g (1 cup) red lentils
  • 700 ml (3 cups) water
  • 140 g (⅔ cup) bulgur wheat (fine or medium not coarse)
  • 1 onion finely chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic crushed
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tsp ground cumin
  • 2 tsp paprika
  • 2 tbsp tomato puree
  • 2 tbsp red pepper paste
  • 2 tbsp pomegranate molasses
  • 4 tsp harissa paste or other chilli paste, to taste
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • 4 spring onions finely chopped
  • handful fresh parsley finely chopped
  • handful fresh mint finely chopped
  • salt and pepper
  • vegetable oil for frying

Flatbreads

  • 500 g 94 + ¼ cups) strong white bread flour
  • 10 g (3 tsp) fast action yeast
  • 10 g (1 tsp) salt
  • 30 g (2 tbsp) caster sugar
  • 30 g (2 tbsp) softened butter
  • 340 ml (1 + ½ cups) lukewarm water
  • vegetable oil for frying

Harissa Yoghurt Sauce

  • 250 g (¾ cup) natural yoghurt
  • 2 garlic cloves crushed
  • 1-2 tbsp harissa paste
  • couple of sprigs of fresh parsley finely chopped
  • salt and pepper

To Serve, Your Choice Of

  • shredded lettuce
  • finely sliced red onion
  • crumbled feta
  • grilled halloumi
  • houmous
  • sliced tomatoes
  • cucumber
  • olives

Instructions

To Make The Koftas

  • Place the lentils and water in a saucepan and bring to the boil, simmer for 15-20 minutes until the lentils are soft and have the consistency of thick soup. Stir in the bulgur, continue to simmer for 2 minutes the remove from the heat, cover, and set aside for 20 minutes or so until the bulgur is tender and has soaked up all the excess liquid.
  • Meanwhile, saute the onion and garlic in the olive oil until soft, stir in the cumin and paprika, cook for a further 30 seconds then remove from the heat.
  • Mix the cooked onion into the lentil mixture along with the tomato puree, red pepper paste, pomegranate molasses, harissa, lemon juice, spring onion, parsley and mint. Season to taste with salt and pepper. The mixture should be quite thick (it will become firmer in the fridge), if it is at all soggy, dry it out over a low heat for a few minutes. Cover and place in the fridge for at least an hour until the mixture has become firm.
  • Heat a couple of tablespoons of vegetable oil in a frying pan, shape the lentil mixture into small patties with your hands and then fry in batches for a couple of minutes either side, until golden. Add more oil as necessary. The patties will be quite fragile while hot but will firm up as they cool a little.

To Make The Flatbreads

  • Place the flour in a large bowl and add the yeast to one side and the salt and sugar to the other, add the butter then stir in three quarters of the water and mix to form a shaggy dough, add the rest of the water as needed until it comes together into a soft dough.
  • Turn out onto an un-floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes until the dough is smooth, silky and elastic. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover, and leave to rise for an hour or so until doubled in size.
  • Turn the risen dough out onto a lightly floured surface and give it a brief 30 second knead to knock all the air out. Divide into 8 even pieces and shape them into balls.
  • Roll one ball out into a large circle, about 24cm (9.5in) in diameter, try and get the dough really thin as it will puff up a bit as it cooks.
  • Place a large heavy bottomed frying pan over a medium heat and add a little vegetable oil. Place the dough round in the pan and cook for about 2 minutes, until browned, then flip over and cook for a couple more minutes on the other side.
  • Roll out the next ball of dough while the previous one is cooking, add a little more vegetable oil to the pan after each flatbread is cooked. When each one is cooked, place it on top of the last, stacking them like this helps to keep them soft. Serve warm.

To Make The Harissa Yoghurt Sauce

  • Stir together the yoghurt and garlic, add harissa paste to taste, I used 2 tbsp but if you like it a little less spicy just use 1. Stir in the pasley and season to taste with salt and pepper.

To Serve

  • I don't really need to explain this do I...? Just pile everything into a warm flatbread, fold, and insert into face.