Often when I’m prepping food for a wedding, I like to imagine the soon-to-be newlyweds further down the road… happy, blossoming and thriving in their new married lives. Sometimes I place happy “wishes” in the food. Now, I’m not saying that I think this actually does anything, but it’s a fun little thing I do in my head, to get through some of the more mundane tasks in the kitchen- and when I’m in that state of mind, my food usually ends up tasting better. I like to envision them growing old together and learning the delicate art of loving. I picture them spending time together in their own kitchens making meals and reconnecting after a busy day’s work- hoping these simple daily acts, will keep them connected, through whatever comes. Because inevitably, it will come.
The other day, as Brian and I stood side by side, chopping a mountain of vegetables, a feeling of joy swelled up inside me. It didn’t matter that the sun wasn’t shining, or the sink was full of dirty dishes, or that everything wasn’t exactly perfect. Somehow in that moment, all was right.
Most of all, I wish for these new couples, a generous sprinkling of these simple joyful moments throughout their lives.
I adore these little Black Caviar lentils from Pacific Northwest Farmers Co-op, because of their petite size, their dark color and rich earthy flavor. They are meaty little guys, who hold their shape after cooking, and take only 20 -25 minutes to cook. The best thing about these are the fact that they are grown right here in our backyard, in the Palouse. You can find them here.
Whole fennel seeds are cooked with the lentils.
Fresh ginger and turmeric are added to the sauce. If you can’t find fresh turmeric, ground will do just fine. But make sure to use fresh ginger.
The ingredient that gives the sauce its unique flavor is fenugreek leaves.
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Cooked Lentils and quinoa are mixed with cilantro, garlic and whipped tofu.
The tofu acts as the binder, and is undetectable once they are cooked.
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Roll into ping-pong sized balls and place on a parchment lined baking sheet, or greased cookie sheet.
Bake for 20 minutes. While they are in the oven make the summer sauce.
Place lentil meatballs over the sauce and sprinkle with cilantro.
Enjoy!!!
Vegan Lentil Meatballs with Indian Coconut Curry Sauce
- Prep Time: 30
- Cook Time: 60
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: 4-6 1x
- Category: Vegan, Main
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients
Vegan Lentil Meatballs:
- 1 cup black caviar lentils (uncooked) Sub green or brown lentils, just not “split” lentils
- ½ cup quinoa ( uncooked)
- 1 tsp fennel seed
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp granulated garlic
- ⅓ Cup chopped cilantro
- 6 oz firm tofu, pressed down ( to release water) and patted dry – this acts as the binder ( do not use silken tofu)
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
Coconut Curry Fenugreek Sauce: ( if you like extra saucy, double the recipe)
- 4 cloves garlic- minced
- 1 T fresh ginger, grated
- 1 tsp fresh turmeric, grated (or ½ teaspoon ground turmeric )
- 1– 2 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 extra large tomato, finely diced, with juices
- 1 tablespoon dried fenugreek leaves
- 1 13.5 oz coconut milk (not lite)
- 1 Tablespoon lime juice
- 1 tsp brown sugar
- ½ tsp salt, more to taste
- ¼ tsp cayenne, more to taste
- fresh cracked pepper
Instructions
1. On high heat, bring lentils and fennel seed to a boil in a small pot with 3 cups water. Cover, turn heat to low and simmer 25 minutes. Drain well.
2. On high heat, bring quinoa to boil in a small pot with 1 cup water. Cover, turn heat to low, simmer 15 minutes, turn heat off, leave covered.
3. Make the sauce. In a skillet or medium pot, saute garlic and ginger in olive oil, on medium until just golden, stirring often to prevent scorching. Add turmeric ( root, or ground) sauté 1 more minute. Add diced tomato, sauté until most of the juices evaporate about 5-8 minutes. Stir in coconut milk, fenugreek, lime, brown sugar, salt, cayenne and pepper. Taste for salt. Bring to a simmer, then turn off heat until ready to serve.
4.Make the vegan lentil meat balls. Pre-heat oven to 400F. In a food processor, place the cooked quinoa, and half of the lentils, and pulse until texture of coarse sand. Place in a large bowl. Add the remaining lentils, chopped cilantro, salt, granulated garlic to the bowl and mix well. In the same food processor, add the tofu (blotted well) and 1 T olive oil. (The tofu will bind the mixture and oil will keep tim from drying out.) Pulse tofu and oil until a smooth paste, scraping down the sides as necessary. Scoop it into the lentil mixture and mix it in well. Prepare a parchment lined baking sheet. With your hands, kneed lentil mixture briefly it’s thoroughly mixed and salt and spices are evenly distributed. With wet hands form small ping pong sized balls. Place on baking sheet and place in the oven for 20-25 minutes.
5.Warm the sauce and place lentil meatballs over the sauce, and sprinkle with cilantro. Serve immediately.
Notes
Makes 14-16 meatballs.
Double the sauce for extra saucy!
Keywords: vegan meatballs, lentil meatballs, veggie balls, indian lentil meatballs, the best vegan meatballs, the best lentil balls, vegan meatball recipes, lentil meatball recipes
Thank you so much for another delicious and healthy recipe. I made this and only had a blender big enough to process the grains so the meatballs turned out so wet that they won’t hold shape. Any suggestions for how to repair the situation? They taste amazing though!! Especially with the sauce!!
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Oh dear! Sorry about that.
My first ever attempt at vegan meatballs. I was a bit skeptical while my husband was confident that meatless meatballs were a terrible idea. But I am so happy I tried your recipe! We really enjoyed them and the sauce too! Absolutely delicious! My husband declared he wants to eat them more often and that he is open to other meatleass meatballs 🙂 Thank you!
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Haha! Love it. thanks for making my morning. 🙂 Glad you both liked!
Hi Sylvia, another AWESOME recipe…I’ve cooked this twice in one week!!! Its just soooo delicious…Thanks ever so much for sharing :-))
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Yay! Im glad you enjoyed!
I’m making this tomorrow night and wanted to make a separate sauce serving for one guest that cannot have anything remotely spicy … planning on cutting the pepper and cayenne. Anything else people suggest should be cut to make it no spice?
That should do it!
Hi can I make the meatballs ahead of time? Sounds delish! I’m doing a dinner party for a large group and I wanted to have one vegan dish for a friend
Hey Shauna, You could make the lentil ball “dough” ahead and sauce ahead, but the balls do get crumbly after they are cooked- I worry about them falling apart.
Loved it! My husband practically licking the bowel! The only thing I did differently was to put sauce in blender so it matched the photo a little more!
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*Bowl
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Hi there, we can’t eat Tofu due to allergies, could we bind the mixture with an egg instead?
Hi Liz, I haven’t tried it but I imagine it would work fine. Hase anyone else tried it with egg? Please let me know how it works out and any adjustments you make!
I would use canned chickpeas made into a pate in a food processor. I use them all the time as a binder.
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Just wondering how much chickpeas do you use?
Great results. My meat eating husband also enjoyed it! I made extra lentil mix to put in the freezer…maybe to put with a tomato sauce next. Looking forward to your other recipies!
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Hands down the best curry I have made! Thank you for sharing. My meat eating boyfriend also loved it!
★★★★★
Awwww… great to hear!
This was delicious. Everything about it was wonderful. Did not miss the meat at all.
★★★★★
Oh thanks – so happy you liked it!
Hi! Can’t wait to make this. Just wondering if the nutrition facts also reflect the sauce as well?
Yes they do!
Served to meateaters and scored a goal! I love the lightness of the meatless balls…so clever and the sauce is addictive! I served it with turmeric and cayenne roasted cauliflower steaks, roasted zucchini with fennel seeds and topped it off with turmeric kale chips. This is a great recipe. I think I’d like the meatless balls with a Buddha bowl too YUM THANK YOU Sylvia
★★★★★
Okay, this sauce is amazing and I’m definitely going to be using it for other curry recipes (green pea curry is next up, I’m betting potato/cauliflower will go good with it too!). I love fenugreek so much, and since I’m batch cooking for postpartum, I can vouch that this sauce freezes well on it’s own. Bonus that fenugreek is good for breastfeeding!
I tried for curiosity’s sake making these with lentils that had been soaked and sprouted to make them more digestible. I ended up cutting the tofu by about a third because the lentils were pretty moist. I’m going to attempt freezing these, I’ll try one batch uncooked, and one cooked and report back.
★★★★★
thanks Lacey! Appreciate all your notes, and sprouting the lentils is such a great idea. Yes, let me know how the freezing process works!
Well, freezing didn’t work, as they thawed they fell apart so it turned into a lentil crumble. Still delicious but definitely not a meatball! I use this sauce often as a methi mutter malai version since its vegan. My husband is South Asian and he loves it! I add 2 cardamom pods during cooking but otherwise I stick to the recipe!
I was worried about that. Thanks for sharing and good to know!!!
what can i replace tofu with (i do not eat unfermented soy)? I’m fine with meat. would some fatty ground pork and egg hold them together?
You know, honestly I’m not sure. I’ve only made these with tofu, but feel free to give them a try!