Red Lentil and Bulgur Kofta
A vegan red lentil and bulgur kofta ("Red Sonya"), shaped into little patties, rested to blend the flavours and eaten wrapped in lettuce with lemon.
Ingredients
| 1 cup | 240 ml | red lentils |
| 0.5 cup | 120 ml | fine bulgur |
| 2.5 cups | 600 ml | water |
| 0.25 cup | 60 ml | olive oil (or 2 tbsp coconut oil) |
| 1 | potato | |
| 1 head | onion | |
| 1 small bunch | finely chopped parsley | |
| 100-120 g | tomato paste | |
| 1 | juice of lemon | |
| 200 g | oyster mushrooms (kladnica) | |
| 4 tbsp | 60 ml | cornflour |
| 1 tsp | 5 ml | cumin |
| 1 tsp | 5 ml | curry powder |
| 2 tsp | 10 ml | garlic powder |
| — | coriander (optionally ginger, fennel, turmeric, clove, fenugreek) | |
| 1 tsp | 5 ml | salt |
| — | hot sauce or hot red pepper (optional) | |
| — | black pepper | |
| — | lettuce leaves and lemon wedges for serving |
Instructions
The lentils are cleaned and boiled with 2 cups of water and the finely chopped potato until the water evaporates. Add another 1/2 cup of water, the bulgur and the salt. Stir, remove from the heat and leave covered for 10-15 minutes. Sauté the finely chopped onion in the olive oil (coconut oil) over medium-low heat until soft and translucent. Add the tomato paste and cook for 1 more minute. Remove from the heat and let cool a little. Grind the lentils and bulgur in a food processor, or mash them, until you get a smooth sticky mixture. Mix all the ingredients (except the lettuce and the lemon wedges) and stir and mash them very well. Taste and, if needed, add extra spices. Form small "kebapche" (patties) from the mixture. Leave them to rest for a few hours so the flavours blend. Serve at room temperature, placing each Sonya in a lettuce leaf and serving with a lemon wedge. Eat with your hands: squeeze a little lemon over the Sonya and wrap it in the lettuce leaf. Note: The appetizer "Red Sonya" was a specialty at a small but much-loved restaurant that closed about a year ago. Since this specialty was a must-order on every visit, many fans miss it. This method is quite a successful attempt to copy the recipe. The way of serving, and above all of eating it, was a tradition the owners cared about a great deal. Note: In the English recipe, 3/4 cup of apple sauce is also added, which I chose to skip.