This is one where the timing gets jammed up at the end. From start to finish, this could be a two-hour meal, if you include cooking the beans.

45-60 minutes to cook the beans (including pressurizing, pressure cooking, and natural pressure release)
10 minutes for assembling kofta
25 minutes for baking the kofta
15 minutes to simmer kofta in the sauce

Tips to make this meal as fast as possible:

Ideally, you will start the beans at the very beginning of the cooking process, so they are ready early. You can start them earlier than that, even, since the method described below is supposed to be in the background anyway.
The next thing to do is prep all ingredients. The instructions include a step to puree the tomatoes, but you could consider doing that while the beans cook, if you have time before starting cooking.
Then, you can start the sauce before you start baking the kofta. The sauce will do best if it can simmer for a while on medium-low or low. So consider starting the early sauce prep before you put the kofta in the oven.

Important: this one needs a small pasta, bread, rice or naan as a side.

Print Recipe

Black Bean Kofta and Tomato Sauce

A delicious and filling Indian-inspired meal

Prep Time30

Cook Time1 30

Total Time2

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Indian, Vegetarian

Keyword: Dry Beans

Servings: servings

Calories: 398kcal

Equipment

Pressure cooker

Ingredients

Beans

350 g dry black beans
bean spices including bay leaf, kombu, red pepper flakes, garlic powder, oregano, peppercorns

Kofta

4 cloves garlic
2 inch fresh ginger peeled
2 serrano peppers stems removed
4 spring onions or 6 scallions, trimmed and chopped
1 bunch fresh cilantro chopped, 1 tablespoon reserved for garnish
¾ cup bread crumbs
2 eggs
1 tsp garam masala
½ tsp chipotle chili powder

Sauce

2 tbsp olive oil
1 large white onion finely chopped
4 lbs tomatoes or 2 28oz cans tomatoes, whole peeled or crushed
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin

Instructions

Beans

Pre-soak the beans for best results. Measure, pick-through and rinse the beans. Add to a large bowl, cover with water of 1.5% salinity (i.e. 1 liter water and 15g salt), and set aside covered for 6-10 hours.
350 g dry black beans
When you’re first starting to prepare dinner, start the beans. Drain and briefly rinse the beans. Add the beans and enough water to cover by ½" to a pressure cooker pot. In a small spice bag, add a bay leaf, 1 piece kombu, ½ tsp red pepper flakes, ½ tsp peppercorns, ½ tsp garlic powder and ½ tsp oregano. Throw into the pot.
bean spices
Put on the lid with a sealing ring, and set to high pressure for 6 minutes. Start it. You’re then going to leave it until it pressurizes and then naturally releases pressure. This whole process will take about 40-50 minutes, with 25 minutes of that time for depressurizing. Once depressurized, the beans should be perfectly soft and cooked. If not, cook a bit longer, but I wouldn't pressurize again or you’ll almost certainly overcook or cause more steam release than necessary.

Kofta

As the beans cook, you can prepare the rest of the ingredients per the instructions in the ingredient list.
Once everything is prepped, put the garlic, ginger and serrano peppers in a large food processor and run until you have a well-chopped consistency. (You probably need to scrape the sides several times.) Add half of the paste to a small cup.
4 cloves garlic, 2 inch fresh ginger, 2 serrano peppers
To the food processor with half of the paste, add the rough-chopped spring onions and the cilantro and pulse 5-10 times, stopping to scrape the sides, until everything is well chopped. Then add the breadcrumbs, garam masala, chipotle, and 1 tsp salt. Blend until combined. Then add the 2 eggs and blend. Finally, add the beans.
4 spring onions, 1 bunch fresh cilantro, ¾ cup bread crumbs, 1 tsp garam masala, ½ tsp chipotle chili powder, 2 eggs
Preheat oven to 400ºF. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Shape the mixture into 1” balls and place on the sheet pan. Place in the oven and bake for 25 minutes.

Sauce

While the kofta bake, in very large skillet or a Dutch oven, heat 2 tbsp olive oil over medium. Add the white onion and sauté until translucent and well-cooked. Add the remaining garlic, ginger and serrano paste from the small cup and cook for another 5 minutes, turning down the heat if things are cooking too fast.
2 tbsp olive oil, 1 large white onion
While that’s cooking, purée the tomatoes until smooth. Add the purée (or crushed tomatoes), coriander and cumin to the skillet. Simmer for up to 20 minutes on low or medium-low.
4 lbs tomatoes, 1 tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp ground coriander

Combine

Once the sauce is done, turn heat to low (if not already there) and add the kofta to the skillet. If the sauce is too thick (or too minimal) add a bit of water so the sauce comes up about two-thirds of the way to the sides of the balls. Simmer for 15 minutes on low, gently stirring occasionally, until the kofta are warmed through and the sauce has thickened.
Serve with small pasta, bread, naan or basmati rice.

Notes

Makes 6 servings

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts

Black Bean Kofta and Tomato Sauce

Amount Per Serving

Calories 398 Calories from Fat 72

% Daily Value*

Fat 8g12%

Saturated Fat 2g13%

Trans Fat 1g

Polyunsaturated Fat 2g

Monounsaturated Fat 4g

Cholesterol 55mg18%

Sodium 435mg19%

Potassium 1778mg51%

Carbohydrates 66g22%

Fiber 16g67%

Sugar 15g17%

Protein 21g42%

Vitamin A 901IU18%

Vitamin C 30mg36%

Calcium 206mg21%

Iron 8mg44%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.