Vegan MoFo - Stopover 17 - Oman

Oman's cuisine is a reflection of it's geographical position in the crossroads of Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Rice is a staple which is usually served with meat. Herbs, spices, onions, garlic and lime are also important ingredients in Omani cooking. Food differs regionally and some dishes can be spicy although they are not as spicy as Asian dishes.

After Mandee mentioned that she had done a world theme for Vegan MoFo a few years ago I took a peek at her posts and kept a few recipes in mind in case any of the same countries came up.  When Oman was drawn I made an instant decision to try Mandee's recipe for koftas with a tomato and zucchini sauce as it sounded so good. All of the koftas I've made in the past have been Indian curries with ball shaped koftas, in Middle Eastern dishes koftas are usually a flatter oblong shape.

I already had some precooked kidney beans in the freezer that equated to about one and a half cans so I made a slightly bigger batch and scaled the rest of the ingredients up accordingly. I didn't have any fresh coriander so I used some ground coriander in the koftas and garnished with fresh parsley at the end instead. I used a little less cinnamon as I ran out and also swapped fresh bird's eye chillies for chilli flakes in the tomato sauce. The mixture for the koftas was simple to make with the aid of a food processor, as the mixture was a bit sticky I shaped the kofta patties on the baking sheet with the back of a spoon.

This meal was fantastic, the koftas were very flavoursome and the cinnamon was still detectable even though I didn't use the full amount. The chickpea flour worked it's magic and turned the sticky patties into koftas with a nice crust and an interior that wasn't mushy or dry. The tomato and zucchini sauce had a nice amount of heat to it without being too spicy. It wasn't too difficult to put together and I would happily make this again.

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Did you know?

Traffic accidents are the number one cause of death in Oman because nobody wears seatbelts. It is also illegal not to stop your car if you hit a camel whilst driving.

Do you want to know where else I've been this month? Click here for the round up.