These Vegan Gluten-free Lentil Meatballs, deep fried slowly over the stove top are tender, juicy, and bursting with spicy and savory flavors! Made from gram flour, lentils, soya granules, and green chilies, these Meatballs are amazingly delicious and a perfect swap for the classical meatballs!
Flavorful, smooth, and bouncy, these 5-ingredient vegan lentil meatballs made gluten-free are super easy to make and gather quickly. Dunked in cashew tomato onion-rich gravy, these soft meatballs are perfect for a weekend dinner! Team them with rice, and noodles or have them dry with a sauce of your choice!
Classically deep fried meatballs also called 'Kofta' in Middle East and India, are made from minced meat or grated bottle gourd for veg version.
If you like a texture of silky threads of grated veggies like bottle gourd or zucchini, feel free to add them in this recipe. While they may not appear perfectly round, they have amazing texture and rich umami flavors you wouldn't miss the original meatballs!
You may air fry them for 10- 15 minutes or bake them in an oven for about 20 minutes.
These vegan lentil meatballs are so simple and are going to be your family favorite soon!
Find More Vegan Lentil Recipes: Vegan Carrot Lentil Soup, Red Lentil Sweet Potato Soup, Red Lentils Rice
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Ingredients
For the Lentil Meatballs
- Yellow Moong Lentils- The soaked and blended yellow lentils add great texture to these meatballs. While you may use green lentils or boiled chickpeas as well, I recommend trying the yellow lentils. They are not very heavy on the stomach, yet rich in proteins and easily blend into a thick paste.
- Gram Flour-The gram flour acts as a gluten free binding agent. You may use nutritional yeast as well. Gram flour is rich in proteins and helps you create dense protein balls.
- Soya Granules- Soak the protein rich soya granules in water for 10 min. You may boil them for 5 min too. Drain and squeeze the excess water or else the balls would be too soft. You may use Tofu, Mushrooms or soya chunks or grated bottle gourd. I have used Nutrela brand of Soya Granules. Feel free to use any local brand.
- Baking Soda- Addition of baking soda makes sure that the balls are not too dense or hard. The proteins from gram flour, lentils or chickpeas make the balls dense and for a soft texture, I highly recommend adding baking soda.
- Spices- Turmeric and Red chili powder are the basic spices I have used. If you want to spice them up, add garam masala or chaat masala.
- Coriander Leaves- The fresh green coriander leaves add perfect aroma to these vegan balls. You may use cilantro.
- Green Chilies- The green chili add much needed heat to this recipe. Feel free to adjust the heat.
- Lemon Juice- The freshly squeezed lemon juice adds tangy flavor to these savory spicy vegan lentil balls.
- Salt- Table salt, kosher salt and Himalayan pink salt all work well.
- Oil For Deep Frying- I have used Vegetable refined oil for deep frying these balls. You may use mustard oil or coconut oil.
For the Gravy
- Onions- Red onions work best for the meatballs gravy. I recommend using fresh onions and not paste.
- Tomato- Fresh tomatoes would add amazing tangy and creamy flavor. Avoid any tomato paste as it won't give the true flavor to this gravy. You would know when you taste it.
- Cashews- Cashews add perfect creaminess to the gravy and one need not use any heavy creams for making a rich gravy.
- Garlic- I love the aroma of raw garlic. Again, avoid any store bought paste.
- Whole Spices-Whole spices include- cinnamon, cardamom, black pepper, and clove. You may add nutmeg as well.
- Spices-The Gravy masala, turmeric powder, red chili powder and dry mango powder. You may add any spices that you like in this gravy. I purchased GM Foods brand for adding paneer gravy masala. It's so perfect for this recipe.
- Salt- Normal table salt or pink salt works best.
- Olive Oil-Olive oil works well. You may use any vegetable oil that you like.
How To Make Vegan Lentil Meatballs
Making vegan lentil meatballs is not as difficult as you might have thought. All you need is a great food processor and everything will work as a charm with this fail-proof recipe.
Step 1 Soak Yellow Lentils
Soak yellow lentils and soy granules for about 15 min. While they are soaked, you may wash vegetables and prep for gravy.
Step 2 Blend Everything
Drain the water from yellow lentils. squeeze water from the soaked soy granules. Trust me they soak up so much water. Add lentils, green chilly, coriander leaves, soy granules, salt, red chili powder, lemon juice and gram flour in the blender. Blend it into a thick paste.
Take the thick batter in a large bowl. You would now know that the balls can't be made with hands as the paste is not dry. If it would be dry, the meatballs won't be soft and would be dense. Add baking powder and don't over-mix. The batter is ready for deep frying the balls.
Still, if you wish to make meatballs by hand, refrigerate the mixture for 20 min and add more of gram flour (at least ¼ cup more). Grease your hands and then make balls.
Step 3 Deep Fry
Heat the refined oil in a heavy bottomed wok. Make sure that the oil is sufficiently hot or else the meatballs would break.
You may put a chickpea size batter in oil for testing. If it rises, the oil is ready for frying. Let the flame be high when placing the meatballs.
Place the meatballs with the help of spatula with spacing in between. Don't over or under full the wok as they would be under or over cooked in that case.
Once you have reasonably covered the wok, slow the flame. Let the meatballs cooked on slow flame for 5 min. Flip them to fry from the other side. Flipping them with a knife tip is easier than the perforated spoon.
You may have to fry them in batches.
Once done, take out the fried vegan gluten free meatballs over a newspaper or a strainer.
How To Make The Gravy for Vegan Lentil Meatballs
Making the gravy for vegan meatballs is super easy.
Step 1 Wash, Chop and Boil
Gather all the ingredients. Wash vegetables. Roughly chop them. Add everything (except salt, powdered spices, oil) to a pressure cooker with water. Boil them on full flame for 2 whistles and on slow flame for 10 min. Cool off and drain the water in a bowl for adding later in the gravy. Blend the sieved veggies into a smooth paste. You may remove cinnamon from blending.
Step 2 Cook for Gravy
In a large wok, add oil, cinnamon and the smooth paste, Let it cook for about 10 min on simmer. Gradually add store water. You may add more water as per the consistency you wish for.
Add salt and spices. Cook for another 5 min on simmer.
Step 3 Serve It
Serve the amazing vegan meatballs with rich cashew gravy and team it with noodles or rice. Enjoy!
Recipe FAQs
It depends on what you use for binding them and whether you are frying them in hot oil. You may bind with oats, besan (gram flour), bread crumbs, potato. I have made gf vegan meatballs and used gram flour to bind them.
Lentils, black beans, soya granules, onions, veggies, all can be used to make vegan meatballs.
You may swap milk with yogurt or butter milk.
Expert Tips
- Make sure to drain water from soaked lentils and soya granules completely.
- The texture won't be exactly like meat as this has no such ingredient. It would be similar to Falafel. If you want exact texture like meat, pls don't follow this recipe.
- Gram flour acts as a binding agent. If the blended mixture is sticky, you may add more of the gram flour.
- Make sure not to add any extra water when blending lentil, gram flour and other ingredients to make vegan meatballs.
- I would suggest not to make balls, rather use a spatula to place the batter in the hot oil. Don't worry if the shape is not perfectly round as there are many dense components involved. The texture and taste is more important than the shape. Highly recommend adding baking soda for bouncy balls.
- This recipe deep fries the meatballs. Make sure the oil is sufficiently hot and fry on slow flame. Take them out on high flame. You can bake, pan-fry, or even air-fry vegan meatballs.
- If you wish to still shape them in balls, freeze the mixture for 15 min and lightly oil your hands before shaping the meatballs to prevent them from sticking to your fingers. I always use spatula to leave them in the wok for deep frying. This way my hands are clean.
Storage Suggestions
Storing Leftover Vegan Meatballs
If dry vegan meatballs are leftover, place them in a container with lid in the refrigerator for about 2-3 days, once they cool off. I won't recommend freezing them.
If the gravy is leftover, keep it in a container with lid (separated from the meatballs) and store in the refrigerator for about 2 days. You may freeze the gravy only for about 3-4 days.
Storing the Gravy with Meatballs
If the meatballs are mixed in the gravy and are leftover, store it in a container with lid in the refrigerator for about 2 days. I won't recommend freezing it.
For reheating
Dry meatballs can be kept at kitchen counter and reheated for 5 min in oven or air fryer or a pan on stove top. The gravy can be thawed and then reheated. The meatballs with gravy can be reheated in oven or air fryer or stove top after adding some water as gravy gets thickened up.
More Vegan Recipes From The Blog:
- Idli Podi Recipe
- Amla Avocado Dip- Indian Style
- Chaat Masala Recipe
- Easy Roti Recipe- Best Indian Chapati
- Authentic Garam Masala Recipe
- Cucumber Radish Salad
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Easy Lentil Vegan Gluten Free Meatballs With Gravy
Equipment
- 1 Blender for making thick paste for vegan gf meatballs
- 1 Pressure Cooker boiling veggies for gravy
- 1 heavy bottomed wok deep frying the vegan meatballs
- 1 heavy bottomed wok making the gravy
Ingredients
Ingredients for Vegan gf Meatballs
- ⅓ cup yellow lentils (Moong daal) 50 gm. Soak for 15 min
- ¼ cup soya granules soak for 15 min
- ⅓ cup gram flour can use chickpea flour or nutritional yeast
- 1 teaspoon red chili powder
- 1 small fresh green chili
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
- salt per taste
For Making Gravy
- 2 medium onions roughly chopped
- 3 medium tomato
- 2 tablespoon cashew
- 2 tablespoon gravy masala I have used GM brand
- 2 clove garlic
- 1 small green chili
- 1 teaspoon red chili powder
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- salt as per taste
- 2 cups water
- 1 small cardamom whole
- 2 small cloves
- 1 medium cinnamon
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
Instructions
For Making Vegan gf Meatballs
- Soak yellow lentils and soy granules for about 15 min. While they are soaked, you may wash vegetables and prep for gravy.
- Drain the water from yellow lentils. squeeze water from the soaked soy granules. Trust me they soak up so much water. Add lentils, green chilly, coriander leaves, soy granules, salt, red chili powder, lemon juice and gram flour in the blender. Blend it into a thick paste.Take the thick batter in a large bowl. You would now know that the balls can't be made with hands as the paste is not dry. If it would be dry, the meatballs won't be soft and would be dense. Add baking powder and don't over-mix. The batter is ready for deep frying the balls.Still, if you wish to make meatballs by hand, refrigerate the mixture for 20 min and add more of gram flour (at least ¼ cup more). Grease your hands and then make balls.
- Heat the refined oil in a heavy bottomed wok. Make sure that the oil is sufficiently hot or else the meatballs would break. You may put a chickpea size batter in oil for testing. If it rises, the oil is ready for frying. Let the flame be high when placing the meatballs. Place the meatballs with the help of spatula with spacing in between. Don't over or under full the wok as they would be under or over cooked in that case. Once you have reasonably covered the wok, slow the flame. Let the meatballs cooked on slow flame for 5 min. Flip them to fry from the other side. Flipping them with a knife tip is easier than the perforated spoon.You may have to fry them in batches. Once done, take out the fried vegan gluten free meatballs over a newspaper or a strainer.
For Making Gravy
- Gather all the ingredients. Wash vegetables. Roughly chop them. Add everything (except salt, powdered spices, oil) to a pressure cooker with water. Boil them on full flame for 2 whistles and on slow flame for 10 min.
- Cool off and drain the water in a bowl for adding later in the gravy. Blend the sieved veggies into a smooth paste. You may remove cinnamon from blending.In a large wok, add oil, cinnamon and the smooth paste, Let it cook for about 10 min on simmer. Gradually add store water. you may add more water as per the consistency you wish for.Add salt and spices. Cook for another 5 min on simmer.
- Serve the amazing vegan meatballs with rich cashew gravy and team it with noodles or rice. Enjoy!
Notes
- Achieving the perfect texture is crucial for vegan meatballs. Make sure to drain water from soaked lentils and soya granules completely.
- The texture won't be exactly like meat as this has no such ingredient. It would be similar to Falafel. If you want exact texture like meat, pls don't follow this recipe.
- Gram flour acts as a binding agent. If the blended mixture is sticky, you may add more of the gram flour.
- Make sure not to add any extra water when blending lentil, gram flour and other ingredients to make vegan meatballs.
- I would suggest not to make balls, rather use a spatula to place the batter in the hot oil. Don't worry if the shape is not perfectly round as there are many dense components involved. The texture and taste is more important than the shape. Highly recommend adding baking soda for bouncy balls.
- Aim for uniformity in size to ensure even cooking. Smaller meatballs may cook faster, while larger ones may need a little extra time, especially when deep fried. They may appear to be brown from out yet raw within.
- Make sure to add meatballs just before serving. If they are too soft, they might break. If they are too dense, they would absorb the gravy. This would help you store the leftovers easily.
- This recipe deep fries the meatballs. Make sure the oil is sufficiently hot and fry on slow flame. Take them out on high flame. You can bake, pan-fry, or even air-fry vegan meatballs.
- If you wish to still shape them in balls, freeze the mixture for 15 min and lightly oil your hands before shaping the meatballs to prevent them from sticking to your fingers. I always use spatula to leave them in the wok for deep frying. This way my hands are clean
- This recipe would make around 18-20 meatballs. The calories marked give an estimate of 2 dry vegan meatballs. The gravy per person (1 bowl) would be of 120 calories.
| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Serving size: 2 | |
| Servings: 8 | |
| Amount per serving | |
| Calories | 96 |
| % Daily Value* | |
| Total Fat 5.6g | 7% |
| Saturated Fat 0.8g | 4% |
| Cholesterol 0mg | 0% |
| Sodium 41mg | 2% |
| Total Carbohydrate 7.6g | 3% |
| Dietary Fiber 1.4g | 5% |
| Total Sugars 0.6g | |
| Protein 4.2g | |
| Vitamin D 0mcg | 0% |
| Calcium 9mg | 1% |
| Iron 1mg | 5% |
| Potassium 93mg | 2% |
| *The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calorie a day is used for general nutrition advice. | |
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