Vegan treatballs: low-cost, healthy folk dancer’s food

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If you're trying to save money, want to eat (vegan) vegetarian, recession-proof

basic, healthy, and nutritious food, try the Cappadocian food of folk dancers

and athletes-- vegan treat balls. It's eaten all over Asia Minor and the Middle

East and is called köfte in Cappadocia, realm of the ancient Hittites, kufta in

Aleppo, another ancient Hittite stronghold. You only need two main

ingredients—lentils and bulgur wheat. Spice according to your preferences with

toasted cumin seed, and garnish with chopped parsley and (optional) mint.

 

These vegan treat balls go back to Neolithic times when the first emmer wheat

grew in the grain and legume belt said to be close to the Garden of Eden, where

the four rivers met—the Tigris and Euphrates source and the source of the Pison

and Gihon. (The last two rivers dried up, but can be seen as dry riverbeds from

a satellite's view.) That's where the modern country of Turkey's borders with

Iraq, Iran, and Syria all meet in one spot, the heartland of lentils and grain.

 

Vegan köfte is the food of baglama (stringed instrument) musicians and of

tribal, folk, and belly dancers, of wandering nomads and settled farmers. And

köfte tastes like the vegetarian version of a meat ball. You eat it, and it

gives you enough energy to folkdance.

 

Best of all, in a recession, it's low-cost, nutritious food that is filling but

not stuffing. You can serve it just as you'd serve meatballs, covered in

vegetarian, gently spiced gravy made from ground, puréed lentils and a little

lentil and vegetable broth. You won't feel hungry an hour later after eating

this dish with a side of green vegetables or a salad. Or serve with toasted flat

bread smeared with a mixture of tahini (puréed sesame seed paste and lemon

juice) topped with chopped mint and Italian parsley combined with mashed, cooked

garbanzos (chick peas).

Here's how to make these grain and legume vegan treat balls called köfte. It can

be shaped into a vegan meatball, called a `treat ball' in English-speaking

circles. Some restaurants call it a meatless ball, a `neat ball', a croquette,

rissole, patty, quenelle, grilled legume and grain patty. It has been said that

it's one of the " the lowest-cost health foods around. " Cappadocia, the land of

fairy chimney houses, is known for its puréed spreads and sauces made from

legumes, beans, lemon, mint, parsley, and sesame.

 

Although raw food enthusiasts can eat raw the individual ingredients soaked

until chewable, the Cappadocian version used cooked lentils and bulgur wheat

kneaded into balls and then chilled.

 

Another version of this food chills the vegan balls and then adds cooked, mashed

fish, kneads it again, and then bakes it in the oven in oblong shapes, called

'kibbee' in Aleppo and in areas south of Ankara, Turkey. I prefer not baking it,

but serving it in rolled, chilled vegan balls because the lentils and grain

already have been 'cooked' once. That's how they cook this type of food in

Alanya (also in Alania) and in other lands such as Chuvashia.

 

You can use rice bran oil with added spices, but the healthiest way to serve

köfte, is with a bit of extra virgin, (first expeller pressed) or cold pressed

extra virgin olive oil. Here's how to make this healthy, vegan food.

 

The two main ingredients you need are lentils and bulgur wheat. You can buy

bulgur wheat in any health food store, in most supermarkets, or in Mediterranean

and Middle Eastern grocery stores. Or order online. See Sunnyland Mills (Fresno)

to learn more about bulgur wheat and where to find it in your local area or

online. In Sacramento, buy bulgur wheat at the Whole Foods Market, 4315 Arden

Way, Sacramento, CA 95864.

First, let's prepare what you'll need by your hands as you cook:

 

1. Take out your bottle of extra virgin olive oil and your cup of chopped

parsley or half cup of chopped parsley and half cup of chopped mint. If you

don't like mint, just use Italian parsley. Also take out your half cup of

chopped yellow onions. Put these ingredients aside. If you don't season with

salt, use celery seed (ground) and dulse granules instead.

 

2. Cook a cup of lentils about a half hour, until soft, in two and a half to

three cups of water or vegetable broth. Set aside three tablespoons of cooked

lentils with which to make gravy. Use your favorite color lentils. In the old

country, people usually choose the red lentils. When the lentils are cooked, add

½ to ¾ of a cup of fine or medium bulgur wheat to the broth. Let the wheat and

lentils soak in the hot broth for a half hour until most of the water is

absorbed, and the wheat is soft and chewy. Salt is optional. Add sea or mineral

salt if you're not salt-sensitive. If you're salt sensitive, sprinkle dulse

granules and celery seed into your lentil mixture or use a pinch of onion or

garlic powder.

 

3. In a large frying pan, heat two to four tablespoons of extra virgin olive

oil. Add your half cup of chopped yellow onions and fry the onions a minute

until they become soft and translucent, but not browned or burnt. Pour in your

teaspoon of ground cumin spice and stir a minute in the hot olive oil.

 

4. Drain your cooked lentils and softened bulgur wheat of any remaining broth or

water, and put the water aside in a cup to make gravy with later. Add three

tablespoons of cooked lentils to the water. You'll later blend the three

tablespoons of cooked lentils with the broth or water, adding any salt or spices

to taste, to make gravy to pour over the finished vegan treat balls.

 

5. Now pour the drained lentils and bulgur wheat mixture into the frying pan

with the fried onion and stir. At this point, in case you have vegetable pulp

left over from juicing peeled carrots or other peeled vegetables, feel free to

add a few tablespoons of the vegetable pulp to the mixture of lentils and bulgur

wheat to add texture. It will enrich the vegan balls with fiber. For example,

after juicing peeled carrots, spinach, parsley, and celery, you can add the left

over vegetable pulp to the lentils and wheat mixture in the frying pan.

 

6. Let the mixture cool enough to knead with your hands. Put the entire mixture

of wheat, onions, lentils, vegetable pulp, cumin, and any other spices you wish.

Add the chopped parsley or parsley and mint. Keep kneading the cooled mixture

until you can form small vegan balls that hold together. Press the water out

with your hands and form into balls about an inch in diameter, or about the size

of large marbles.

 

7. Keep kneading for five minutes. If your hands get covered with food, wet your

hands and knead. Now add a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil to the entire

mixture. Knead again.

 

8. It's spice time. Add any more spices you wish—garlic powder, pepper, or a

pinch of cayenne. Now add any chopped Italian parsley or mint and any more

flavors, herbs, or spices that you enjoy, such as zatar (thyme and sumac mixed)

or turmeric. If you want to add a curried taste, add a pinch of curry powder. In

Cappadocia the familiar spices would stick to pepper and cumin for these vegan

balls.

9. Put some baby spinach leaves or Romaine lettuce leaves on a plate. Chop some

green onions and put them on top of the spinach or lettuce leaves. Slice lemons

in a round, thin shape, and garnish a plate with lemon wheels on top of the

green, leafy vegetables. Now take the vegan treat balls you just made and place

them on top of the green leafy vegetables with the lemon wheels around the edge

of the plate as garnish. Chill the balls for an hour in the refrigerator until

they are cold.

 

10. In a blender, liquefy the three tablespoons of cooked lentils you set aside

with ½ cup of broth or water. Add any salt or spice to taste or if

salt-sensitive, other spices or chopped celery. Blend until you have a gravy

consistency. Pour the gravy over the chilled vegan balls.

 

11. Serve the köfte chilled on a platter or as soon as the food has cooled from

luke warm. Side dishes that are customary to be served with köfte include

toasted flat bread smeared with a mixture of a cup puréed or mashed cooked

garbanzo beans (chick peas) blended with three to five tablespoons of tahini

(puréed sesame seeds).

 

12. You can liquefy your own sesame seeds in water in a blender. Then add them

to the cup of mashed garbanzos mixed with a tablespoon of lemon juice. Blend

together as a paste and smear it on a wedge of toasted flat bread. Or serve the

garbanzo and sesame sauce paste on the side of the plate as a dip.

13. This vegan dish is low-cost, very healthy, and is said to be the favorite

food of folk dancers from Cappadocia. So see the video below for a little music

of Cappadocia to folkdance to as you eat low-cost vegan, and nutritious.

 

14. Note that if you're on a wheat-free diet, any other cooked whole or cracked

grain can be substituted for wheat in this vegan lentil and grain ball. You

might use barley, brown rice, buckwheat, quinoa, or whole oat groats instead of

wheat. So choose the grain you are able to eat. Other legumes also can be

substituted for lentils, such as garbanzo beans. And the sesame seed paste and

garbanzos can be made with almost any other types of cooked beans such as mashed

pinto or black beans. So eat the food to which you're not allergic.

 

15. Note for people who are not vegan vegetarians, you could also add any type

of cooked fish to the lentils or combine the cooked, mashed, lentils and grain

with cooked, ground lamb, poultry, or fish to make vegetable and fish or meat

balls. But in old Cappadocia and far away in Chuvashia, the tradition is lentils

and wheat. And the food is favored by musicians and dancers.

 

After you've cooked my vegan recipe above, if you're looking for a wider variety

of different foods for lunch or dinner, I highly recommend California cuisine

with a Turkish twist with the very fresh and healthy food at Gonul's J Street

Café in mid-town/East Sacramento, 3839 J St.

 

The restaurant opened in 2003 and also does catering. According to the

restaurant's site, Gonul Blum was raised in Turkey, " a land rich in culinary

traditions of farm-fresh ingredients and exotic spices. " Her family is in the

spice business. Check out the photos of some of the food, the outside seating,

and the inside eating areas at Gonul's J Street Café Web site.

 

What I enjoy, especially about Cappadocian cooking with my own favorite vegan

recipes, is the delicate use of spices. Instead of having spices overtake food

and burn your mouth, spices such as roasted ground cumin, thyme, or sumac

enhance the food's flavor. They're delicate spices rather than overbearing, and

they don't give me migraines like ground chili and cayenne mixed with mustard

do. So choose the spices and herbs tailored to your own body's signature. My

favorite seasonings and herbs are celery seed, coriander, and parsley.

 

In other countries with related Turanian languages, but more distant geographic

locations from Cappadocia, such as Chuvashia, bulgur wheat sometimes may be

substituted for other grains such as whole buckwheat (kasha/kashi) or barley.

You also could use millet, teff, or quinoa and legumes to make these vegan

balls.

 

So as you eat, click on the " get up and dance to the music and singing " uTube

video, Fidayda, below and enjoy a taste of Cappadocian folk music to dance to

with your meal.

http://www.examiner.com/x-7160-Sacramento-Nutrition-Examiner~y2009m4d18-Vegan-tr\

eatballs-lowcost-healthy-Turanian-folk-dancers-food