Veggie "meatballs" and spaghetti with tomato cilantro sauce

Being a vegetarian, I'm always fascinated by the vast variety of interesting sounding meat dishes! Spaghetti and Meatballs, Chicken wings, Shepherd's pie, hot dogs etc. Thanks to the new vegan and vegetarian awareness, a lot of these dishes have been recreated with vegetarian options and I get to experience the different flavors while I stick to my no meat policy. :)
Thanks to the veggie protein options, I now know what buffalo chicken wings and shepherd's pie tastes like with veggie options. :)

One such attempt of mine was to create veggie meatballs and spaghetti at home. It came out pretty tasty but the meatballs were not firm enough and they were falling apart. The second trial was much better and here is the recipe. I have tried to make it nutritious and incorporate different veggies and added some protein.

I also made my own pasta sauce and made it with tons of cilantro(add any herb of your choice).

Veggie meatballs

Veggie meatballs ready!

What you need : (I ended up with 15 meatballs)

Veggies for meatballs

Baby bella mushrooms - 8-10 (I really like their flavor, but you could use a mix of different mushrooms or any other mushrooms)
Onion 1/4th medium
Summer Squash - 1/2
Green bell peppers - 1/2 from a medium sized
Spinach - a handful

Quick cooking oatmeal ground up : 1 cup
green chillies - cos I'm an Indian who stuffs green chillies even into an Italian classic :P (optional)
Garlic - 2 cloves
Salt to taste.
Herbs/seasoning of choice : i used some dried parsley. Other options : basil/Italian seasoning/oregano
Extra firm tofu (drained and crumbled) - about 1/2 a cup.(Optional)
Note:I used tofu to add some protein. It is going to make the meatballs soft, and u might need extra oat flour/corn flour/bread crumbs for binding depending on how much water your tofu retains. I drained the tofu till it was fairly dry and 1 cup of ground oatmeal was good enough for binding.


Method :

1. Chop all the veggies into chunks.
2. Heat 1 tsp oil in a pan. Add the garlic and wait till it browns. Add the onion and fry for 2 mins. 
3. Add green chillies, if using.
4. Add the mushrooms, squash and peppers. Cook for 5-8 mins till the veggies cook.
5. Then add in the spinach and cook for 2 mins. Let the veggie mixture dry up.
6. We want the veggie mixture to be as dry as possible. Once it cools, pulse it through a food processor.
7. Mix well : powdered oats, crumbled tofu and veggie mixture with salt, seasoning. Check taste.
8. Make balls as shown. Try to pack them tightly.
9. Refrigerate the meatballs for a couple of hours or more. This helps them firm up and for the flavors to blend in well. 
10. Next you could either pan fry them with a tsp of oil till they are brown/crisped or cook it in the oven. I pan fried them on medium to low heat and move them gently around the pan.

    

    Stir fried veggies in the food processor

    

    Ground oatmeal,veggie mixture, crumbled tofu

Spaghetti with Meatballs

What you need:

Veggie meatballs

Pasta sauce/marinara sauce of choice - I used this

Spaghetti noodles/angel hair pasta- boiled as per packet instructions

Grated Cheese - I used fat free mozzarella cheese
Olive oil 1-2 tsp
Garlic - optional

Method:
1. Heat oil in a large pan. Add garlic and fry till its fragrant.
2. Add the pasta sauce and spaghetti and toss well to coat the noodles.
3. Add the veggie meatballs and sprinkle cheese on top.
4. Cook covered till cheese melts.
Serve hot.

Alternatively, you could assemble the pasta, sauce and meatballs together in an oven proof dish, add cheese and then bake it till cheese melts.