As a child I rarely, if ever had Kofta curry (meat-ball curry) unless there were guests coming to our house. Although the journey from the keema (mince meat) to a kofta seems rather simplistic, for some reason Kofta never got inducted into the routine repertoire.
So as a child I always looked forward to the holidays and the special occassions when there was a great influx of people in our house and naturally the kofta was there to impress.
Now take my word for it, making this curry is simple. Nevermind my peculiar family dinner dynamics. The recipe which I have for you here is my version of the Kofta curry. It is not the Bengali recipe that I am used to. The pungent Mustard oil and the other spices that go into it is an acquired taste.
My friends are coming home tonight and none of them are Bongs. Keeping that in mind I re-worked the recipe. It is prepared with Punjabi tadka here. With Diwali right round the corner take the additional 10 minutes to make this gorgeous dish. A little would go a long way.
Serves 5
Time: Prep: 15 mins. Cooking: 35 mins
What You Need:
For the Koftas (meat-balls):
1/2 kg Mince Chicken
1 Egg (at room temperature)
2 tablespoon Cornflour
1 Onion (finely chopped)
1 tablespoon Garlic paste
1/4 cup Coriander leaves
1/2 tablespoon Ginger paste
Salt to taste
Oil for frying
For the gravy:
3 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 each of cinnamon sticks, cardamoms and cloves
3 Onion (finely chopped)
1 tablespoon Garlic paste
1/2 tablespoon Ginger paste
1/2 tablespoon Cumin paste
1/2 teaspoon Turmeric powder
1 teaspoon Chilli powder
4 large Tomatoes (made into a puree)
1 cup fresh Cream
3 tablespoon of Butter
Salt and Sugar to taste
A dash of Lime juice
2 cups Water
Fresh Coriander leaves for garnish
Method:
The Kofta:
1. In a large bowl, tip all the ingredients for the Kofta together and mix well by hand.
2. Form medium sized balls. This would get you around twenty balls.
3. In a non-stick pan, add the vegetable oil for frying. Add the meat balls once the oil is hot and smoky. The idea is to shallow fry them till they take colour and become a little firm. Say about 2 minutes.
4. Once golden, remove the balls from the oil with a slotted spoon and drain off the excess oil with paper towels. Set aside.
The Gravy:
1. In a heavy bottomed Karahi (or a wok would also do), heat the oil. Once it is heated tip in the cardamom, cinnamon and clove. It should emanate a nice aroma once it is done. This is your garam masala.
2. It is then time to add the onion to the masala. Fry till its golden brown. Add a pinch of sugar to help caramelise.
Add the garlic paste midway. Take care not to over-brown the mixture.
3. Add the cumin and ginger paste into the mix now. Two minutes later, add the tomato puree, salt, chilli powder, turmeric powder and some coriander leaves. Work this mixture for another five minutes.
4. By this time your kitchen would be wafting with curry scent. If not give it more time. Next add the koftas. Mix well with the rest of the masala in the karahi.
5. Once well mixed, add the fresh cream, a squirt of lime juice and the water. Allow the curry to cook for 10 minutes after bringing it to a boil.
6. When the desired consistency is reached, adjust the salt and sugar to taste.
7. Add the dollop of butter into the curry now. Garnish with fresh coriander.
NOTE: If you are not eating it right away, it is always a good idea to keep the gravy a little thinner. Reheating becomes well easier.