Kofta Kabob Curry is a thick, rich, creamy curry with flavorful meatballs in it. Learn a trick to ensure your meatballs do not break apart while cooking in the curry!
Kofta Kabobs are a famous Mediterranean dish made with flavorful meatballs. In this case, we will add meatballs into a curry gravy to make it rich and perfect to enjoy with Homemade Naan, roti, or Peas Pulao or even simple basmati white rice.
The meatballs can be made with any ground meat you like: chicken, turkey, goat, lamb, or beef. You flavor it with amazing Seekh Kabab spices. Enveloped around a hearty, rich, and creamy gravy! Yummmm, this is a filling curry for meat lovers.
Read below for a trick that helps keep the meatball together and remove excess fat from the meat. If you add the raw koftas and try to cook it in the curry, by the time they cook and your stir so it does not stick…the koftas have broken apart and now you have a khima curry not kofta! Some people pan fry the meatballs and brown them first, you can do that too if you like. A little precoooking brings the meat together so it holds up better when cooking in the gravy.
This is nice dish to serve your family or when entertaining your friends who are meat lovers. Try it out today.
Makes 4 servings
Time: Marinate 1 hour, 20 mins cooking time
Ingredients for the Kabob:
- 1 lb ground meat (goat, lamb, turkey, or chicken)
- 1 cup small diced onion
- 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint and coriander leaves. (if you don’t have fresh, you can use ready made green chutney)
- 1 tbsp Salt
- 1 tbsp Garam Masala
- 1 tbsp cumin coriander powder (dhana Jeera) or Seekh Kabob spice masala
- 1 cup bread crumbs
- 1 tsp dry Italian seasoning or Oregano
- 2 tbsp oil
- 1/2 tsp whole Cumin seeds (jeera)
- 1 Cinnamon stick
- 1 large black elcho or 3 small green elchis
- 1 cup small diced onion
- 1 cup crushed tomato (canned works best). If grinding fresh tomatoes use 2 cups
- 1 tsp ginger garlic paste
- 2 tbsp Sour cream or heavy cream
- 2 tbsp plain whole milk Yogurt
- 1 cup water
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp Haldi (turmeric)
- 1 tbsp Garam Masala
- 1 tbsp Cumin and Coriander powder (Dhana Jeera)
- Optional: 1 tbsp dry Kasuri Methi
- Optional: Chopped cilantro leaves for garnish
Method to make Koftas/Meatballs:
- In a bowl, mix together all the Meatball ingredients evenly to incorporate everything. You can use a food processor if you like as well or just do it by hand.
- Cover and let it marinate for minimum 1 hour or overnight
- Divide into 16 portions and roll out tight 2″ diameter meatballs. The size can be small or big as you like. Use oil on your hands to get them smooth with no cracks.
- To ensure the meatballs do not break in the gravy, this is a trick – in a microwave safe dish, lay out the meatballs in a single layer, put in microwave for 5 mins. This will precook them and bind them together.
- Drain out all the excess liquid. This is a great trick to also remove all the excess fat that is not needed! Set aside while we make the gravy.
- In a non stick pot, add in oil, whole spices and let them splutter for 2 mins on medium high heat.
- Add onion and cook for 5 mins till browned
- Add ginger garlic paste and stir in for just a min
- Add in tomatoes, all the powder spices, salt, water, yogurt and sour cream. Stir till well incorporated. Cook for 5 mins.
- Lower the heat to medium, gently add the meatballs into the gravy and stir to cover them with the gravy.
- Cover and cook for 10 mins. Avoid stirring to ensure the meatballs to do break apart. Be very gently when stirring.
- Garnish with chopped cilantro leaves and serve hot, enjoy!
Tips:
- To make this ahead, go ahead make the meatballs then put them in an airtight container in a single layer and freeze them. When ready to use, thaw them out fully and then follow the rest of the steps.
- This is a great curry to add large pieces of potatoes and or green peas along with the meatballs. Do not freeze leftovers if it has potatoes in it, the potato texture changes and crystalizes and they loose the creaminess.
- If you have leftovers, throw in some cooked pasta for a desi fusion twist of Spaghetti & Meatballs!
- Some dried Kasuri Methi has lots of woody stalks in it. I grind it up in the spice mixer into a powder and store it in the freezer to make it last longer. It is very common to get bugs in them, so storing in freezer helps avoid that too.
- Find many other vegetarian and non-vegetarian recipes in the Curry Section.