Wednesday 21 November 2018

Lamb Kofta Curry.



Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

I have another delicious Pakistani curry for you today.
This is my Mum's lamb kofta curry.
Her chicken kofta curry is one of the most popular curry recipes here on the blog and when she cooked up a lamb version in July, it was a roaring success. We ate it with chickpea pulao and a caramelised vegetable yoghurt raita. Delicious for Sunday lunch.

The curry begins with the koftas (meatballs). The mixture can be made a day in advance - the longer it sits, the more flavour the mince will have. Then, it is shaped and browned in butter until golden.

The koftas can sit around whilst we make the curry sauce. It's flavoured with the usual warming spices and is especially good after a long, cold day. Yoghurt is used to make it a little creamier - make sure it's at room temperature to avoid any curdling. Once the curry sauce is ready, the koftas go back. After a quick stir-fry, we let the curry simmer together until it is cooked.

 To finish the curry, my Mother always adds plenty of fresh coriander and green chillies. Of course, wherever there are koftas, we always add boiled eggs. You can leave them out but we love them in our kofta curries. This curry is lovely with chickpea pulao, hot boiled rice or lovely soft naan.

Koftas, previously: sesame chicken meatballs // chicken kofta curry // nargisi kofta curry 

A Simple List of Ingredients:

For the Lamb Koftas:
1. Onions
2. Fresh Coriander
3. Lamb Mince
4. Green Chillies
5. Salt
6. Ground Coriander
7. Ground Cumin
8. Ginger Paste
9. Garlic Paste
10. Turmeric Powder
11. Gram Flour (Besan)
12. Vegetable Oil
13. Butter

For the Curry Sauce:
1. Vegetable Oil
2. Onions
3. Tomato
4. Ginger Paste
5. Garlic Paste
6. Ground Coriander
7. Ground Cumin
8. Curry Powder
9. Salt
10. Red Chilli Powder
11. Turmeric Powder
12. Water
13. Plain Yoghurt

To Finish:
1. Fresh Coriander
2. Green Chillies
3. Hard-Boiled Eggs

Bismillah, let's begin!

First, we make the kofta mixture. Take 2 peeled and roughly chopped Onions and a Large Handful of Fresh Coriander, roughly chopped.

Put them both into a food processor and blend until finely chopped.

We will eventually mix all the kofta ingredients in here but I like to give the coriander and onion a head start.

Next, add in 420g Lamb Mince. Beef mince and chicken mince would work well here too.

With the lamb mince, add in:
3 roughly chopped Green Chillies
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Ground Coriander
1 teaspoon Ground Cumin
1/2 teaspoon Ginger Paste
1/2 teaspoon Garlic Paste
1/2 teaspoon Turmeric Powder
70g (4 tablespoons) Gram Flour / Besan, toasted in a dry pan if you prefer

Blend everything togetehr until the mixture has formed a ball in the processor.

Let the kofta mixture rest for 15 minutes and up to overnight. Perfect to make ahead of time!

When you are ready to cook, shape the mixture into balls. I used 1 tablespoon of mixture for each kofta and made 27 koftas.

We're ready to fry! Side note - the koftas would freeze really well at this point too. Let them freeze solid on a tray then divide between freezer bags.

To brown the koftas, heat a Few Tablespoons of Vegetable Oil and 2 tablespoons Butter in a large pan over medium heat.

Fry the koftas (in batches if needed) until they're golden brown all over.

Set aside until needed.

At this point, boil the eggs which we will need for the end of the curry. I like to boil them now so that they are ready for later. I used 4 large Eggs and boiled them until they were hard-boiled.

Next, I cooked the curry sauce in the same saucepan (less washing up 😉). Add more Vegetable Oil as needed and let it heat up over medium heat.

To the hot oil, add 2 peeled and finely chopped Onions. Let them gently fry until golden.

Pour in 1 blended Tomato. You could also use 1/2 tin tomatoes instead.

Stir the tomatoes in.

Then, add in more Vegetable Oil if needed and stir-fry the mixture until the oil rises to the surface and separates.

Add in:
1 teaspoon Ginger Paste
1 teaspoon Garlic Paste
2 teaspoons Ground Coriander
1 teaspoon Ground Cumin
1/2 teaspoon Curry Powder
1 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Red Chilli Powder
1/2 teaspoon Turmeric Powder

Stir the spices in, add a splash of Water and stir-fry until the oil has again risen to the surface. See those bubbles? That's the oil coming up.

Then, turn the heat right down to low. Stir in 3 tablespoons Plain Yoghurt, at room temperature. Having the yoghurt at room temperature helps it not curdle as it hits the hot curry sauce.

Add in another splash of Water.

Before adding in the koftas.

Stir-fry for 10 minutes until the liquid has dried out and the sauce sticks to the koftas.

Then, add in as much water as you would like curry sauce. I poured in 400ml Water.

Stir and bring to the boil.

Cover with a lid and let the curry cook over a low heat for 20 minutes.

Uncover the curry and let it cook gently until the oil has risen to the surface.

Finish by stirring in:
Handful Fresh Coriander, finely chopped
2 Green Chillies, finely sliced

And, don't forget to peel and add in your 4 Boiled Eggs.

The lamb kofta curry is done!

We ate this curry with boiled rice but it would also be delicious with fresh naan.

Lamb Kofta Curry.

a crowd pleaser on a Winter's night!

Prep Time: About 20 minutes.
Cook Time: About 1 hour.
Serves: About 5 people.

Ingredients

For the Koftas
2 Onions, peeled and roughly chopped
Large handful Fresh Coriander, roughly chopped
420g Lamb Mince
3 Green Chillies, roughly chopped
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Ground Coriander
1 teaspoon Ground Cumin
1/2 teaspoon Ginger Paste
1/2 teaspoon Garlic Paste
1/2 teaspoon Turmeric Powder
70g (4 tablespoons) sifted Gram Flour (Besan - toast it in a dry pan, if you prefer)
Few tablespoons Vegetable Oil
2 tablespoons Butter

For the Curry Sauce
Vegetable Oil, as needed
2 Onions, peeled and finely chopped
1 Tomato, blended until smooth
1 teaspoon Ginger Paste
1 teaspoon Garlic Paste
2 teaspoons Ground Coriander
1 teaspoon Ground Cumin
1/2 teaspoon Curry Powder
1 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Red Chilli Powder
1/2 teaspoon Turmeric Powder
Water, as needed
3 tablespoons Plain Yoghurt (at room temperature)

To Finish
Handful Fresh Coriander,  finely chopped
2 Green Chillies, finely sliced
4 Eggs, hard-boiled

Mix the kofta mixture:
  • In a food processor, blend the onions and fresh coriander until finely chopped. Add in the rest of the kofta ingredients except the oil and butter. Blend until well combined and the mixture has formed a ball in the processor.
  • Let the kofta mixture rest for 15 minutes or up to overnight.
  • Shape the mixture into koftas. I used 1 tablespoon per kofta and made 27 koftas.
Fry the koftas:
  • Heat the vegetable oil and butter in a large pan over medium heat. Once the butter has melted, add the koftas in batches and fry until golden brown all over. Remove from the pan and continue with the rest.
Make the curry sauce:
  • In the same pan, add more oil if you need to. Over medium heat, add in the chopped onions and gently fry until golden. Pour in the blended tomato and cook for 5 minutes. Add more oil if you need to, and fry well until the oil rises to the surface.
  • Add in the ginger, garlic, ground coriander, ground cumin, curry powder, salt, red chilli powder, and turmeric powder. Stir well and add a splash of water. Fry well until the oil rises to the surface.
  • Turn the heat down to low and add in the yoghurt. Stir in before adding in another splash of water and the koftas. Stir-fry for 10 minutes until the liquid has dried out and the sauce sticks to the koftas.
  • Add as much water as you would like now - I added in 400ml. Bring to the boil and cover with a lid. Turn the heat right down and let the curry cook for 20 minutes.
Finish the curry:
  • Uncover the pan and let the curry gently cook until the oil has risen to the surface. Stir in the fresh coriander, green chillies and boiled eggs. Serve with boiled rice or naan bread.

Keep me in your duas please, and enjoy your kofta curry!

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!


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