Pakistani Kofta Curry Recipe (Chicken, Lamb, Beef, Mutton)

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Pakistani Kofta Curry Recipe (Chicken, Lamb, Beef, Mutton)

Pakistani Kofta Curry Recipe (Chicken, Lamb, Beef, Mutton)

What makes this Kofta Curry so good?

Using a number of family resources, my own taste testing and just general desire to cook an out-of-the-ordinary dinner, I’ve developed this recipe and I think it has that ‘wow’ factor.

This is thanks to:

the freshly roasted and ground spices – the warm and earthy undertones of the cardamom and cinnamon
the vivid, fiery hue of the Kashmiri red chilli powder! Trust me, this little spice is a gem to add a pop of colour to any meal. It has a very mild, inoffensive flavour. In this particular recipe I’ve used 3tsp but believe me this curry is not too hot to handle!
the flavour of the meatballs! |t is wonderfully spiced – in fact, I could happily use the meatball mixture to make kabobs and keema
The tenderness and juiciness of the meatballs is just TO. DIE. FOR. I’ll talk more about how to get that juice factor in this post!
The very authentic flavour. Trust me guys, this is the REAL DEAL, full on authentic Pakistani kofta experience!

What makes a kofta curry AUTHENTIC?

What is considered is totally up for debate. And that includes ‘how important is it REALLY for things to be authentic?’

Something certainly doesn’t need to be AUTHENTIC for it to be accepted or enjoyed. This recipe is an authentic-style recipe but there’s in no way another wrong with other recipes out there which don’t follow this style.

Here’s what make up the traditional Kofta Curry recipe:

The meatballs are formed with gram flour, often dry-toasted in a pan before using for extra oomph
The meatballs are spiced with a number of spices, but most notably white poppy seeds (khashkhaas in Urdu). The poppy seeds are what give the kofta their distinctive flavour
The masala base of the curry is made from onions and yogurt – no tomatoes are used
Here’s something which may be new to you! Traditional Kofta recipes do not use fresh coriander as a garnishing, like most Pakistani curries are!

Again, just putting it out there that there’s nothing wrong with following another style! But here I’ve just broken down what I’ve learnt to be the traditional way and that’s what I’m sharing!

How to make soft Koftas

This section is a new bit I’m adding in 2022, about 7 years since I first developed this recipe! I’m amending it because I felt like the Koftas had a lot more potential to be softer and juicier. I tried a few bits and I found the following things made the Koftas more tender than the original recipe (the recipe has now been updated in light of this):

I reduced the amount of gram flour – this resulted in a lighter kofta without impacting the binding power of it. My ratio for gram flour to meat is 2tbsp gram flour per 500g minced meat.

VINEGAR! I can’t believe I’ve never used this before! Vinegar is often used to tenderise roast meats, tough cuts of red meat in particular, and when I tried it in meatballs made from chicken breast which is notoriously dry and tough, I was amazed at how much of a difference it made.
Overcooking can also lead to dry, tough koftas. So if you choose to pan-fry your meatballs before adding them to the curry, don’t do so for longer than it takes to just get the outside to turn golden. Ideally, use whatever liquid may be remaining in that pan in the curry too.

Ingredients

For the meatballs

1 ½ lb (750 g) finely minced chicken
1.5 tablespoon cumin seeds
1.5 tablespoon coriander seeds
2 tablespoon poppy seeds
1 black cardamom
1 small piece cinnamon
2 teaspoon salt or to taste
1 teaspoon red chilli powder or to taste
2.5 tablespoon gram chickpea flour
3 teaspoon white vinegar
2-3 tablespoon water to held shape the meatballs

For the curry

1.5 (165 g) medium onion
12 cloves garlic
¼ cup (65 ml) oil
½ cup (130 g) full fat yogurt
3 teaspoon Kashmiri red chilli powder
2 teaspoon salt or to taste
2 teaspoon coriander powder
2 teaspoon cumin powder
0.25 teaspoon turmeric
1 whole black cardamom
1 small piece cinnamon (whole)
poppy seeds, to garnish (optional)

Pakistani Kofta Curry Recipe (Chicken, Lamb, Beef, Mutton)