Kebab (Kofta) Curry
From Camellia Panjabi, 50 Great Curries Of India
This is a curry made with long kebabs of minced lamb. It is a recipe from a
leading Kashmiri family. They call it a kofta curry and say that long kebabs
absorb the flavour of the curry more evenly than the round ones. The koftas
are very tender and the gravy thin but full of flavour.
Ingredients
For kebabs
2lb (900g) very finely minced lamb
3 teaspoons fennel powder
11/2 teaspoons ginger powder
11/2 teaspoons red chilli powder
6 large black cardamoms
1 tablespoon oil
Salt
1 egg
For the sauce
5 tablespoons full-fat yoghurt
6 tablespoons oil
8 cloves
2-in (5-cm) cinnamon stick
4 small tomatoes, chopped
1 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons red chilli powder
1 tsp ginger powder
2 teaspoons fennel powder
Salt
Method
1.. To make the kebabs, mince or process the lamb once more until it is
very fine.
2.. Mix the fennel and ginger powders. Remove the seeds from the cardamoms
and pound until crushed. Mix all the spices with the minced lamb in a bowl.
Add the oil, salt to taste and the egg and mix well.
3.. Keep a bowl of warm water handy to dip your hands into when making the
kebabs. Take a handful of the minced meat, about the size of a lime, and
roll it to a 3-inch (7.5-cm) sausage. Place on a flat dish or tray. You will
get about 30 kebabs which, when cooked, will shrink to a 2-in (5-cm) length.
4.. To make the gravy, whisk the yoghurt and set aside.
5.. Take a cooking pot with a diameter of at least 10-12 in (25-30cm) - it
can be a shallow one - into which the kebabs will fit without breaking. Heat
the oil in the pot over a low heat. Add the cloves and cinnamon first, then
after a minute or so add the tomatoes. Fry until the liquid from the
tomatoes has almost evaporated. Stir in the tomato paste.
6.. Add the chilli powder and fry for a minute, and then put in the
yoghurt. Stir continuously to prevent the yoghurt from curdling. Add the
fennel and ginger powders, season and cook for 5 minutes, stirring all the
time.
7.. Add 5 cups hot water and bring to the boil. Very gently lay in the
kebabs one at a time. Leave to cook for about 20 minutes over a low heat.
The kebabs will absorb a lot of the water. Do not stir once the kebabs are
put into the pot. It the gravy needs to be stirred, hold both sides of the
pot and rock it gently.
8.. Taste and add more salt if necessary, mixing it first with water and
pouring it into the pan in various places. You will know when the dish is
totally ready, as oil will rise to the top of the gravy.
If the kebab curry is to be reheated before serving, remove from the heat
just as the oil begins to rise to the surface and set aside. Then reheat
gently for 5-7 minutes, before serving.
If the mince is fatty and the curry oily, add 2 eggs instead of 1, and when
the kebabs are made up, steam them for 10 minutes, allowing the fat to drip
off before putting the kebabs into the pot.
Note. From memory I believe a lot of CP recipes tended to end up on the watery side and I believe this was due to the fact that she uses cup measures but somewhere in the small print it was stated that the cups were 200 ml not the standard UK 250ml. Just be cautious when adding the fluid as the Koftas can get too hard if overlooked so you don't want to leave them in the pan if you turn up the heat to reduce the sauce.
Topic: Madhur Jaffreys lamb meatball curry (read 25,274 times)
