Chicken Kofta Curry

Chicken Kofta Curry is a beautiful preparation where small balls of minced chicken are cooked in a spiced and aromatic curry. Make this, if you like to go a little lighter with the Kofta business. The koftas are soft and juicy from being dunked in that smooth gravy.

Chicken Kofta Curry

Serves 8

Ingredients:

700gm of minced chicken

2 and ½ medium onions – finely chopped

4 ripe tomatoes – finely chopped

¼ cup of cashew nuts

½ cup of cream

10 fat cloves of garlic – minced

2 inch ginger – paste

2 green chillies – finely chopped

2 tsp turmeric powder

2 tsp red chilli powder

1 tsp cumin powder

1 tsp coriander powder

1 and ½ tsp garam masala powder

2 medium cinnamon stick

4 green cardamoms

4 cloves

1 bay leaf

1 egg

Salt

Enough oil to fry the koftas and cook

Method:

Readymade minced chicken is a hard catch. So you can grind the chicken in your grinder in your home or you can ask your butcher to mince the chicken breasts you are buying.

In a bowl take the minced chicken and add to it the egg, 1 tsp turmeric powder, 1 tsp red chilli powder, ½ tsp garam masala powder, ½ onion chopped, ½ tsp ginger paste, 4 garlic cloves minced, chopped green chillies and salt.

Mix them using your hand until they are well incorporated. If you find that there is not enough binding in that minced chicken mix, add a little flour or corn starch to  it. Once the chicken mince is ready, make small balls out of them. You will have around 15-18 small balls from that amount of minced chicken.

Heat enough in a kadai to shallow fry and fry the balls of chicken until they are golden brown from the outside. Take them out of the kadai and keep aside.

Take a new pan / kadai and heat 2-3 tbsp oil in it. Temper the oil with cinnamon stick, green cardamoms, cloves and bay leaves.

Sauté them in oil for about half a minute and then add the chopped onions to it.

Sprinkle some salt over them and cook the onion until they are golden.

Add the ginger-garlic paste to it and cook for a minute or two or until the raw garlic flavour is gone.

Add the chopped tomatoes the browned onion and cook them until they become completely pulpy and the oil separates.

Add the remaining turmeric powder and red chilli powder to it. Add the cumin powder and coriander powder.

Mix and stir the spices to cook for a minute and add ¼ cup of water to it.

Add the cashew nuts to the curry and simmer for 5 minutes.

Switch off the flame and pick out the whole spices.

Then pour the curry in a blender. Let it come to room temperature and blend until smooth (if you blend it right away the heat might burst out of the blender making your kitchen an edible food art).

Pour the curry again inside the pan and add 2 cups of water to it.

Add the fried balls of minced chicken and cover the pan.

Simmer on low to medium flame for about 12-15 minutes.

After 15 minutes, open the lid and simmer until the curry thickens.

Taste and adjust the seasoning.

Add the cream and garam masala powder.

Stir to mix.

Finish off with the chopped coriander leaves.

Switch off the flame and serve hot with plain rice / chapatti / naan.