Lamb Kofta Curry

I bought ground lamb intending to make rista again, but decided to cook up a recipe for kofta curry instead.

Meatball mix: Half an onion, crushed two garlic cloves, ground lamb, spices, salt, and olive oil.

Ground spice mix: cumin, cilantro, fenugreek, cinnamon and black pepper for the curry

Curry base: 3 medium tomatoes, ginger, and browned onions

The meatballs get cooked in the same pot onions were browned in

Once the meat is brown, the curry base gets added to it

I also added half a head of cauliflower & chopped spinach to avoid making a separate vegetable side. 

Served with cumin-cinnamon scented rice.

Ingredients:

Meatballs:

• 1.5 lbs of ground lamb
• half a purple onion, grated
• 2 cloves of garlic, minched or crushed
• 1 tbsp paprika
• 1 tbsp cumin powder
• 1.5 tsp coarse salt
• 2 tbsp olive oil

Mix all the above ingredients, allow to sit for 30 minutes, and roll into balls. I made mine just a touch smaller than golf balls.

Curry:

• half head of cauli, cut into small florets
• 2 cups of baby spinach leaves, chopped
• 3 tomatoes- chopped into quarters
• half an onion, grated
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• whole spices ground together: 2 tsp cumin, 2 tsp coriander seed, 1/4 tsp fenugreek seed, 10 peppercorns, small piece cinnamon
• whole spices for seasoning (do not grind): 1 tsp cumin, 2 dry red chillis, 2 cardamon pods, 2 cloves
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 2 tbsp lemon juice.
• 2 tbsp olive oil

Method:

In a large pot, heat the olive oil till it glistens.

Add the 1 tsp cumin seeds and dry red chillis. Once seeds are toasted, add the onions and garlic, and lightly brown the onions.

Add the ground spice mix, turmeric, and mix well with the onions. Transfer all contents of pot to the blender, add the tomatoes to the blender, and blend well without adding water.

Meanwhile, continue heating pot and arrange all meatballs in a single layer. If they don’t fit, place as many as you can, and wait till they cook down to make room for more. Add the cardamon & cloves.

Once all meatballs are browed, add the tomato-onion puree and mix well. Allow to come to boil. Check curry for salt & add to taste.

Add the cauliflower florets, and mix again. If the cauliflower is not getting soaked in the curry base, move meatballs to the top of the cauliflower. Cover and simmer 20 minutes.

Add the spinach and simmer 5 more minutes. Add the lemon juice, and serve with rice.