Meatball Curry (Kofta Salan)
This meatball curry is satisfying and comforting at the same time. It’s the kind of meal that warms your soul on a chilly evening and leaves you craving for seconds. It’s a dish that’s brimming with hearty goodness and packs a punch with aromatic spices. Soft balls of meat floating in curry makes it irresistible. If you’re a fan of rich, spicy, and utterly comforting meals, you’re in for a treat.
Meatball curry is like a magical fusion of two incredible worlds – the cozy comfort of meatballs and the bold flavors of curry. It’s a dish that’s brimming with hearty goodness and packs a punch with aromatic spices.
The secret to achieving those melt-in-your-mouth meatballs is to use bread soaked in milk – so make sure not to skip that vital ingredient! You can either pan-fry them to lock in the juices or bake them. Then, cook these little flavor bombs in the curry sauce, and that’s where the magic happens. They soak up all the rich curry sauce, making every bite a burst of savory delight.
Tips
– You can use regular or lean meat.
– If you do not have a food processor, you can knead the meat by hand for 5-8 minutes or until you see the meat develops a sticky consistency.
– Use a cookie scoop to form balls. It is quick and all the balls will be of the same size.
– When making the balls, slightly oil your hands. This prevents the meat from sticking to your hands.
One of the best things about meatball curry is its versatility. You can adjust the spice level to suit your taste, and it pairs wonderfully with various side dishes. Take a piece of naan or roti, dunk it in the curry, making sure to scoop out a meatballs. Or, scoop out the curry (don’t forget the meatballs!) and serve it with fluffy basmati rice or even a simple cucumber raita to cool down the heat.
Meatball Curry
Ingredients
Ingredients for Meatballs:
- 500 gm ground beef (makes 12-15 balls)
- 1 bread slice soaked in 4 tablespoons milk
- 1/2 teaspoon ginger-garlic paste
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoon chickpea flour (Besan)
- 1/4 teaspoon tandoori masala (optional)
Ingredients for Curry:
- 1/4 cup oil
- 1.5 large onions (finely chopped/diced/pureed)
- 2 tablespoons ginger-garlic paste
- 1/2 tablespoon kashmiri powder
- 1 teaspoon red chili powder
- 1 tablespoon coriander powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup yogurt (whisked)
- 4 tablespoons tomato puree
- 2 teaspoons garam masala
- 2 cups water (hot)
Instructions
Preparing the Meatballs
- In a food processor, add all the ingredients listed under ‘Ingredients for Meatballs’ and run it until you see the meat coming together as a big ball. This shows it's done.
- Remove into a clean dish. Lightly oil your hands and form balls– size depends on your preference but avoid making them too big.
- From here, there are 2 ways to slightly sauté/sear the meatballs:
Method #1
- Place a non-stick frying pan on medium high heat. Drizzle 2-3 tablespoons of oil. When it is slightly hot, add the meatballs (do not overcrowd). Do not touch them for one minute! THEN, give them all a shake to allow the other sides to sear. We do not want to cook them, just slightly brown them. This helps them hold their shape and lock in their juices when we will put them in the curry. You might need to do it in 2-3 batches.
Method #2
- Preheat oven to 390F. Place the meatballs on a baking dish lined with parchment paper/aluminum foil. Bake for 5 minutes. Flip and bake for another 5 minutes.
- Once the meatballs are done, transfer them to another plate along with the juices that have been released.
Preparing the Curry:
- In a large pot or wok on medium-high heat, add oil and onions and fry until translucent.
- Add ginger-garlic paste and let it sauté until it slightly browns.
- Then add all following spices – Kashmiri powder, red chili powder, coriander powder, cumin powder and salt – mix and add 3-4 tablespoons of water (to prevent the spices from burning).
- Keep sauteing the spices for 1 minute and add 3-4 tablespoons of water regularly. This will give a beautiful color to the curry.
- Then add the yogurt and immediately stir for 1 minute. Make sure that you do not lower the heat or the yogurt will curdle.
- Cover and let it cook for 1 minute more until you see the oil separating at the sides.
- At this point, add the tomato puree and again let it cook until the oil separates again (about 45 seconds).
- Now, add 2 cups of hot water and let it come to a rolling boil.
- Add in the meatballs along with their juices.
- Let it cook UNCOVERED for 20-25 minutes.
- Finally, switch off the heat.
- Sprinkle garam masala and cover for 5 minutes. This will further enhance the aroma of the dish.
- Serve hot with naans, rotis or rice.
Notes
- You can use regular or lean meat.
- Adding bread soaked in milk is the secret to the softest meatballs ever ever!
- If you do not have a food processor, you can knead the meat by hand for 5-8 minutes or until you see the meat develops a sticky consistency.
- Use a cookie scoop to form balls.
- When making the balls, slightly oil your hands. This prevents the meat from sticking to your hands.
- Don’t discard the juices after sauteing/searing the meatballs. They contain tons of flavor.
- You can easily freeze some of the meatballs in Ziploc bags and use them the next time you want to make this dish or for spaghetti and meatballs.
- Sauteing the spices may seem tedious, but it ensures that spices release their flavor in the oil and give that vibrant color to the curry. Just make sure you do not burn them. Keep adding tablespoons of water as needed.
- The chickpea flour acts as a binding agent.
Tamarind Chutney
2 Comments
Farheen
Tried this recipe out for a weekend dinner and it was incredibly delicious. The quantities were exact : I ended up with 15 meatballs and the flavors were on-point. Enjoyed it with rice. Will make this again!
Falak
So happy you enjoyed it! Thanks for the feedback.