Oh How I Love Curry!

I borrowed a new cookbook from the library called Six Spices: A Simple Concept of Indian Cooking. It looked promising, and I’m always game for trying some new Indian cookery. Last night for dinner I tried the first of two recipes that I’ve earmarked to try from this book. If they both prove good, I’ll be adding the book to my wish list.

Last night’s Curried Meat Balls came together much more quickly then I’d anticipated. It began with making the meatballs. I opted to use beef for this round, but according to the recipe chicken, turkey or lamb would be great as well. To the beef I added an egg, some chickpea flour, garlic salt, and garam masala. I shaped it into balls, popped them into the oven, and hoped they’d turn out. They didn’t smell like much as I rolled them together, so I was a little concerned.

I then turned my attention to the gravy. This was a process I was familiar with. First a paste is made from onion, garlic, and ginger, and then this is cooked for a while before a melange of spices is added. Oh, the aroma in the kitchen when adding the spices! It was instant heaven. The gravy was finished simply with some tomato sauce, yogurt and salt, and then I waited for the meatballs. They came out of the oven and went into the gravy, and the whole thing simmered gently while I made a pot of basmati rice and Raita to accompany.

Heaven. Pure heaven. I loved these meatballs. The raita was the perfect accompaniment, but what really made the dish was the fresh cilantro added at the table. Andy cleaned his plate just as eagerly as I did, but the kids politely passed on the strangely sauced meatballs. Ah well, more for me for lunch tomorrow. This dish was wonderful, and I am thrilled to add it to my ever-expanding repertoire of Indian dishes. The only change I would make for the next time would be to try using lamb, as I think the robustness of the gravy would compliment the lamb beautifully. Other than that, this one is solid gold.

Rase wale Kofte

Ingredients for Kofta:

1 pound lean ground meat (chicken, lamb, turkey or beef)

1 egg

2 to 3 tablespoons besan (chickpea flour)

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

1/2 teaspoon garam masala

Ingredients for Gravy:

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 tablespoons ginger, finely chopped

2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped

3/4 cup water, divided

5 tablespoons cooking oil

1 teaspoon cumin powder

1 teaspoon coriander powder

1/2 teaspoon red chili powder

1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder

1 cup tomato sauce

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup yogurt

2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped

Method for Preparing Kofta:

1. Heat oven to 400ºF.
2. In a bowl, mix ground meat, besan, garlic salt, and garam masala. Knead the mixture well or use a food processor for a few seconds until the mixture is smooth. Divide into 16 equal portions.
3. Place koftas on a greased baking dish. Bake for 20 minutes, shaking them occasionally to ensure even cooking all around. remove the dish from the oven. Discard the fat, if any. Cover the koftas to keep moist.

Method for Preparing Gravy:

1. Place onions, ginger and garlic in a blender with 2 tablespoons of the water. Run blender on high speed to make a smooth onion paste.
2. To make gravy, heat oil in a heavy frying pan on medium-to-high heat. When oil is hot, add onion paste and cover the pan. When splattering stops, stir the onion paste and roast it until oil separates from teh mixture.
3. Reduce heat to low. Stir in cumin, coriander, red chili, and turmeric powders to make masala.
4. Add a tablespoon of the water 3 to 4 times during the cooking. Cook the mixture for a few minutes, stirring constantly. The mixture will change into a thick mass.
5. Stir in the tomato sauce, salt, and yogurt. Simmer on low heat for 5 minutes.
6. Add remaining water to make the gravy. Increase heat to medium and bring to a boil.
7. Add koftas to the gravy and simmer on low heat for 10 to 15 minutes until desired consistency of gravy is achieved. Add more water if desired to make more gravy.
8. Serve the succulent meat balls hot with cilantro and fresh naan.