Sarah Warsi

Hello friends! I hope you are all doing well on this wet and somewhat snowy Sunday. We are in what we like to call ‘Fake Spring’ though technically Spring doesn’t officially arrive until next week.

However, we were teased with soaring temperatures recently only to be given a reality check when the snow made an unwanted comeback this weekend. On my walks, it was so refreshing to see the all of snow virtually all gone, and yet, here we are – blanketed once again – though it’s not nearly as bad as what we’ve had this winter.

And we know the warmer weather – the kind that’s here to stay – is coming.

Anyways, I thought it was about time I revived my food section. It’s been a long while since I have posted here. The thing is, I have cooked a lot of dishes that would be worth sharing, but I don’t always remember to capture the moments while I’m in the process of cooking. And what good is a post about making a dish, without photos, right? So I just need to be more mindful of capturing images while cooking to build more content.

Today’s dish is beef kofta curry – or meatball curry. This is a popular dish in South Asian culture, which consists of tender, spicy meatballs in a rich aromatic curry sauce. It’s definitely a top comfort dish.

This recipe was originally developed by Izzah of Tea for Turmeric – a popular food blog – and has earned five-star ratings for its perfect blend of authenticity and ease to make.

So how do we make this delectable dish? Let’s get right to it.

This dish is manifested in two main steps: preparing the meatballs and building the curry base.

Key Ingredients (Source: Tea for Tumeric)

To make the meatballs, you’ll need:

• 1 small onion roughly chopped
• 1 green chili pepper roughly chopped*
• 1/4 cup packed cilantro leaves
• 1 tbsp mint leaves optional
• 1 1/2 tsp crushed garlic
• 1 tsp crushed ginger
• 1 lb ground beef (preferably full fat)
• 2 tbsp gram flour (besan) sub chickpea flour*
• 1 egg lightly whisked
• 1 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp cumin powder
• 1/2 tsp coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp black pepper powder
• 1/2 tsp red chili powder
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp kosher salt

*I should note that I have not used flour the two times I have made this because I didn’t have it, and it came out just fine.
* If using small green chilies, you might want to add a couple more for taste. Totally optional.

To make the curry sauce, you’ll need:

• 1 large onion roughly chopped
• 2 medium tomatoes roughly chopped
• 1 green chili pepper roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup neutral oil
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 3 whole cloves
• 1 inch cinnamon stick
• 1 bay leaf
• 1-2 green cardamom pods
• 4-5 garlic cloves crushed*
• 1/2 inch piece ginger crushed*
• 3 tbsp plain yogurt
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1/2-1 tsp red chili powder
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/4 tsp paprika powder (or Kashmiri chili powder) (optional – for color)
• 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 2 cups water
• 1/4-1/2 tsp garam masala
• 1-2 tbsp cilantro leaves finely chopped

So when I first tried this recipe, it felt like there was a lot to making the curry sauce – lots of different, individual spices – but then I had to remind myself that I was essentially making this from scratch and not out of a box. So take your time when making this and do not skip any of the ingredients – all of them work together to create the delicious, savory result in the end.

Also, because there are so many different ingredients, your best bet is to have everything already cut (if needed) and sectioned out on your counter so that, when it’s time to use each ingredient, it’s ready to go. (I wish I had taken a pic of this part but forgot to.)

I have the bad habit of prepping the next ingredient as I need it, and it can often throw me off track. You’ll have a good rhythm going if all you have to do is “grab and go”. It will make the whole cooking experience a lot smoother.

*You could probably substitute ginger and garlic paste if you don’t have fresh ginger and garlic – but I do find that fresh ginger and garlic just gives that added kick to the dish to really enhance the flavours.

Step One: Make the Meatballs

Using a food processor, if you have one, finely mince the onion, green chilli, and cilantro. This will allow these vegetables to nicely blend in with the meatballs with no visible, oversized chunks sticking out.

If you don’t have a food processor, then do you best to finely mince these so that they can easily be mixed in with the ground beef. Combine all the dry spices with the mixture to ensure the meat is nicely blended. You could use the food processor for this step but I just combined rigorously by hand and it worked fine.

Then, with a lightly-greased hand, form each meatball. This recipe should allow you to make up to 25 meatballs.

( Note: I forgot to mince the cilantro before adding it, which is why the pieces appear so big.)

Step Two: Make the Curry Sauce

Once the meatballs are ready, set them aside and start on the curry sauce.

The process of making the curry begins with the whole spices – cumin seeds, cloves, cinnamon, bay leaf, and cardamom. Heat up a small amount of vegetable oil in a non-stick pan and add these whole spices, allowing them to sizzle and become aromatic.

Then sautée the onions until golden. Now, I have to admit, I am not always good at actually letting the onions become golden – I usually move onto the next step once they are translucent, but this is an important step to adding depth to your overall dish – so try to let them get as brown as possible without burning them.

Add a splash of water to deglaze the pan. Then add the garlic and ginger, along with a blended mixture of tomatoes and green chilies, followed by yogurt and the dried ground spices.

Sautee for about 5 minutes, stirring often, or until the oil separates from the mixture.

Once the oil separates from the mixture, add two cups of water and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and once the sauce has stopped boiling, slowly add the meatballs to the liquid.

Cover and cook on medium for about 10 minutes. Then check on the meatballs, gently giving them a stir, adjust the temperature to low-medium and cook, covered for another 35 minutes until cooked through.

Once done, feel free to add more salt to taste (if needed), garnish with cilantro for added punch, and sprinkle some garam masala (a packaged blend of ground spices) to add more aroma to the final dish.

And voila! Your delicious kofta curry is ready to devour. It can be had with fresh, hot naan or plain white rice.

And once again, I want to thank Tea for Tumeric for the initial inspiration for this wonderful recipe! Subscribe to Izza’s vibrant food blog for a plethora of more amazing recipes.

If you end up making this, let me know what you thought of it.