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Kofta Curry (Indian Meatball Curry)

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Indian spiced meatballs simmered in a fragrant and flavorful curry coming at you in 3, 2, 1…

kofta curry

This is Kofta curry. Have you met before? If not, trust me – this is going to be love at first bite!

After all, what’s not to love about saucy spiced meatballs? Paired with some basmati rice and oh my goodness – it’s a love marriage y’all.

kofta curry

This Indian meatball curry is savory, slightly spicy, and full of flavor. You can use any ground meat to make this – I personally prefer beef or lamb when making kofta curry.

Whatever type of meat you choose – know that it’ll be minced in a food processor, resulting in a truly melt-in-your-mouth meatball.

After forming the meatballs, I make the curry and then simmer the meatballs right in the sauce. Makes things super easy to cook the meat in the sauce but if you’re trying to cook the koftas ahead of time, you can always bake them in the oven or shallow/deep-fry them then add them to the curry later.

So, if you’ve been following me for a while you’re probably wondering why the heck I’m sharing an Indian recipe on my blog that doesn’t call for the instant pot. Well first of all, I figure that there have to be some of you who either haven’t hopped on the IP bandwagon yet or just prefer to cook on the stovetop sometimes. I like to cook on the stovetop when I have time and am feeling nostalgic lol.

But also… this is actually an older recipe from an eBook I wrote back in 2015 called South Asian Persuasion (such a clever name, I know heh). I’ve been wanting to share some recipes from that eBook on my blog for a while now and am finally getting around to it. I totally intend on sharing a kofta curry in an IP at some point in time. But for now, break out the ‘ol pot/dutch oven and give this a try!

Like I mentioned above, this would be great paired with basmati rice. You can also serve it with matar pulao or naan. Add a veggie too – maybe some cabbage sabzi or aloo gobi!

kofta curry

Kofta Curry

kofta curry

Kofta Curry

This Indian meatball curry is savory, slightly spicy and full of flavor. The meat used to make the koftas is first minced in a food processor, resulting in a truly melt-in-your-mouth meatball.
5 from 20 reviews
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Servings 4

Ingredients
 

Meatballs:

  • ½ onion roughly chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic roughly chopped
  • 1- inch ginger roughly chopped
  • ½ Serrano pepper roughly chopped
  • 1 pound ground meat beef or lamb
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon coriander powder
  • ½ teaspoon Kashmiri chili powder
  • 1 tablespoon tapioca flour or another type of flour

Curry:

  • 1 tablespoon avocado oil
  • ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 onion diced
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 1- inch ginger minced
  • ½ Serrano pepper
  • 1 cup canned tomato sauce

Spices

 

  • 2 cups water
  • Cilantro garnish

Instructions
 

  • Add the onion, garlic, ginger, and Serrano pepper to a food processor or blender, and blend until smooth, scraping down the sides a few times if needed.
  • Add the ground meat to the food processor and blend until minced/smooth and well combined with the onion mixture. Pour this into a bowl, along with the spices and tapioca flour.
  • Form the meat mixture into 1-inch balls, and set aside in the fridge to firm up for now.
  • To make the curry, heat oil in a dutch oven or heavy pot over medium heat, then add cumin seeds. Once they begin to splutter, add the cinnamon stick and bay leaves. Stir briefly, then add the onions and cook for 10 minutes, or until they begin to brown.
  • Add the garlic, ginger, Serrano pepper and cook for 1 minute, then add the tomato sauce and spices to the pan and cook for 5-6 minutes, stirring frequently.
  • Add the water, mix well, then add koftas. Cover with a lid, reduce the heat to medium low, and cook for 12-15 minutes or until the koftas are cooked through.
  • Remove lid, raise heat to high and cook for 5 minutes.
  • Garnish with cilantro and serve.

Notes

  • Depending on the type of meat that you use and the fat content, you may need to add more tapioca flour to the meatballs to better bind them together. You can use a different type of flour as well (tapioca flour just so happens to be gluten-free and paleo-friendly). If you’d rather use an egg, that’ll work too. 
Did you make this recipe?Tag @myheartbeets on Instagram and hashtag it #myheartbeets!

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Hi, I’m Ashley. Thanks for being here! I truly believe that food brings us closer together. Gather around a table with good food and good people, and you’ll have the ingredients you need to create some happy memories. My hope is that you find recipes here that you can’t wait to share with family and friends.

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Comments

    • Sandi says

      5 stars
      Okay – soooo this was my first attempt.
      A very brave one.
      A very long time coming.

      You see, I’m a puerto rican gal with modest kitchen experience, and I def don’t know indian all that well (except that I love a good Tikka mandala:) )

      Many years ago, I tried a frozen kofta curry dinner. It was amazing. I was in love and searched it out anywhere I went from then on… Only to find that most Indian restaurants do not have this dish.

      I told myself indian food was too complex to make…and searched out more of this frozen meal. I found it, and had an unpleasant food quality issue with it shortly after.

      This resulted in 10+ years of no kofta curry for me….until now!

      A few things
      1. I did not have the kashmiri chilli powder (used mix of 3 parts paprika/1 part cayenne
      2. I did not have cumin seeds, used slightly less cumin powder later on in recipe, with spices.
      3. In step 2 and step 5, you are instructed to add “spices”, which can be confusing. In the meatballs, I added all spices in the meatball that were in the “meatball” ingredients section, plus anything that might have been mentioned in “spices” that I hadn’t already included (Turmeric, etc). I don’t know if this was how it was supposed to be, but no harm no foul!
      4. I could only find dried Serrano- used that

      This dish turned out INCREDIBLE! I have no words. I want to eat this for every meal.

      Thank you ❤️

      Reply

  4. Aarti says

    This recipe looks delish. I’m too lazy to make the meatballs. Has anyone substituted with ready made meatballs (such as Aidells Chicken Meatballs Caramelized Onion or something similar)?

    Reply

    • Tonya says

      5 stars
      The amazing flavor and texture of these meatballs is well worth the extra effort. You won’t be sorry you dirtied your food processor!! I’ve made these several times and they never disappoint.

      Reply

    • SMS says

      5 stars
      Hi Aarti,

      I made this with ready made frozen turkey meatballs. I thawed the meatballs (because I was afraid of the curry becoming watery) and added it to the curry, cooked as suggested and it was time efficient and delicious! Thank you Ashley and next time I am going to try to make the meatballs too!!!!

      SMS

      Reply

  6. Sam says

    This was a big hit with my family!
    I used ground chicken as that’s what I had on hand. Omitted the serrano due to spice sensitivity but otherwise followed it through.

    Delicious!

    Reply

    • Margaret says

      I added the potatoes before adding the meatballs and simmered them till nearly cooked then added the meatballs… turned out great… u may need to add a bit more water

      Reply

  9. Carlie says

    5 stars
    We loved this recipe! The meatballs have an amazingly soft consistency that is delicious. It was easy to make and so satisfying. Another winning recipe! Thank you.

    Reply

  11. Rebecca says

    5 stars
    Thanks for another stellar meal! I made this for the first time tonight and the whole family loved it and declared it worthy of a regular spot in the rotation. So yummy!

    Reply

  12. Sashaa says

    Hi Ashley,

    I was wondering if this recipe could be made using your famous fabulous onion masala? If so how much would be required? Also what alterations would I need to make to your current above recipe? & How many people would this serve? (I need enough to feed 4 adults & one 8 year old) (so 4 1/2 people)

    And lastly could this be made in the instant pot??

    Thanks in advance 😊

    Reply

  13. Joe says

    5 stars
    This dish came out amazing! I used turkey instead of beef or lamb. I love the subtle cinnamon taste. We were fighting over the last one😊.

    Reply

  14. Karen says

    5 stars
    I made this recipe this weekend and it is absolutely delicious! I substituted a mix of paprika and cayenne for the Kashmiri chili powder, but I will definitely be making this again so I’ll be sourcing some Kashmiri chili powder. Thanks for a wonderful recipe!

    Reply
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