Mamta Gupta's Indian Keema Meatball Curry
Lamb mince make delicious kofta (meat balls) which can be added to any curry sauce that you like. This meatball curry is so delicious, perfect to serve for a special meal. Despite the long list of ingredients, this curry is easy to make and relatively inexpensive too.
| Servings | Prep Time |
| 4people | 25minutes |
| Cook Time | Passive Time |
| 30minutes | 12hours |
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Ingredients
for the meatballs
- 500grams lamb mince
- 1large eggslightly beaten
- 1medium onionpeeled and roughly chopped
- 0.5inch fresh ginger rootpeeled
- 3 garlic clovespeeled
- 1-2 green chillifinely chopped (or use red)
- 1.5tsp sea saltor to taste
- 0.5tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 10 chopped fresh mint(or mint, if you prefer)
for the whole spices
- 1tsp whole cumin seeds
- 3 green cardamom podsbroken slightly with a mortar
- 8 whole peppercorns
- 6 whole cloves
- 2 bay leaves
- 2inch cinnamon stickor cassia bark
for the curry
- 2tbsp vegetable oil
- 1medium onionpeeled and roughly chopped
- 3 garlic clovespeeled
- 1inch fresh ginger rootpeeled
- 1/2tsp ground coriander
- 1/2tsp ground turmeric
- 1/2tsp ground chilli powderadjust to taste
- 1tsp sweet paprikafor colour
- saltto taste
- 2tbsp tomato puree
- 2medium tomatoesor 200 grams chopped tinned tomatoes
- 0.5 - 0.75pint water
- 1tsp garam masala
- 2tbsp fresh coriander leavesto garnish
Instructions
- 1. Place all meat ball ingredients, except the lamb and egg, in a food processor and process finely. If you don't have a food processor chop the ingredients as fine as you can.
- Place the lamb in a large bowl and add the onion mixture and the egg. Mix well by hand or with a large spoon.
- Transfer the mixture to an airtight container and leave in the fridge for a few hours, or overnight, to marinate. This helps the flavours to infuse.
- When ready to cook the curry, shape the meatballs into 20 walnut sized balls. I divided the mixture into half, then half again to make the balls as evenly sized as I could. Wetting your fingers and palms helps with the rolling.
- To prepare the curry, heat the vegetable oil in a heavy based saucepan.
- When the oil is hot, add the whole spices. When the cumin seeds begin to sizzle add the onion, garlic and ginger mix.
- Fry this mixture until it is golden to dark brown. This might take awhile, but be patient - it's an important step in making the curry taste amazing.
- Add the chopped tomatoes, tomato purée, ground coriander, turmeric, chilli powder, paprika and salt. Cook until the oil separates or the mix looks shiny.
- Add the water, bring to a boil and reduce the heat to a simmer.
- Add the meatballs, raw, to the simmering (but not boiling!) sauce. Allow to simmer for 20 minutes, with the lid off (covering with the lid sometimes causes the meatballs to break), shaking the pan on occasion and turning once.
- When meat balls are ready, any oil will separate and float to the top of the sauce. Add half the coriander leaves and garam masala, stir gently and transfer to a serving dish.
- Garnish with remaining coriander and serve hot with freshly made chapattis, steamed rice or plain pilaf rice.
Recipe Notes
These meatballs can also be served plain as a snack or starter – you can even squish them into flat burger patties and serve in mini burger buns. Just shallow fry in a pan and serve with a fresh green chutney or your choice of condiment.
Recipe and photograph provided by Simply Beef & Lamb.