Amchur-Harimirch wale Kacche Gosht ke Kofte
Happy Indepedence Day all my dear Indians!
Kofta (in Urdu language, Singular-Kofta; Plural-Kofte) means meatballs. Among all the meatball curries that I prepare, two of them, the Methi-Gosht ke Kofte and this one that I am writing about today are the most favorite in my house and we devour them along with warm Naan, or Afghani Roti which I get from the market usually.
It is called as ‘Kacche Gosht ke Kofte’ as the meatballs/Kofte in this method are added raw into the hot gravy and are allowed to cook in it. The meatballs cook perfectly in the hot bubbling gravy within a few minutes. I love this technique because, as the raw meatballs cook in the hot gravy, they impert their juices and flavor and give a deep taste.
Amchur-Harimirch wale Kacche Gosht ke Kofte – Meatballs in a hot and sour gravy
The two main ingredients here are Amchur in the Kofta and Green chilli paste in the gravy. You can feel the light tartness in the meatballs when you have them and the slight hotness due to the green chilli paste in the gravy make you leave wanting for more. It is a very simple recipe.
As Ramadhan is fast appraching, you can prepare this curry in large amounts, portion it and store it in freezable plastic food storage boxes that are microwave safe. When you sit to have your meal after iftaar, just microwave the box for a few minutes, and you are done. It will save you a lot of time.
You can use ground meat to prepare this curry, or if ground meat is not available, then you can even use meat chunks to prepare it. Wash and cut the meat chunks into bite size pieces, and put the chunks along with the spices for meaballs in a food processor, and pulse till the meat is well ground and mixed with the spices. Food processor is one of the most important kitchen gadgets in my kitchen. It makes my work very easier.
Amchur-Harimirch wale Kacche Gosht ke Kofte – Meatballs in a hot and sour gravy
For the Meatballs/Kofte
Ingredients:
Ground Veal/Lamb/Goat meat (or) Veal/Lamb/Goat meat chunks cut into bite size pieces or mince – 300 grams (read the notes above)
Dry Raw Mango/Amchur – 2 tsp
Red chilli flakes – 2 tsp
Garam Masala – 1 tsp
Salt/Namak – 1 tsp
Turmeric/Haldi – 1/2 tsp
Ginger-Garlic/Adrak-Lahsun paste – 2 tsp
Kacche Gosht ke Kofte – Raw meatballs
Method:
1. In a food processor or a blender, add all the ingredients and pulse till the mixture is all well mixed. Remove it into a bowl. Take a small amount into your hand and shape into little balls (approx 1 inch in diameter) rubbing the mixture between your palms. Continue making balls untill all the mixture is completed. Keep aside.
2. Wash your hands well with soap.
TIP: To freeze meatballs ahead of time: You can prepare the meatballs and freeze them for future use.
Form meatballs, and place them on a parchment paper lined baking sheet in the freezer. Once the meatballs are hard and well frozen, transfer them to a resealable plastic bag and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. To serve, thaw and cook them in the curry.
For the Curry/Gravy:
Ingredients:
Canola oil – 4 tbsp
Yellow onion – 3 , large, thinly sliced
Salt – 1 tsp
Seseme seeds/Til – 1 tsp
Cumin seeds/Zeera – 1 tsp
Carom seeds/Ajwain – 1 tsp
Clove/Laung – 2
Green cardamom/Elaichi – 4
Cinnamon sticks/Dalchini – 1 inch stick
Ginger-Garlic paste – 2 tsp
Green chilli – finely chopped, 2 tsp
Red chilli powder – 1/2 tsp
Yogurt – 2 cup, lightly whipped
Beef Stock – 1 litre
Curry leaves – 6
Dried red chilli – 4, broken into two, seeds shaken out
Method:
1. Pour 3 tbsp oil into a large non-stick frying pan at medium heat and as soon as it warms up, add the onion and salt. Saute it for 3 minutes, then cover the lid. After 3 minutes, stir the onions, add a tablespoon of water and cover the lid again. Continue doing this until the onions are well browned and soft.
2. Add seseme seeds, cumin seeds, carom seeds, clove, green cardamom, cinnamon, and ginger-garlic paste and green chillies. Saute them for 2-3 minutes. Sprinkle red chilli powder.
3. Add the yogurt and keep strirring it continously for 1-2 minutes. Turn the heat off. Once cool, pour this gravy into a blender container and blend till finely pureed.
4. In the same pan pour 1 tbsp of oil and as soon as it warms up add the dried red chilli powder and curry leaves. As they begin to crackle in a minute or two, pour the pureed sauce back into the pan. Add the meat stock and increase the heat to medium high. Let it come to a boil.
5. Lower the heat to medium low, and gently add the meatballs one by one to the gravy in a single layer, and close the lid. Let it cook for 10-15 minutes. Keep gently giving it a stir every 3 minutes or so taking care not to break the meatballs. Serve warm.
Suggested Accompaniments: This curry goes very well along with Naan or Afghani Roti, or even along with steamed Basmati.
This curry goes all the way to Srivalli of ‘Cooking 4 All Seasons’ who is hosting the event- Curry Mela.
Also, congratulations to Jyothi of Shadruchulu for winning the title of ‘The Best Hyderabadi Blog 2008′.
Have a pleasant weekend eveyone!
Luv,
Mona
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August 15th, 2008 at 10:49 am
This is making me very hungry. Looks absolutely delicious. Have a great weekend too.
August 15th, 2008 at 10:53 am
Wow, those meatballs look perfect! Great dish Mona!
August 15th, 2008 at 12:03 pm
kofte look great…. i will try this very soon… i like easy recipes… 🙂
August 15th, 2008 at 4:05 pm
Hi Mona, Happy independence day to u too!!
The koftas look perfect!!!!
August 15th, 2008 at 5:17 pm
I turned a meat eater in Hyderabad on the chicken biryani, kofta and haleem at friends places! Good memories back Mona. Ofcourse I turned back into a veggie now but you ca never forget good taste right?
August 15th, 2008 at 6:14 pm
I love kofta and this is fabulous, delicious recipe. 🙂
August 16th, 2008 at 7:04 pm
Hi Mona,
That looks like a fabulous recipe, I’m going to try it soon. My question is: Where do you get halal beef stock from? Any ideas?
AskTheApron, I buy an year’s supply of Halal Maggi Chicken Bouillon whenever I visit Saudi Arab, you can even buy these from Amazon if you want. I store these in the pantry and they keep very well. ~Mona
August 17th, 2008 at 1:35 pm
hi Mona
U cook such delicious mouth watering dishes…,,,I really wish I was ur neighbour:)
August 18th, 2008 at 6:32 am
mmm, that sounds soo fab! gotta try it in ramadan 🙂
August 18th, 2008 at 7:12 am
Your meatballs are so beautifully round. Wonderful!
August 18th, 2008 at 8:42 am
mmmm looks great,I already tried your methi waale kofte,will try this one sooon…….looks delectable
August 18th, 2008 at 11:35 am
Thankyou very much for your reply. Will definetly try and get hold of some 🙂
August 18th, 2008 at 8:35 pm
AsSalaam Alaykum Mona,
Never made these kind of koftas before. Look so perfectly round and gravy is so spicy. thanks for the ramadan tip.
August 18th, 2008 at 8:39 pm
Oh, wow! Here’s a great way for me to use ground lamb! It looks soooo good! I will try this soon!
August 19th, 2008 at 8:25 am
Looks delicious & easy to make too…
I’ll give it a try soon…
August 20th, 2008 at 12:11 pm
Wow, mouth watering koftas. Tempting ones. I left a mail for u in u r inbox check out reply.
August 20th, 2008 at 6:36 pm
I hope I am not late with my congrats. Happy Independence day!
Your kofta loooks delicious. I love kofta of all kinds, yours is particularly appealing. Yum!
August 23rd, 2008 at 8:55 am
asak mona,
that a very delicious recipe…the most tempting thing is the amchur and the gravy is really good.,inshallah i will try tht soon.
August 25th, 2008 at 9:56 am
This looks so good. I have to try this too !
September 6th, 2008 at 4:58 am
Mona..thats really one delicious looking dish..thanks for the lovely entry!
September 19th, 2008 at 4:26 am
Assalamu-alaikum Mona, I made these today for my family…and although my salan didn’t look as brown as yours it was still so tasty, my cousin asked for the recipe. JazakAllah Khair for the fabulous recipe 🙂
Nabeela, the brown color of any dish depends on the way or degree to which you have sautéed your onions. You will have to pan fry them till they are perfectly fried and the color, dark brown. Take care you do not burn them, or else it will spoil the taste of the entire dish. ~Mona
September 29th, 2008 at 1:07 pm
Had never made kofte before, but the “khatta” aspect of this recipe made me want to give it a shot … and the results were such a pleasant surprise! Flavor-wise these are just scrumptious … not to mention convenient, ‘coz I can make a big batch of the actual meatballs, and freeze the half I’m not using for another day.
I do need your advice on one thing though … how can I make my kofte more tender?? They’re yummy, but kinda dry in themselves, so are a bit tough. Solution? Maybe marinade for longer – or use some kachha papita? Not sure what to do.
Muneeba, use lean meat lean, or stewing meat. Also you can add raw papaya paste or use some meat tenderizers in the marinade and let it rest for a few hours or overnight. I usually do this to make Galawati kabab which are very tender kababs. ~Mona
October 17th, 2008 at 12:16 pm
wonderfull recipe. but i have got some question for mona. 1) she has mention about pulse in method- so what kind of pulse she is refering ? 2) can we use beef mince since we r advice to use beef stock? pls clear these things.
Shaikhmohammad, by ‘pulse’, I mean that do not continuously grind for a long time. Grind it just for a few minutes, until the mixture has mixed well. And, yes you can use beef mince too. ~Mona
October 31st, 2008 at 11:42 am
Mona,
My mother says that your recipe can’t be better than her Kofta curry recipe. Your recipe sounds perfectly delicious. I’ll try soon. My mum’s kofta curry is really very tasty. Her claim is based on her 23-year long taste-bud tickling experience. She has been whetting the appetite of our family, especially my dad, for over two decades. Meanwhile, wait until we try out your recipe and we’ll let you know, insha Allah.
Omar Khan
Omar Khan, I will be happy if your mother likes it. Do let me know. Also, I will be glad if your mother shares her special recipes with me. ~Mona
July 6th, 2010 at 3:34 pm
i do not have amchur powder… can i use khatai instead?
this looks yummy. thanks
Sana, amchur powder gives the dish its unique and special taste. However if it is unavailable in the markets, please use dry anardana powder or simply lemon juice.
July 29th, 2016 at 10:30 pm
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