Chicken Meatballs Curry - Indian style

Meatballs are also called as 'Kofta'. No one knows from where it originated. It is made from ground meat. It can be made of chicken/lamb/beef. They are usually rolled into small balls. Also, you can add minced onion, spices, eggs and also herbs. Vegetarians can also make using smashed potatoes with other vegetables of your choice instead of minced meat.

All you need is:

Oil - 2 tbsp

Mustard seed - 1 tsp

Chicken masala powder - 1 tsp

Coriander leaves

To make balls:

Minced Chicken - 1/2 kg

Bread Crumbs - 1/2 cup

Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp

Turmeric powder - a little

Salt - to taste

To Grind:

Onion - 2 large

Tomato - 2

Coriander seeds - 4 tsp

Ginger - 1 inch

Garlic - 5 cloves

Cumin seeds - 2 tsp

Fennel seeds - 1 tsp

Poppy seeds - 1 tsp

Cloves - 2

Cinnamon - 1 inch

Pepper balls - 1/2 tsp

Red chillies - 2 or 3 (I used 3 to make it spicy)

Oil - 5 tbsp

Salt - to taste

This is how it is made:

Roughly cut the onions and tomatoes.

Pour oil in a hot pan . Add coriander  seeds, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, poppy seeds, cloves, cinnamon, pepper balls, ginger, garlic and red chillies. Cook them for a couple of minutes.  Add onions and salt. Cook until it turns golden brown. Then add roughly chopped tomatoes until the raw smell goes off. Leave it aside to cool. Grind them all to make a paste. Just add 1/2 cup water if needed.

Mix the minced chicken, bread crumbs, turmeric powder, chilli powder and salt. When it is well mixed, just use little oil to make it stick together. Then make tiny balls. Apply oil in your hands which helps to make the balls round in shape.

Meanwhile, heat another large pan and add a lug of oil. Fry the chicken balls. Stir them around and cook for 8 - 10 mins. Make sure they are cooked well.

In a hot pan, pour little oil and mustard seeds. When it splutters, add the ground paste. Add chicken masala powder and water to your consistency level. Stir it well. Close the pan with a lid and let cook or 15 - 20 mins in medium flame. You will see the colour of the gravy changing to brown.

At that level, make holes around each meatball using a knife. This will make meatballs little juicy while you eat. Now add them into the gravy. Leave it cook in low flame for half an hour. 

When the gravy has reached the right consistency, you can turn off the flame and garnish with coriander leaves (I have used finely chopped coriander leaves to garnish).

Serve it with chapati, naan bread, rice or pulao.