The Chicken Kofta Curry (a.k.a Chicken Meatball) is a traditional Bengali dish. The soft flavorful Chicken Ball is not only very yummy but healthy too. I have not fried the Chicken ball, rather I have boiled them in water in order to make it more healthy .
I have seen the Meatball marinara sub in SubWay, which looks very yummy but never had them. So wanted to try our traditional Chicken Kofta Curry at home. It came out so delicious that we decided to make this again at home.
The below picture has been taken after the Chicken Balls were boiled in water. This is a very easy step and the Maida (All Purpose Flour) will work as a binding agent. You may need to boil all of them in smaller batches. Since I am boiling the Chicken Balls into water rather then frying them, the chicken kofta curry will be very healthy and the chicken balls would be very soft.
The next picture has been taken after shallow frying the Chicken Balls. You don’t have to fry them for long since they had already been boiled in water.
This is a perfect dish if you have friends invited at your home and everyone would love it for sure. Here is the full recipe.
- 350gm Minced Chicken (Keema)
- 1 Tablespoon Ginger Paste
- 1 Tablespoon Garlic Paste
- 1 Teaspoon Red Chili Paste
- 1 Teaspoon Red Chili Powder
- ½ Teaspoon Garam Masala Powder (Cinnamon, Cardamom, Cloves)
- 1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
- 2 Tablespoons Cilantro (Coriander) leaves chopped
- 5 Tablespoons Onion Chopped
- 1 Teaspoon Coriander Powder
- 2 Tablespoon Maida (All Purpose Flour)
- Salt (as per taste)
- 6 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil
- 2 Bay Leaves
- 3 Whole Dry Red Chili
- 3 -4 Pieces of Cinnamon Stick
- 4 Pieces of Cloves
- 4 Pieces of Cardamoms
- 3 Tablespoons Fried Onion Paste (See Notes)
- 2 Tablespoons Onion Chopped
- 1 Tablespoon Green Chili Paste
- 1 Tablespoon Garlic Paste
- 1 Tablespoon Ginger Paste
- 1 Teaspoon Red Chili Powder
- 1 Teaspoon Turmeric Powder
- ¼ Teaspoon Cumin Powder
- ¼ Teaspoon Coriander Powder
- 1 Medium Size Tomato
- 2 Tablespoons Tomato Purée
- 2 Tablespoons Yogurt/Curd
- ½ Teaspoon Garam Masala Powder (Cinnamon, Cardamom, Cloves)
- ½ Teaspoon Lemon Juice
- Salt (as needed)
- Sugar (as per taste)
- Put minced chicken (keema) in a bowl and add all the spices listed in List A.
- Mix them well and make medium sized ball with the chicken and keep them aside.
- Now take water in a bowl and heat in medium to high flame. Once the water starts boiling, drop the Chicken balls one by one. Let the chicken ball be cooked until they start floating on the water.
- Heat a skillet/cooking pan in a medium flame and put 3 Tablespoons of Vegetable Oil and shallow fry all the chicken balls.
- Take 6 Tablespoons of Vegetable Oil in a skillet and heat in medium flame.
- Once the oil is hot, add Bay Leaves, whole Dry Red Chili, Cinnamon, Cardamom, Cloves (whole).
- When the aroma of the spices starts to come out, add fired Onion paste, chopped Onion, Green Chili Paste, Ginger & Garlic Paste. Sauté them for 3-5 mins.
- Add the Red Chili Power, Turmeric Powder, Cumin Powder & Coriander Powder. Sauté them for 2-3 mins.
- Then add the chopped Tomato, Tomato puree, Salt & Sugar. Stir them until the chopped tomato has been cooked.
- Next, add the Yogurt and stir until the gravy starts extracting oil.
- Now finally add the Chicken Balls and mix them well for few mins.
- Add half Cup of warm water, reduce the flame to low-medium and cover the skillet with a lid for 2-3 mins.
- Now your Chicken Kofta Curry is almost ready.
- Add ½ Teaspoon Lemon Juice & ½ Teaspoon Garam Masala Powder before serving.
Once the chicken balls start floating you would know they have been boiled. You can then take them out of the water and keep them aside.
I have only ½ Cup of water to make the gravy, don't add too much of water. Also use only boiled water.