Baked Meatball Curry
- Total Time: 40 mins
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
The meatballs, or kofta, are baked, which not only keeps the dish healthy, it leaves your hands free to work on the luxurious gravy.
Ingredients
- 2 lb (900 g) of ground beef
- 1 tsp garlic paste
- 1 tsp ginger paste
- 1/2 tsp garam masala
- 1 egg
- 3-4 green chili, chopped
- 1 cup (240 ml) onions, finely minced and liquid discarded
- 1 cup (240 ml) cilantro, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp (30 ml) lemon juice
- 2 pieces of bread
- Salt according to taste
- Spray oil or 1 tbsp (15 ml) oil to brush on kofta
For curry
- 3 tbsp (45 ml) yogurt
- 3 tbsp (45 ml) oil
- 1 cup (240 ml) onion, sliced
- 3-4 green cardamom
- 2-3 cinnamon sticks, each about one inches long
- 1-2 bay leaf
- 2-3 green chili, slit lengthwise
- 1 tsp garlic paste
- 1/2 tsp ginger paste
- Cilantro, for garnish
- Salt according to taste
- 1/2 tsp sugar
Instructions
Steps to make kofta:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Grease a baking tray with spray oil or by brushing some oil. Set aside.
- Mix all ingredients and shape into golf ball size kofta.
- Place the kofta gently on the tray and bake about 20-22 minutes turning once.
Steps to make kofta curry:
- Beat yogurt to a smooth consistency. Set aside.
- Heat oil in medium high and add onions.
- Add cardamom, cinnamon and bay leaves. Fry for 2-3 minutes.
- Add the ginger and garlic paste, green chili and salt and sugar.
- Add a cup of water little by little and the beaten yogurt.
- Add the koftas in the gravy and lower the heat to medium low.
- Cover and cook until desired consistency.
- Garnish with cilantro.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 25 mins
- Category: Main
- Cuisine: Indian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 420
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why bake the kofta instead of pan-frying or simmering them directly in the curry?
The recipe’s title and excerpt make this explicit: baking the meatballs at 350°F for 20-22 minutes (turning once) keeps the dish healthier than frying, and it also frees your hands to work on the yogurt-based curry gravy simultaneously. The kofta are added to the finished gravy only after both components are ready.
Why does the recipe call for squeezing the liquid out of the minced onion before mixing it into the kofta?
The ingredients list specifies “1 cup onions, finely minced and liquid discarded.” Onions release a lot of water when minced; leaving that liquid in would make the meat mixture too wet to hold its golf-ball shape, and the kofta would fall apart or steam rather than brown in the oven.
