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Dish of the day: Chicken kofta korma

Hardie Grant

Hardie Grant

Chicken kofta korma
Serves 4

Many kofta recipes use red meat and are fried, but the best koftas are poached in sauce and have a lovely tender juiciness. This recipe uses a korma sauce, rich with yoghurt, cream and ground almonds – save it for a special occasion and serve it with Pulao Rice and Naan, Parathas or Chapattis.

Koftas

500 g (1 lb 2 oz) minced (ground) chicken
1 onion, chopped
1 tablespoon ginger paste
1 tablespoon garlic paste
80 g (3 oz/1 cup) fresh breadcrumbs
2 eggs
1/2–1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1 teaspoon chopped coriander (cilantro) leaves
1 teaspoon chopped mint leaves
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground
whole mace

Sauce

60 g (2 oz) ghee or salted butter
2 large onions, sliced
1 dried whole red chilli
1 tablespoon ginger paste
1 teaspoon garlic paste
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon ground coriander
60g plain yogurt
125ml pouring cream
1/2-1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1 tablespoon ground almonds

Method
To make the koftas, mix together the chicken, onion, ginger and garlic pastes, breadcrumbs, eggs, salt, coriander and mint leaves, cardamom and mace in a large bowl. Dip your hands in warm water and, using the palms of your hands, roll the kofta mixture into balls about 3 cm in diameter. Set aside.
To make the sauce, heat the ghee or butter in a large heavybased saucepan over a medium heat. Sauté the onion and chilli, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes, or until the onion is golden brown.
Stir in the ginger and garlic pastes and cook, stirring frequently, for about 2 minutes. Add the turmeric, ground coriander and yoghurt and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes.
Stir in the cream, salt and 250 ml water and bring to a boil, then immediately reduce the heat to low and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes. Add the ground almonds and cook for a further 5 minutes.
Carefully drop the koftas into the sauce, then cover and cook over a low heat for 30 minutes. Serve hot.

Ginger Paste

Makes 1 cup
100 g (31/2 oz) fresh ginger
Peel and chop the ginger. Process in a food processor with 120 ml (4 fl oz/1/2 cup) of water to form a smooth paste.

Garlic Paste

Makes 1 cup
100 g (31/2 oz) garlic cloves
Peel and chop the garlic. Process in a food processor with 120 ml (4 fl oz/1/2 cup) of water to form a smooth paste.

Note: Ghee really is preferable for this recipe as it has the best flavour and consistency. You can replace it with salted butter, but the final flavour will not be as nuanced or as rich.

Recipe courtesy of Cooked.com.au.

This recipe first appeared in Spice Kitchen by Ragini Dey ($45).

spice-kitchen

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