Hi, this recipe is from BBC Goodfood's September 2022 issue, page 30 and is on the cover too. I am a subscriber to their magazine so was gifted a free spice mix to make this curry with, like the Chicken Tikka Pot Roast last year.
This was a very nice curry and I particularly enjoyed the sauce. I substituted the coconut cream for natural yoghurt as my Dad isn't a massive fan of coconut milk flavour in a curry (too sweet and creamy) so using coconut cream would have been even worse. However, I had to wait for the curry to cool down a bit before adding the yogurt, otherwise it would split!
I served this with peas and chilli on top and I liked both. But, my parents thought that there was a bit too much chilli, so if you are going to add fresh chilli, only put a little bit on everyone's plate, or put it in the middle of the table for them to add their own. The peas, I thought were nice and added a bit of green, but my Dad wasn't too keen. So if wanting to serve with veg maybe try spinach if peas aren't your favourite; you could even wilt spinach into the kofta if you like.
Lastly, you needn't make this as a lamb kofta if you don't like lamb. The sauce was really nice and would work well with chicken (shredded) or beef (use mince to make meatballs) or with some chickpeas or lentils (a bit like a dahl) too.
Enjoy!
Hazel :)
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Dietary Info:
-Main Meal
{If served with rice or flatbreads or potatoes etc... essentially any starchy carbohydrate.}
-Gluten Free
{If served with rice, otherwise find a gluten-free naan bread. Also, double check the stock cube (if using) for lamb stock as some contain gluten.}
-No Nuts
{Except coconut cream but if this is an issue, stir through some natural yogurt at the end instead.}
-Dairy Free
-Unsuitable for Vegetarians or Vegans
{See BBC goodfood's tips below.}
Serves: 4
Prep: 15mins {More like 30 mins prep.}
Cook: 45mins
Ingredients:
-1 tbsp sunflower oil {I used extra virgin olive oil. You will need more than this to cook everything.}
-1 small red onion, finely chopped
-500g lamb mince
-1 green or red chilli, sliced, to serve (optional) {I used a red chilli but my parents didn't like the extra heat on top, they said it was too much. I didn't mind so much as it added a nice flavour, but I could appreciate that it was quite hot.}
-basmati rice, to serve
For the spice blend:
-2 tsp garam masala
-1 + 1/2 tsp ground cumin
-1 tsp ground turmeric
-1 tsp ground coriander
-1/2 tsp red chilli powder
For the sauce:
-1 small red onion, finely chopped
-thumb-sized piece of ginger, peeled and finely grated {I finely chopped.}
-2 garlic cloves, finely grated
-1 green chilli, finely chopped (optional) {I used a green chilli.}
-small bunch of coriander, leaves and stalks separated, stalks finely chopped, leaves reserved
-400g can finely chopped tomatoes {Mine were just normal chopped tomatoes. If you wanted to, you could puree them before adding to make them really smooth, but this seemed a bit of a waste of time to me.}
-1 tbsp tomato purée
-300ml lamb stock {I made this with a lamb stock pot. I also added about 100 - 150 ml extra water, and 1/2 a tinful from swilling the last tomato dregs out of it.}
-200ml can coconut cream {My Dad is not a fan of coconut cream/milk in curries, so I added extra liquid while cooking (see above), then left the curry to cool for a bit before stirring through 200ml natural yogurt. This gives it a thicker sauce, and a new flavour, without the creaminess of a coconut that he doesn't like.}
Method:
1: Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat and fry the onion for 8 minutes until soft but not golden. Remove to a bowl and set aside to cool. Tip the lamb mince and half the spice blend into a {This is a different bowl to the onion's bowl.} medium bowl with 1/2 tsp each salt and black pepper and the {They need to be at least a bit cooled first, so that the meatballs hold together properly. Maybe chop the veg ready for the sauce while they cool, then once everything is prepared make the meatballs.} cooked onions. Knead with your hands to combine evenly, {Keep squishing and kneading for a bit longer than you think is necessary so you get a smooth mush. This will make sure the meatballs hold together a bit better.} then form into 16 {I made 20 as I wanted them to cook more quickly. So, each quarter was split into 5 meatballs, not 4.} equal meatballs. Return the pan to a medium heat {Add a little olive oil here if needed.} and brown the meatballs all over. {You may need to do this in 2 batches for ease. However at some point, all the meatballs will be going into this pan so make sure it's big enough.} Remove to a plate using a slotted spoon. {They don't need to be cooked through yet, just browned and sealed.}
2: To make the sauce, fry the onion in the pan for 5 minutes until beginning to soften, then add the ginger, garlic, chopped chilli (if using) and coriander stalks, and cook for a further 3 minutes. Scatter in the remaining spice blend and cook for 1 minute, then tip in the tomatoes, tomato purée, stock and three-quarters of the coconut cream. {If using plain yogurt, do not tip in yet. Instead add extra water from swilling the tomato tin out and just from the kettle too, if needed.} Stir to combine, bring to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes until the sauce has reduced by a quarter. {At this point, my liquid levels were already sufficient, so I cooked the meatballs in this 15 mins and just left out the next 15 mins.}
3: Return the meatballs to the pan and cook for a further 15 minutes, basting the meatballs in the sauce every few minutes until the sauce has reduced by a further quarter, and the meatballs are cooked through. Drizzle over the remaining coconut cream, {Or, when slightly cooled (to avoid the yoghurt splitting) add 200ml - 250ml plain yogurt.} then scatter over the coriander leaves and sliced chilli and serve with cooked basmati rice.
GOODFOOD'S TIPS:
-If you prefer beef, you can simply swap the lamb for beef mince.
-For veggies or vegans, omit the lamb mince and use a plant-based alternative mince instead (try to use one that mimics meat, as it will hold together better) and use veg or vegan stock instead of lamb stock.
While you're here...
I have a Pinterest for all my recipes, where you can save them to boards for the future and categorise them into different types of recipe e.g Sunday Dinners, picnic ideas etc. My account is @hazellikestocook, or find the link below. Also, I have a whole blog post explaining this in more detail here and https://hazelscookingandbakingblog.blogspot.com/2021/02/pinterest.html.
https://pin.it/5xDvARk - my profile
This recipe:
https://pin.it/4kgUAcD
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