Meat balls in Spicy Gravy/ Koftas

My lovely Readers! Today I am sharing my recipe with my friend Aara of Sweet & Spices; across the border lol :P I recently came to know Aara and now she is a good friend of mine :) This was a new & great experience for me to write a guest post for Aara's blog :)

I am sharing a delicious recipe of meatballs (Kofta in urdu/hindi). Meat balls are mostly made from ground meat, rolle into a shape of small ball along with different spices. They can be baked, fried or steamed. In Asian countries, we call it 'Koftas'. The word Kofta is actually a Persian word, which means to beat or to grind. The meatballs can be made of beef, mutton, chicken, fish, beef etc.

Ingredients for Koftas:

Minced beef (Lean/no fat Qeema) 1/2 kg
Egg 2 tbsp.

Onions 1 big (chopped)

Green Chili 2 (chopped)

Red Chili powder 1 1/2 tsp

Garlic Paste 1/2 tsp.

Ginger Paste 1/2 tsp.

Salt 1/2 tsp.

Cumin Powder (Zeera) 1 tsp.
Coriander Powder 1 tsp.

Black Pepper powder 1 tsp

Tandoori Masala 1/4 tsp.

Whole Spices Powder (Garam Masala) 2 tsp.

Coriander Leaves with stem 1 bunch (chopped)

Chickpeas roasted 3 tbsp.

Oil for frying

Mix all the ingredients together and refrigerate for 30 minutes - 2 hours.

Ingredients for Gravy:

Oil 1/2 cup

Onions 3 (chopped)
Tomatoes 5 chopped & blended

Green Chili 1 (chopped)

Red Chili powder 1 tsp

Garlic Paste 1/2 tsp.

Ginger Paste 1/2 tsp.

Salt 1 tsp.

Cumin Powder (Zeera) 2 tsp.
Coriander Powder 2 tsp.

Turmeric Powder 1/4 tsp.
Cinnamon sticks 2
Cardamom Pods (bari ilaychi) 2
Coriander Leaves Few
Yogurt 1/4 cup
Fenugreek seeds (Maythi) 1 tsp.

Procedure:

First of all take out the refrigerated meat and make 20-25 ping pong balls sized meatballs. Shape them round with gentle hands.

Now what I do mostly is, after shaping the meatballs I freeze them so that they don't break apart while cooking. However, u can directly deep fry them. After freezing, deep fry the meatballs in a pan for 10 minutes or until they change their color into golden brown :) Don't overcook them because they will again be cooked in gravy! :)

Then, take a pan, heat oil, add fenugreek seeds, cumin seeds, cinnamon sticks & cardamom pods and let them splutter. Next add the chopped onions and fry them until they get a nice brown color. Then add ginger garlic paste and fry for few minutes. Next add blended tomatoes & rest of the spices and fry for 5 minutes. Add 2 cups of water and the fried meatballs and cover the pan/pot. Let them cook in gravy for 10 - 15 minutes or until they are cooked. Keep swirling the pot shortly instead of stirring to avoid breaking of the meatballs.

The gravy can be thickened further or left as it is, depending on your choice. Garnish with coriander leaves & garam masala & serve hot with naan/chapati :) Enjoyyy!!!