Tender and soft mutton kofta curry recipe Pakistani style is best to serve at family dinner with naan or rice. It's a shallow fried ground meat balls simmer in a masala curry. Locally it's called kofta salan.
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About Kofta Curry
Kofta curry is the most popular and traditional Indian and Pakistani curry recipe prepared with ground meatballs and simmered in a red curry masala. It's the best curry or kofta korma that can easily prepared by marinating the meat and then preparing the curry sauce.
If you are trying to make this recipe first time then make it step by step just by following the recipe card. You can watch this recipe to note down the steps. Recipe video is in Urdu/Hindi to facilitate local people. I am super hopeful, you will make the best.
Kofta curry can be cooked in different ways but today I am sharing my grand mother recipe which is old and traditional style mutton kofta curry recipe full with spices and showing the lustrous, thickened gravy. People normally have curries with roti but it taste too good with tandoori roti. Isn't it? Let me know in comment section, if you agree...
If you love to explore kofta in middle eastern way then try this recipe as you will love it.
How to Make it Special?
Daigi flavor of kofta curry can make it best! If you have fully tender and soft kofta balanced with spices and lustrous, smooth and consistent koft curry cooked with perfect spices then it will be the best.
I have added roasted gram flour that will add a nutty flavor in kofta. Many people use peanut powder or roasted black chickpea powder to replace the gram flour. I tried both and found roasted gram flour has perfect taste but add in moderation otherwise it will dominate the taste of other spices in meatballs.
In the same way, hand crushed brown onion will give you the best flavor in kofta. You can also add hand crushed brown onion in curry paste to get the flavor and aroma of daigi curry or korma. It's a perfect hack that I learn to make perfect curry.
Kofta Ingredients
To make meatballs (koftay)
Ground meat (mutton): Used mutton meat with some fats. Lean meat can make the rough and tough meatballs so the fat will add lubrication in meatballs.
Ginger garlic Paste: freshly made ginger garlic paste used.
Spices: salt, red chili, coriander powder, turmeric powder and homemade garam masala used.
Brown onions (birista): Homemade and hand crushed brown onion used to make meat balls.
Herbs: Green chilies, freshly chopped coriander and mint used.
Egg: Used beaten egg as a binding agent to make perfect noncracky meatballs.
How to Make Kofta Curry
Preparation of Meatballs
- In a chopper add Mince, salt, ginger garlic paste, red chili powder, turmeric powder, toasted besan, garam masala powder, dhania (coriander) powder (toast the coriander for better result), green chilies and mint.
- Chop the ingredients properly.
- Take out from the bowl and mix well by adding ½ beaten egg.
- Now make a small meatball (kofta).
- In a pan, fry the meatballs kofta on high heat. As the meatballs skin color change, take it out and place in a platter.
Preparation of Curry:
- In a pan, add oil and heat it up.
- Now add ginger garlic and onion paste and fry it.
- Add whole garam masala and fry it for 1 minute.
- Now add spices, red chili, turmeric and coriander powder and fry the gravy to fully done the spices to form a masala.
- Add yogurt and cook it for about 5 minutes.
- Also, add crushed brown onion to make a thick gravy.
- Add water and cook it for 2 minutes.
- Now place the meatball (koftay) in a pan and sprinkle garam masala over it.
- Cover the pan and cook for 25 minutes on low flame.
- Now our "koftay salan" is ready to serve.
Kofta Curry Recipe Video
Soft Kofta Tips
- Use 100% ground meat with some fat addition.
- If you are rinsing the meat then make sure to squeeze water before adding spice in meat.
- Add little oil in kofta mixture and give it a good mix.
- Apply oil/water on hand to make crackless, smooth meatballs (kofta).
- Always shallow fry on high heat and evenly fry from all sides.
- Don't fry for a long time otherwise the meatballs will be hard.
- Simmer meatballs on slow heat so they can cook from inside.
- After simmering, gently run spoon in curry otherwise the meatballs might break.
Variations
- You can add potatoes in kofta curry. Slightly shallow fry the potatoes before adding in curry. It will make the best of kofta curry.
- Chopped spinach can be add in a curry to make palak kofta. Or you can add raw spinach in kofta balls and shallow fry it before adding in curry.
- Bottle gourd (Lauki) can be add in kofta curry.
Serving
If you want to serve kofta curry as main course then simply add naan, or chapati. Along with desi fried garlic butter rice or simply add steamed rice.
I recently made Pakistani Roghni naan at home and it was super fluffy and soft in texture. You can try this as well. It can easily pair up with most of the recipes.
Q & A
Well, you can easily soften the kofta if you add a teaspoon of papaya paste in curry. After adding the paste, Cook it on high heat for 2 minutes and place on steam for 5 minutes. Be remember, if you increase the amount of papaya paste then it will break and show mushy texture in curry.
Alternatively, you can add 1 pinch of soda bicarbonate and follow the same steps to reheat the kofta.
Check the tips section in this post to make soft kofta then you don't need to add any tenderizer.
There might be few reasons.
1) Overcooked the curry.
2) Less curry and too many koftas.
3) Curry is extremely thickened. If this is the case then add little water and cook the curry to adjust the consistency.
If the kofta is over cooked then there is a chances to break. Or if kofta balls have cracks then it will break in curry. When making balls, make sure it should be without crack and show smoothness from all sides.
Mutton/lamb, beef, chicken is best to make kofta. I personally love to have chicken kofta curry.
There are so many ways to thicken the curry. Regarding this recipe, if the curry is runny or inconsistent then remove the kofta from curry and add tomato paste or freshly beaten yogurt and cook the curry on high heat to evaporate extra water. When you think the curry is getting desired consistency then add kofta and steam it for 5 to 10 minutes to make it ready to serve.
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You can serve this koft curry with roti in dinner or lunch. I hope you will like this recipe and please Rate it by clicking stars on recipe card and share your review. It will help me to motivate to make more recipes for you. Thanks in advance!
Mutton Kofta Curry Recipe Pakistani
Ingredients
Meat Ball Ingredients
- 600 g Mutton mince Keema
- 1 tablespoon Ginger Garlic Paste
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Red chili powder
- 1 tablespoon Roasted Gram Flour Besan
- 1 teaspoon Coriander Powder – 1 Tsp Dhania
- 1 teaspoon Garam masala powder
- 1 teaspoon Turmeric Powder
- 1 tablespoon Brown Onion (Birista)
- 1 Green chili
- 1 tablespoon Mint/Coriander Chopped)
- 1 Egg Beaten
Kofta Curry Ingredients
- Whole Garam Masala:
- Green Cardamom 8, Cinnamon (1 stick), Black Peppers (20), Cloves (8), Cumin (1 Tsp)
- 1 tablespoon Ginger Garlic Onion Paste
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Red chili powder – 1 Tsp
- 1 teaspoon Dhania Powder – 1 Tsp
- 1 teaspoon Garam masala powder – 1 Tsp
- 1 teaspoon Turmeric Powder – 1 Tsp
- 1 tablespoon Brown Onion Crushed
- 300 ml Water – 300 ml Approx. 2.5 glasses
- 1 cup Yogurt – 1 Cup
Instructions
Preparation of Meatballs (Marination)
- In a chopper add Mince, salt, ginger garlic paste, red chili powder, turmeric powder, toasted besan, garam masala powder, dhania (coriander) powder (toast the coriander for better result), green chilies and mint.
- Chop the ingredients properly.
- Take out from the bowl and mix well by adding ½ beaten egg.
- Now make a small meatball (kofta).
- In a pan, fry the meatballs kofta on high heat. As the meatballs skin color change, take it out and place in a platter.
Preparation of Kofta Curry
- In a pan, add oil and heat it up.
- Now add ginger garlic and onion paste and fry it.
- Add whole garam masala and fry it for 1 minute.
- Now add spices, red chili, turmeric and coriander powder and fry the gravy to fully done the spices to form a masala.
- Add yogurt and cook it for about 5 minutes.
- Also, add crushed brown onion to make a thick gravy.
- Add water and cook it for 2 minutes.
- Now place the meatball (koftay) in a pan and sprinkle garam masala over it.
- Cover the pan and cook for 25 minutes on low flame.
- After 25 minutes, “kofta salan” is ready to serve.
Video
Notes
- Use 100% ground meat with some fat addition.
- If you are rinsing the meat then make sure to squeeze water before adding spice in meat.
- Add little oil in kofta mixture and give it a good mix.
- Apply oil/water on hand to make crackless, smooth meatballs (kofta).
- Always shallow fry on high heat and evenly fry from all sides.
- Don't fry for a long time otherwise the meatballs will be hard.
- Simmer meatballs on slow heat so they can cook from inside.
- After simmering, gently run spoon in curry otherwise the meatballs might break.
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