Kofta Curry

Servings 4- 6

Ingredients:

• Ground Sirloin - 1.5 lb (750 gm)*
• Onion - 1 med, finely chopped
  
• Tomatoes - 1/2 lb, chopped finely, reserving their juices
  
• Plain Yogurt - 1 cup (full cream)**
  
• Ginger paste - 1/2 tsp (I prefer freshly made paste or crushed for full flavour)
• Garlic Cloves - 3, crushed
• Green chili - 2-3, seeded and crushed
• Salt - 2 tsp
• Black pepper - 1 tsp
• Sugar - 1 tsp
• Ground Cumin - 1/2 tsp
• Ground Coriander - 1 tsp
• Hot spice powder - 1 tsp**

Methods:

• 1. In a bowl mix in the garlic, ginger , chili, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp black pepper, and 1 tsp of oil with the ground meat. Do not over work the meat as that will result in hard meatballs when cooked. I use a fork to mix in the ingredients with the meat rather than smashing them with my fingers.
• 2. Form the meat into round balls, the recipe should yield about 20-25 balls. Cover them with a plastic wrap and chill for at least 1/2 hour to 2 hours.
• 3. When ready to cook, heat 2 tbsp of oil in a deep base pan, add the onions and the remaining salt and pepper. Saute till the onions turn brown on the edges.
  
• 4. Add the tomatoes with their juices and saute for about 5-6 min. Add the cumin, coriander, hot spice powder and the sugar. Stir to combine.
• 5. Add 1 cup of hot water and simmer on med heat for about 6-10 min, till the tomatoes turn soft and gooey. Remove the pan from top of the heat and stir in the yogurt. If you add the yogurt to the pan while keeping it on heat, the yogurt will break.
  
• 6. Return the pan to the heat. Add 1 cup of hot water. Take the meatballs out of the fridge and gently place each onto the sauce.
  
• 7. Cover and simmer on low heat for about 1.5 hours to 2 hours. Stirring occasionally to avoid burning at the bottom. The final gravy will be thick and rich. Serve with naan/flat bread or even on a bed of rice or pasta and a salad.
• Simply bellissimo !!

Hints:
* You can also use ground chuck or even chicken. However, I prefer sirloin since it is the leanest and works best with this dish.
** I prefer using the full cream yogurt as this dish does not require much oil to cook. So the full cream yogurt gives it a rich body. However, for a more diet version you can use fat-free yogurt, but you will be sacrificing the flavour a bit.
***I make my own hot spice powder by first toasting the whole spices (cardamon, cinnamon, cloves) on a skillet and then grinding them into powder. However, store bought hot spice powder will do fine. The store bought mix usually includes powder of cardamon, cinnamon, cloves, fenugreek, and mustard seeds.