Name: Mummy’s festive minty beef kofta curry
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: Serves 6–10
Cuisine: Pakistani
Ingredients: 500 g/1 lb 2 oz beef mince (ground beef); 2–3 mint leaves, finely chopped; 1 slice of bread, soaked in water and then squeezed; 10–12 mint leaves, torn; 1–1½ tsp salt, or to taste; 4 tbsp brown onion paste (To make: slice 3 red onions and fry until lightly brown, then grind into a paste in a blender with about 3–4 tbsp water); small handful of coriander (cilantro), finely chopped; 2 tbsp brown onion paste; 1 tsp ginger and garlic paste; 1 green chilli, finely chopped (optional); ½ tsp red chilli powder; 1 tsp freshly ground cumin seeds; 2–3 tbsp vegetable oil; 2 tbsp white poppy seeds; 600 ml/1 pint/2½ cups water; 4 tbsp plain yogurt; 1 tbsp chickpea flour; 1 tsp freshly ground coriander (cilantro) seeds; ½ tsp freshly ground cumin seeds; 1 tsp garam masala; ¾ tsp red chilli powder; ½ tsp ground turmeric; 1 tsp salt, or to taste; 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder

Preparation info

Serves
6–10

Difficulty
Easy
Ready in
1 hr 30

Appears in

Summers Under the Tamarind Tree

By Sumayya Usmani

Published 2016

About

Every family in Pakistan has a secret kofta (meatball) curry recipe. Many families guard these, others are happy to share. My mother taught me how to get the koftas beautifully soft without them breaking apart while cooking, and the addition of mint in her original recipe adds a flavour that other kofta curries lack.

Ingredients

For the koftas

500 g/1 lb 2 oz beef mince (ground beef)

Method

Using only 2 tablespoons of the onion paste (reserve rest for the curry), mince all the ingredients for the koftas, except the coriander, mint and green chilli, then stir them in last. Roll about 1 heaped tablespoon of the mince into medium-sized meatballs (not too small) and make sure that there are no cracks in them. Set aside. The meatballs are added in raw, as they cook in the curry.