Mutton Balls Koftas - An Indian Recipe

Simmering Mutton Koftas

Mutton Balls (Koftas)

 (Recipe inspired by Preeti Narayan)

Kofta balls made from minced meat, egg, roasted gram powder and coriander leaves, cooked in done masala with caramelized onions, tomato puree and infusion of khada masalas and yogurt.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

Meat balls have to hold together while cooking in liquid of masalas. Bits of whole (khada) masalas may damage the balls while cooking. For this reason we boil the whole masalas in water for 10 minutes or so and use the strained liquid for the flavors of masalas.

Minced meat balls have to cook properly to avoid the raw taste and also to absorb all the flavors of masalas. After we place the meatballs it may take up to an hour on a very low flame till the koftas are cooked.

_{Koftas will get covered with thick sauce of the masalas with very subtle flavors. To balance the flavors we do not  use chilies as such. If required some ground peppers or deghi mirch (for color) can be added}.

Ingredients

¼ kg mutton - finely minced

1 egg white

1 tbsp chana – roasted and finely ground

1 tbsp coriander - chopped

½ to 1 tbsp poppy seeds - soaked in water

5-7 garlic pods

½  inch piece of ginger

3 medium sized onions - finely sliced 
2 tomatoes - skinned & pureed 
1 tsp coriander powder

½  tsp turmeric powder

Salt - to taste

½  cup Greek yogurt

½  cup oil including a tbsp. of ghee

Water as required

Khada Masala

1 black cardamoms
½  tsp whole pepper

2-3 cloves

3 green cardamoms

1 bay leaf

½  inch cinnamon stick

INSTRUCTIONS

Grind the garlic and the poppy seeds together. Keep aside.

Heat oil in a pan and add the onions to it.

Fry till they turn brown in color. – We can add pinch of salt to hasten the caramelization.

Add a little water to it and stir.

Roughly crush the whole spices – green cardamom, black cardamom, cinnamon stick, cloves, ginger, pepper a little. In another pan put these spices and ginger in a cup of water and simmer for 10 minutes. Keep aside. We can use ginger with skin on.

In the onion mixture add the garlic paste and the poppy seeds mixture and fry for another 2-3 minutes.

Add the coriander powder, turmeric powder and salt. Mix well.

Add the chopped tomato puree and stir. Let it cook for another 5 minutes.

In the meantime, mix the egg white, chana powder, coriander leaves and the mutton mince with salt. Add a table spoon of masala from the other pan into the minced meat for the flavors to go deep.

Grease hands with little oil and make small koftas (meatballs) and keep aside.

Add them to the onion and tomato mixture.

Strain the water from the whole spices and add to the koftas.

Bring it to a boil. Cook for about five minutes and then add Greek* yogurt. 

Before adding yogurt just roll the koftas by rocking the pan in a round motion and make sure koftas are set. Otherwise let these cook undisturbed for a few more minutes.

Reduce the heat to minimum and cook for about 60 minutes or till the gravy is thick / desired consistency.

Serve with Chapati (flat bread), Nan or rice

Experiential Tips

1.    Meat should be fine mince. Will be easier to hold together.

2.    Plain yogurt will appear leave sediment does not look homogenized

    3.  Egg white does the job of binding koftas san the typical egg smell

    4.  For a more pronounced flavor increase the masalas and add some red chilly flakes.

* Greek Yogurt: Put three layers of muslin cloth on a sieve; I use the steamer, spread the yogurt on the muslin and let it rest for few hours in the fridge on a plate to drain the liquid. Steamer with bottom plate and cover serves the purpose very well. Take out the yogurt – now Greek yogurt and use as desired.

Ref: http://food.ndtv.com/video-mutton-kofta-282921

Pasta / Noodles (with a twist) – Quick and Delicious Pasta Noodles

Pasta / Noodles (with a twist) – Quick and Delicious

Inspired by an Italian Chef in Food Safari

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

Pasta has to be boiled properly and it needs plenty of water and salt for this.  Sauce for pasta is important. Make it with thick tomato puree, garlic and pepper.

Serves 3

Ingredients

    

      50 ml olive oil, plus extra, for drizzling / vegetable oil will do

        1 garlic clove, finely sliced

        2 French shallots, finely diced / we managed with one onion or 7 to 10 baby onions

      300 g  tin whole Italian tomatoes / we used fresh tomato puree / skin the tomatoes by             blanching them and puree by hand.

       250 g fettuccine or any other pasta – we used spaghetti.

       salt to taste

         3 large basil (Tulsi) leaves / can use parsley as well.

 

INSTRUCTION 

Cook the pasta in a large pot of well-salted boiling water until al dente. It may take any thing from 7 to 8 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the vegetable oil in a large heavy bottomed frying pan over medium heat and add the garlic, and onions till translucent. Take out half a cup of pasta water and add part of it to the pan o avoid the garlic from burning. Add tomato puree and let it simmer over low heat for 10 minutes.

Drain the pasta and put it to the frying pan. Pour sauce over it. Sauce should coat the past lightly Sprinkle some olive oil and add some pasta water. Shake the pan well. Starch in the pasta water with olive oil will make a good emulsion and help cover pasta with the sauce. Add the basil and toss well. Add a dash of oil and toss. Serve immediately

Experiential Tips

1.      Cook pasta in lots (2 liters) of water and 2 heaped teaspoons of salt.

2.     Sauce should be cooked well too.

3.     Add some kasuri methi after adding tomato, it adds a flavour  akin to celery.

4.     To give colour to the pasta add a tea spoon of degi mirch mixed in pasta water after the    garlic and onions are done.

A variation of this we tried with Maggi noodles.

In the sauce recipe we added some Indian masalas like cloves, cardamom and few cumin seeds. Onions were lightly browned, garlic added. Add tomato puree and cook for 10 minutes. Pour over the noodles and serve.

We tried adding one teaspoon of degi mirch or soaked red chillies paste into the sauce after onions were done. And cooked the sauce till oil got separated. We found the result to be closer to Indian taste.

Keep the sauce aside. In the mean time cut vegetables – red bell pepper, mushrooms, carrot, beans, potato, green peas – steam these into a microwave steamer for two minutes except mushroom after sprinkling with a little salt. Sauté mushroom for a minute and add the steamed vegetables. Sauté for 30 seconds . Add sauce and mix for a few seconds. Add some pasta water, add pasta from the colander, add cut parsley and toss well. We can also add grated cheese as an option. Serve immediately.