Chicken kofta curry gets a flavoursome upgrade in this recipe, with the addition of fresh almond and charmagaz seed paste, green papaya and chilli paste, and aromatic Sunrise spice blends. The succulent chicken meatballs, first fried until golden, are then simmered in a lusciously creamy and mildly spiced curry. Despite the longer ingredient list, this kofta curry is straightforward to make - and absolutely worth the effort!
Sunrise tip: Make your own garam masala at home by dry roasting and grinding cloves, green cardamom, cinnamon, black pepper, mace, and nutmeg. The aroma and flavour will be far superior to any store-bought blend!
Time: 15 minutes
Place almonds and charmagaz seeds in separate bowls. Pour in enough water to cover them completely. Let soak for 10-15 minutes.
In a blender or wet grinder, grind the soaked almonds and charmagaz seeds separately into smooth pastes, adding a little water if needed to aid grinding. Keep the pastes aside.
Time: 5 minutes
In the same blender, grind the peeled and chopped green papaya along with the green chillies into a fine paste. Add a splash of water if required. Set this paste aside too.
Time: 10 minutes
In a large mixing bowl, combine the chicken mince, almond-charmagaz paste, green papaya-chilli paste, ginger garlic paste, salt, Sunrise Chicken Curry Masala, and maida. Mix thoroughly until well incorporated.
Time: 20 minutes
Divide the chicken mixture into 20-24 equal portions. Roll each portion between your palms to shape into round meatballs (koftas).
Heat oil in a deep pan or kadai. Once hot, gently slide in the koftas, making sure not to overcrowd the pan. Fry on medium heat, turning occasionally, until the koftas are golden brown all over. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.
Time: 15 minutes
In the same pan used for frying the koftas, reduce the oil to about 2 tbsp. Temper the hot oil with bay leaves.
Add the onion paste and sauté for 1-2 minutes until the raw smell disappears. Stir in ginger garlic paste, Sunrise Haldi Powder, Sunrise Lal Mirch Powder and Sunrise Kashmiri Mirch Powder. Fry for a minute more.
Mix in the sugar and the ground almond-charmagaz paste until well combined. Pour in 1 cup water and mix well.
Beat the curd until smooth and add it to the curry. Stir to incorporate.
Time: 10 minutes
Add Sunrise Shahi Garam Masala to the curry along with salt to taste. Pour in the remaining water and mix well.
Once the curry comes to a boil, gently add the fried koftas. Simmer on low heat for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the koftas are heated through and have absorbed the flavours of the curry.
Time: 5 minutes
Sprinkle the curry with an extra pinch of garam masala. Let it simmer for 2-3 minutes more.
Remove from heat. Drizzle fresh cream over the top and serve the Chicken Kofta Curry piping hot with steamed rice.
Side Dish: Jeera rice, Naan bread
Accompaniment: Kachumber salad, Sliced onions