Chicken Kofta Curry

Chicken Meat Balls in an onion tomato gravy

Chicken Breast is not my favourite cut of the chicken and I avoid using it because of its fibrous texture. But often we end up having not so desired products in our kitchen which we have to make do with.

So to use up the portion of chicken breast, decided on making a not so complicated Chicket Kofta curry. 

Certain ideas about the masala have been taken from Chef Varun Inamdar's recipe but I avoided using besan, keora water, rose water etc.

Ingredients :

Kofta :

Chicken Breast 450 gm 

Rock Salt / Beet Noon - 1 tsp or as per taste

Pepper - 1 tsp

Coriander leaves

Green chillies 

Curd - 1/2 cup

Bread Crumb - 2 slices of bread, toasted till crisp and powdered into bread crumb

Garam masala - 1/2 tsp roasted & ground cinnamon+cardamom+cloves

Ginger Galic paste - 1 tsp

Egg -1 

Onions 1-finely chopped

Gravy :

Onion - 2 roughly diced

Tomato 1-chopped

Ghee - 1 tsp

Whole garam masala

Bay leaf - 1 large or 2 small

White Oil/Mustard Oil

Roasted Fennel - 1 tsp

Roasted coriander (dhaniya) - 1tsp

Roasted Cumin - 1tsp

Garam masala powder - 1/2 tsp

Whole Garam Masala & Bay leaf for Tempering 

Red chili powder

Kashmiri Chili Powder

Whole green chilies

Salt to Taste

Sugar  a pinch

Chopped coriander

Procedure :

Kofta :

1) Though Boneless Chicken Thighs are my preferred raw meat portion, this time I had to make do with Chicken Breast. To be chopped into small pieces.

2. Into the mixie jar goes : Boneless Chicken pieces, Rock Salt, Pepper Powder, Green Chilies, Chopped Coriander 

3. Into the above meat paste, add ginger -garlic paste, 1 egg, finely chopped onion, bread crumb of 2 bread slices (toasted and powdered) , 1/2 bowl of curd, 1/2 tsp of homemade garam masala (toasted and ground cardamom+cinnamon+clove). Mix well.

4. After smearing yoour palm with oil, make chicken koftas or balls. I made small lemon sized balls.

Gravy :

1) In a kadhai, take 2 tbsp oil (mustard or any other oil. Today I used rice bran oil).

2) Temper with whole garam masala and bay leaf.

3) To this tempered oil, add roughly chopped onions (2 medium sized)  and tomato. Add ginger- garlic paste. Fry till the onions have slightly browned and raw smell of tomatoes gone. Add salt and a pinch of sugar. 

4) Take it aside and on cooling grind this fried onion-tomato-bayleaf-garam masala-ginger garlic into a smooth paste and transfer the paste back to the kadhai.

5) Prepare a masala paste with 1/2 bowl of beaten curd, a mix roasted cumin + roasted coriander seeds + roasted fennel seeds+ red chili powder + kashmiri mirch. Add this paste to the onion-tomato-bayleaf-garam masala paste in the kadhai. Add warm water . Check the salt .  Add a spoonful of ghee.

6) While the gravy starts simmering,  slide the koftas slowly into the kadhai and add two green chilis, slit at the top. Cover and cook on low to medium heat for 15-20 minutes. 

7) Once it comes to a boil, sprinkle 1/2 tsp of garam masala powder and garnish with chopped coriander.