Name: Beef Kofta Curry with Chickpeas
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Indian/Pakistani
Ingredients: FOR THE KOFTAS; 3 shallots, roughly chopped; 2 green finger chillies, roughly chopped; 1 handful fresh coriander (cilantro); 4 garlic cloves, smashed; 5cm (2 inch) ginger, roughly chopped; 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder; 1 tbsp chickpea flour; ¾ tsp salt; 450g (1lb) ground (minced) beef, 80/20 beef to fat ratio; FOR THE CURRY; 125ml (1/2 cup) rapeseed oil; 1 black cardamom or two green cardamom pods, lightly crushed; 3 cloves; 2 medium onions, very finely chopped; 2 tbsp garlic and ginger paste; 4 green finger chillies, finely chopped; 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder (more or less to taste); 1 tbsp ground cumin; 1 tbsp ground coriander; ½ tsp ground turmeric; 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper; 2 medium tomatoes, diced; 70ml (1/4 cup) meat stock or water; 210g (1 cup) natural plain yoghurt, whisked; 400g tinned chickpeas; Salt to taste; 3 tbsp coriander (cilantro), finely chopped; Fresh mint, to taste, finely chopped (optional)

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This Pakistani style beef kofta curry can be prepared in less than an hour and it tastes amazing.

I love Pakistani curries, especially their beef curries. It’s one of the reasons why I frequent Pakistani restaurants here in the UK often. Many of their curries are prepared in the same way as they are in parts of northern India but instead of using beef as the star ingredient, they use mutton or lamb as the consumption of beef is illegal in that part of India.

Someday I might just decide to go to Pakistan and try a curry there but I prefer a cold beer or two with my curries so I’m not planning that trip any time soon. For now, I’ll just have to make my own.

About this recipe.

This is a beef kofta curry I tried many times here in the UK before making it myself. It really is simple and I watched the same curry being prepared with mutton or lamb when I was in Delhi a couple of months ago.

It was so good with a few ice cold Kingfisher beers so I can recommend doing the same when you make it. The spiced koftas cook quickly in the thick sauce which is so easy to prepare. Make it and your friends and/or family will think you’ve been slaving away for hours as it really is that good.

Do you have to use beef?

Not at all. You can make this beef kofta curry just as written but use other proteins such as minced (ground) chicken, turkey, lamb, mutton or venison.

It also works well as a vegetarian curry. Just leave out the koftas and add more chickpeas and/or potatoes.

Can you work ahead?

Yes. As with most curries, you can actually make the whole curry a couple of days ahead of serving. As it sits in the fridge, the flavours will develop and it will be even better.

If you don’t want to cook the whole curry ahead of time, you could prepare the koftas. This can be done in about 15 minutes. Then just cover them in the fridge until you are ready to add them to the sauce.

How long can you store leftovers in the fridge?

You can store you beef kofta curry in the fridge for at least 3 days. Cover it tightly.

Then to reheat it, just place it in a pan and bring to a simmer. It’s ready to serve when the koftas are heated through.

What do you serve with beef kofta curry?

Anything you like really but plain white rice or naans or chapattis always go down well.

Step by step photographs.

Get all your ingredients prepared before starting. It’s easier that way.

Place the kofta ingredients on a large plate or clean working surface and knead them together until you have a meat paste for a few minutes.

The prepared kofta for the curry on a plate.

Wet your hands with water and take a golf ball sized piece of the meat mixture and roll it into a neat kofta. Transfer to a plate and repeat with the remaining meat.

Frying the onions in a large pan until soft and translucent.

Heat the oil and add the cinnamon, cardamom pods and cloves. Then add the chopped onions and fry for about 5 minutes or until until soft and translucent.

Adding garlic and ginger paste to the onions in the pan.

Stir in the garlic and ginger paste and chillies and fry for another minute.

Adding the ground spices, tomatoes and stock to the pan.

Add the ground spices and chopped tomatoes. Stir well to combine.

Add the stock or water and bring to a simmer for 3 minutes.

Now add the yoghurt one tablespoon and a time and stir it in.

Place the prepared kofta in the sauce. Cook the koftas in a single layer and cook in two batches if needed. Transfer any cooked koftas to a plate to add later.

Cooking the beef koftas in a covered pan.

Cover and simmer over a low heat for 10 minutes or until the koftas are cooked through.

When the koftas are cooked through, remove the lid and continue cooking to thicken the sauce some.

Stir in the chickpeas to heat through.

Plate up and serve with rice or naans. Garnish with coriander (cilantro), chopped mint and red chillies.

If you like this beef kofta curry, try some of these too!

Railway lamb curry
Chicken lababdar
Chicken Karahi
Homemade poppadoms
Authentic chicken biryani
Beef haleem
Chicken haleem
Beef biryani

Have you tried this beef kofta curry recipe?

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Yield: 4

Beef Kofta Curry with Chickpeas

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Ingredients

FOR THE KOFTAS
3 shallots, roughly chopped
2 green finger chillies, roughly chopped
1 handful fresh coriander (cilantro)
4 garlic cloves, smashed
5cm (2 inch) ginger, roughly chopped
1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
1 tbsp chickpea flour
¾ tsp salt
450g (1lb) ground (minced) beef, 80/20 beef to fat ratio
FOR THE CURRY
125ml (1/2 cup) rapeseed oil
1 black cardamom or two green cardamom pods, lightly crushed
3 cloves
2 medium onions, very finely chopped
2 tbsp garlic and ginger paste
4 green finger chillies, finely chopped
1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder (more or less to taste)
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp ground coriander
½ tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 medium tomatoes, diced
70ml (1/4 cup) meat stock or water
210g (1 cup) natural plain yoghurt, whisked
400g tinned chickpeas
Salt to taste
3 tbsp coriander (cilantro), finely chopped
Fresh mint, to taste, finely chopped (optional)

Instructions

Place shallots, garlic, ginger, chillies and coriander (cilantro) for the koftas in a food processor or pestle and mortar and grind to a paste. Add this paste to the meat with the gram flour, chilli powder and salt and knead for a few minutes to break the meat down and combine the ingredients.
Now place a bowl of water next to the meat mixture. Wetting your hands while you prepare the koftas will make it easier and they will also look better. Wet your hands and take a golf ball sized piece of the meat mixture and roll it into a neat kofta.
Transfer to a plate and repeat with the remaining meat. All this can be done a day or so ahead of cooking. You can store the prepared koftas wrapped tightly in your fridge.
When ready to cook the curry, heat the oil over a medium heat in a large pan that has a tight-fitting lid. Stir in the finely chopped onions and fry for about 8 minutes or until the onions are turning a golden brown.
Stir in the garlic and ginger paste and chopped chillies and fry, stirring continuously for another minute.
Add all the ground spices and stir them in and then add the diced tomatoes and water or stock. Bring this all to a simmer and then reduce the cooking heat to low and let it all cook for about 3 minutes.
Stir in the yoghurt one tablespoon at a time and whisk it in. Adding the the yoghurt slowly and whisking it will help reduce the chance of it splitting.
Add the kofta to the sauce and cover the pan. For best results, you want to cook the kofta in a single layer. If your pan is not big enough to do this, cook the kofta in batches. You can transfer the cooked koftas to a plate while you cook your second batch.
Simmer covered over a low heat for about 10 minutes turning the koftas at about 5 minutes.
Once all the koftas are cooked through, stir in the chickpeas and season with salt to taste. Garnish with the freshly chopped coriander and a little fresh mint if you like.