Malai Kofta (Creamy Meatballs in Curry)

I made this dish using the left over ground chicken mixture from the Home Burgers recipe. Instead of patties, I formed little meatballs and made a brand new dish!

Ingredients:
For the Meatballs-

2 kg ground chicken ( I like chicken, but you can use beef or lamb as well)

1 medium onion

1 small tomato

Half a clove of garlic

2 inch piece of ginger

2 green chillies

1/2 c of  coriander, finely chopped

10-12 sprigs of mint, finely chopped

1 tsp salt (more or less according to taste)                 

1/2 tsp crushed red chillies

1/2 tsp red chilli powder

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp curry powder

1/2 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp turmeric

1 egg

1/2 c of bread crumbs

( I used about 1/4 of this mixture to make this dish)

For the curry-

1 medium onion, sliced

1 small tomato, chopped

2 segments of garlic clove, sliced

1/2 inch piece of ginger, sliced

4 tbsp of cooking oil

2 tbsp tomato paste

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp red chilli powder

1/2 tsp of cumin powder

1/2 tsp of turmeric

1 tsp curry powder

dash of paprika

2tbsp of whipping cream

Boiled Water (for desired curry consistency)

1. Form little meatballs of the ground chicken mixture and set aside.

2. Fry the onions in the oil until translucent, add the garlic and ginger, stir until light brown. Remove and blend into a fine paste in the food processor with the tomatoes.

3. Pour back in to the pot and stir in the spices and tomato paste. Let cook for 3-4 minutes, then add the meatballs, cover and cook on low heat for 15 minutes. Give the meatballs a stir, so they are totally covered in the sauce, and cook for another 20 minutes on low heat. 

4. Stir in whipping cream and let cook for about 10 minutes on low heat. You can add water for your desired level of consistency. 

Enjoy with rice or naan.

Luv, Umm Ibraheem

Home Burgers

We had some buns in the refrigerator. Everytime S. buys something from Al-Baik ( a very popular fast food restaurant found in most cities in Saudi Arabia), they include a packaged bun in the meal. So we'd accumulated quite a few. I decided to make chicken 'kabab' (ground chicken patties) and use the buns to make burgers. S. wasn't too keen on the 'kabab' idea, I asked him to at least give them a try. When all was said and done, I presented him with a fresh 'off the grill' (oven) burger, topped with some tomato chutney. He really enjoyed it and asked me to teach him how to make the patties from scratch. (He has come to understand the benefits of knowing how to cook, it saves you a lot of money and gains you plus points with wife!).

Ingredients:

2 kg ground chicken ( I like chicken, but you can use beef or lamb as well)

1 medium onion

1 small tomato

Half a clove of garlic

2 inch piece of ginger

2 green chillies

1/2 c of  coriander, finely chopped

10-12 sprigs of mint, finely chopped

1 tsp salt (more or less according to taste)                  

1/2 tsp crushed red chillies

1/2 tsp red chilli powder

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp curry powder

1/2 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp turmeric

1 egg

1/2 c of bread crumbs

2-4 tbsp of oil (for frying)

1.       Finely chop the onion, tomaoto, garlic, ginger and chillies in the food processor. Mix with the ground chicken. Add all of the remaining ingredients, make sure to mix well.

2.       Heat oil in a frying pan that has a lid.

3.       Make patties of the mixture and  gently lay it in the frying pan.

4.       Cover with lid and let cook for 3-4 minutes on medium heat.

5.       Put the patties in an oven safe tray and bake at 350F for 15 minutes.

6.       Enjoy it in your choice of bread or just on it's own with some tomato chutney or ketchup!

 You can save the leftover mixture to make something else. I'll be posting another dish that uses round, hot dog type kababs (seekh kabab) using the same mixture. 

Luv, Umm Ibraheem