Beef kofta curry is a traditional Pakistani meatball recipe that uses ground beef simmered in a flavorful sauce. This hearty curry has the perfect blend of warming spices.
This recipe has been handed down through my family. It’s been tried, tested, and perfected many times, which means it’s fail-proof!
What Exactly Are Koftas?
Ground beef is combined with onions, ginger, garlic, poppy seeds, roasted channa, and spices to make koftas. The meat mixture is shaped into balls and cooked slowly in an onion and yogurt gravy.
The texture of the koftas plays an important role in this dish. Each step of the koftas must be precise because it is the main element of the dish.
Here are some simple directions that you can follow in order to make soft and juicy koftas.
- Meatballs, or kofta, work best with lean meat. I roughly use a 15/85 fat-to-lean ratio for the meat. Too much fat will result in mishaps in the cooking process.
- Ask your butcher for machine-cut qeema.
- For an extra-fine texture, add minced meat with all the ingredients to a food processor. Pulse until the meat is smooth and everything is well combined.
- Do not wash the ground beef. Washing the ground meat will result in less flavor in the minced meat. If washing is desired, do a quick rinse and drain all excess water.
- Channa and Khashah are other key ingredients. It gives them a unique, authentic flavor and helps with binding.
- A key step is adding raw onions. This helps the meatballs be soft and moist.
- Do not deep-fry the meatballs. It causes a harder exterior.
- Create small golf-sized balls out of the mixture. Meatballs can occasionally become hard due to their small size.
- Low-flame cooking produces tender, juicy kofta.
How To Make Kofta Gravy
Many recipes use tomatoes to make a curry base. For an authentic kofta recipe, I personally prefer a combination of fried onions and yogurt.
When making Kofta for a party, I usually start the curry base by sautéing cloves and green cardamom in hot oil for about a minute. This is entirely optional, serving only to add aroma and richness to the dish.
Check out the video in the Recipe Card Section.
What To Serve With Beef Kofta Curry
It is traditionally served with chapati, naan, or steamed rice.
More Meat recipes
Pakistani Dhaba Style Chicken Karahi
Sada Dehli Wali Biryani | Plain Biryani Meats
Shami Kabab (INSTANT POT AND STOVETOP)
Chicken Kabab Masala OR Kabab Karahi
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The Best Pakistani Style Kofta | Authentic Meatball Curry
8
servings15
minutes40
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hour5
minutesThis classic beef kofta curry is a Pakistani traditional dish. Meatballs made with ground beef simmered in a flavorful sauce This delicious curry is hearty and has a perfect blend of warming spices.
Keep the screen of your device on
Ingredients
- For the meatballs
2 lb. ground beef, roughly 15/85
2 medium onions, roughly chopped
3 green chili peppers, depending on your spice level
1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves
6 garlic cloves
4 inch pieces of fresh ginger
1 1/2 tbsp. chickpea flour, gram flour, besan, OR roasted channa powder
1 tsp red chili powder
Salt as per taste
3 tbsp. poppy seeds, khuskhus
- For the curry
2 medium onions
2 cups yogurt
1 cup oil
1 to 1/2 tsp. red chilies, depending on the spice level
4 tsp. coriander powder
1/2 tsp turmeric, Haldi
Salt to taste
1 big cardamon
4 cloves
4 peppercorns, sabat kali mirch
1 1/2 tsp. cumin
2 ginger-garlic paste
Directions
Meatballs:
- Wash the poppy seeds. Grind poppy seeds and water into a paste.
- In a food processor, pulse the onion, green chili pepper, cilantro leaves, ginger, and garlic until the onions are finely chopped.
- Add ground beef, salt, red chilies, chickpea flour, and poppy seed paste and pulse until combined, about 30 seconds.
- With greased or wet hands, make meatballs. Approximately 25 meatballs will be formed, about the size of golf balls, or 1 1/12 inches. Set aside.
- Curry:
- In a large, heavy-bottomed pan, heat oil over high heat. Add the chopped onions, and stir often for 7-8 minutes or until golden brown.
Remove the onions from the oil and blend with yogurt, cardamom, clove, peppercorn, and cumin. Blend until a smooth paste is created. Keep aside. - In the pan used to fry onions, heat oil, add ginger-garlic paste, and all spices under “curry.” Saute for a few minutes until the oil separates.
- Add the onion and yogurt mixture. Mix to combine. Add 2–3 cups of water and cover the lid to bring it to a boil.
- Add koftas to the boiling curry in a single layer; do not overlay. Don’t use a spatula from this point on. Hold the pan while rotating it slightly as needed for mixing.
- Reduce the heat to low. For an additional 40 minutes, simmer with the lid on. Stirring in between if needed. When the gravy reaches the desired consistency.
- Sprinkle cilantro. Serve hot with roti, naan, or boiled rice.
- If desired, squeeze the lemon before eating. Enjoy!!
Recipe Video
Notes
- You can substitute garam masala powder for the whole spices that were blended with the onion and yogurt mixture.
- Before adding the ginger garlic paste, add the cloves and a small cardamom pod for more flavor and aroma.
- Chickpea flour, gram flour, besan, and roasted channa powder are all interchangeable ingredients. Use only one of them.
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