This definitely has to be a cheat recipe to cooking kofta curry(meatballs). Quick and easy, packed with lots of spices and flavors. I was surprised by how tasty this curry was when I first made it. I remember my mom telling me about this recipe and insisting I should make it. She was like “it’s such a yummy and easy recipe you have to try it out”….I was skeptical about trying it out and really didn’t see how kebabs would make a great curry…. so after months of not trying it out, one day I did have extra kebabs left over and I thought might as well give it a go…. mom can’t be wrong lol..

Omg, honestly I was convinced, this was one of the best curries I made lol… you really need to try this recipe out. It really is that good and the best thing was how easy it was to make. Usually when you make kofta curry, (meatballs) you need to make those meatballs with ground meat, add in the spices, fry them up and then add them into the curry base. But the good thing with this recipe was that the meatballs are already made… that’s the kebabs, which are also made from ground meat and usually cooked in a clay oven. So half the work is done. All I had to do was cut the kebabs up into quarters (4 pieces), make the curry base and add in the pieces of kebab… as easy as that. 

More importantly my hubby was so impressed and til today it’s still one of his favorite curries.

More about the kebabs now, you can use any meat of your choice, whether it’s chicken, lamb or beef kebabs. I get mine from a Indian restaurant, beef kebabs, they are so yummy. I get extra kebabs now and just freeze them so I can cook them up in a curry whenever I want. I know you can also buy frozen kebabs in some Indian stores, these also work perfectly fine for this curry. 

Just before I start cooking I get my kebabs out of the freezer and let them thaw for 5-10 minutes so I can easily cut them up into smaller pieces. I also prep my vegetables, like peeling and slicing the onions, tomatoes chopped up or cut into wedges and chopping up cilantro to garnish later.

Then heat up a cooking pot with 1/4 cup of oil, add in the sliced onions and salt. On a medium flame cook the onions until they turn to a golden brown color. Add in the tomatoes, cook until slightly soft, 2-3 minutes. Here the onions will also cook with the tomatoes and become soft. You will see how I am not adding any ginger, garlic as the kebabs usually have all that added. Really the kebabs have so much flavor in them already so you just need to make a simple base for the curry.

Next step you are ready to add in the spices, so in goes turmeric, chili, coriander, cumin and garam masala powder. Stir all those spices up on a medium low heat, mixing well and let those spices cook for a minute, you will see how there will be some oil floating around and that’s when you know the spices are cooked. Now time to add in the kebabs, mix well with the spices and cook for 1-2 minutes on medium flame.

Next it’s time to add in a cup of hot water. After adding the water, stir well and simmer on medium low flame for 15 minutes. You will start to see some oil floating on the top of the curry, your curry is done, sprinkle with chopped cilantro and serve with rice or naan bread. Enjoy….

Kebab Curry

Recipe by ShemaCourse: MainCuisine: IndianDifficulty: Easy

Servings

4-5

servings

Prep time

5

minutes

Cooking time

25

minutes

Easy Kebab Curry

Ingredients

• 4 kebabs (your choice of meat), each kebab cut into 4 roughly equal pieces

• 1/4 cup of oil
  

• 2 medium sized onions thinly sliced

• 1 medium tomato cut in wedges

• 2 teaspoons of salt
  

• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder

• 1 and a 1/2 teaspoons chili powder (adjust to preference)
  

• 2 teaspoons coriander powder

• 1 teaspoon cumin powder
  

• 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
  

• 1 cup hot water

• Chopped cilantro to garnish

Directions

• Thaw frozen kebabs for 5–10 minutes and cut each kebab into 4 roughly equal pieces
• Heat oil in a pot, add in the sliced onions and salt, stir and cook until golden brown on a medium flame
  
  
  
• Add in the tomato pieces and stir, cook for 2-3 minutes until the tomatoes and onions soften
  
• Add in the spices one by one, turmeric, chili, coriander, cumin and garam masala and stir
  
• Cook the spices on a medium low flame until you see some oil floating around, indicating that the spices are cooked
  
• Add in the kebab pieces, stir well and let that cook for 1-2 minutes on a medium flame
  
  
  
• Add in 1 cup of hot water, stir and simmer for 15 minutes on medium low flame
  
• You know your curry is done when you see some oil floating around the surface
  
  
  
• Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve with rice or naan bread… enjoy 
  
  
  
  
  

Notes

• This curry can be stored in a airtight container in the refrigerator for upto 4 days.