Nargisi or Shahi Kofta

Been away from the kitchen for a few days - well, it was my birthday!

These tasty treats take a little time to make however they are a real treat and worth the time and effort that goes into making the “Royal” dish, as we used to call the koftas (scotch egg curry for the non Asian eaters) due to the name.

Preparation & Cooking 2 hours + overnight soaking

Serves 6-8

Ingredients
1 kg meat cut into cubes
half cup chana daal (lentil) soaked in water overnight
2 teaspoon garam masala
1 tablespoon poppy seed
4 medium onions finely chopped
2 tablespoon peanut paste
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1 teaspoon chilli powder
1 table spoon garlic and ginger paste
2 tablespoon vegetable oil (for curry)
enough oil to deep fry egg koftas
salt to taste
½ teaspoon saffron soaked in 1 tablespoon rose water
10 eggs hard boiled and shelled
1 egg beaten
1 large bunch coriander finely chopped
4 green chillies

Method

• First boil the meat cubes in 2 cups of water. When meat has boiled for 5 minutes, put the chana daal, pinch of salt & 1 teaspoon garam masala and mix well.
• Cook in a medium heat until the meat and chana dal is fully cooked and water has dried. Let it cool for 10 minutes, then mix 1 tablespoon of poppy seeds in the meat and grind into a mince.
• Mix the beaten egg into the ground meat. This will help to bind when you are wrapping the meat mix around the eggs.
• Chill the mince mix in the fridge for 15 minutes to firm up. Mix half the chopped coriander and then divide the mix into 10 parts.
• Now comes the fun bit. Flatten each mince mix to a patty shape, wrap around an egg and then gently fold the mixture until the whole egg is covered. Press to ensure there are no air pockets. Think scotch egg!
• Deep fry the wrapped eggs until light brown. Drain on kitchen paper and when slightly cooled (do not let it become cold) halve all the egg koftas.
• Put the halved egg koftas in the curry sauce, add rest of coriander and whole chillies, then simmer for 15 minutes before serving with plain rice and raita.

Curry

• Put oil in the pan and fry the chopped onions until golden brown. Add ginger/garlic paste, turmeric, cumin & chilli powder along with 1 teaspoon garam masala & peanut paste and cook on medium heat till the powder smell disappear and you have a thick gravy.
• Add half cup water and cook until it boils, reduce heat and add the rosewater/saffron mix in the gravy and mix well. Check seasoning before adding the egg koftas.

Note

If you do not have a large pan to accommodate all 20 egg halves then once the curry is made, pour half in a large baking dish, add the eggs and pour the rest of curry on top, add coriander and whole chillies. Bake in a very slow oven for 15 to 20 minutes. You will know the dish is cooked when some oil rises to the top of the dish.