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.

Zingy & spicy curry sauce

Preparation: 10 minutes                     

Cooking: 20 – 25 minutes

Serves 4

Ingredients

4 medium sized onions peeled and ground (use a chopper)

2 whole garlic peel and grind with the onion

2 large aubergines thick sliced lengthways (if using)

2 tablespoon oil

3 or 4 teaspoon grounded cumin

2 to 3 teaspoons red chilli powder

Juice of 2 large lemons

4 tablespoons coconut milk

3 teaspoon tomato paste

Salt to taste

Method

• Put oil in the pan and heat slightly, add the ground onion & garlic mixture, sauté till light brown.
• Add the cumin, chilli and stir till mixed well. Add a little salt to start with as you can always add more according to taste. Stir the mixture in medium heat for about 3 minutes.
• Add quarter of the lemon juice, coconut milk and tomato paste, cooking for a couple of minutes. Finally add rest of the lemon juice, put the lid on and cook in low heat for about 8 minutes or until the oil comes up.
• Add the aubergines and simmer in low heat for 15 minutes. Do not add water as the aubergine will release enough liquid to add to the curry sauce. Sprinkle with chopped coriander and green chillies right at the end.

Note

You can add meat or other vegetables if you don’t like aubergines. Cooking times will vary depending on the meat and vegetable used.

Karhi

I have finally found some time to put up a couple of curry sauces (of course nicked from my mother!). This one is quite different to most curry sauces you may have tried.

Preparation: 5 minutes                       

Cooking: 10-15 minutes

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 cup of yogurt

2 ½ heaped tablespoons gram flour

1 medium sized onion finely chopped

½ teaspoon chilli powder - you can put more or less according to taste

¼ teaspoon turmeric powder

2 teaspoons cumin powder

4 curry leaves

salt to taste

1 litre water

Bunch of coriander roughly chopped

Method

• In a bowl, mix the gram flour with 2 tablespoons water (add a bit more if needed) until it is a thick paste like consistency. Add yogurt and the rest of the water – mix well. Strain the mixture through a sieve (to remove any lumps) into a medium sized pan.
• Add the onion, chilli, turmeric, cumin & salt to taste. Add more according to taste if needed.
• When you get the first boil let it cook on high heat for few minutes, then cook on low heat for up to 10 minutes, stirring all the time.
• Finally add the curry leaves then let it cook on a low heat until it thickens stirring from time to time. The thickness of the karhi is according to your taste. 
• You can make plain pakoras and add to the karhi or you can eat it without the pakora with rice.
• Add coriander once heat has been turned off so the flavours can infuse.

Note:

Plain pakoras are very easy to make. Just take 2 cups of gram flour, add ¼ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon pepper, ¼ teaspoon garam masala and enough water to make a very thick batter. Put tablespoon sized portions in very hot oil until the pakoras become brown and float on top. Drain on kitchen paper then add to the hot karhi. Add garnish on top before serving.