Kaima Unde Saaru (Karnataka Style Kofta Curry)
Minced lamb/chicken meatballs cooked in a spiced coconut and cilantro gravy. Last night at my culinary club meet-up, Kalpa Shivaram served up this Gowda community special. It was delicious and very different to any other kofta curry I’ve eaten. So, I decided to cook it for the boys tonight. Though these meatballs are usually served alongside ragi mudde (finger millet balls), I served them with ghee rice.
Recipe
Kaima Unde Saaru
(Makes about 20 medium sized koftas/meatballs)
Ingredients:
500 gms Mutton/Chicken Mince, washed and drained very well
4 green cardamoms
4 cloves
2” cinnamon stick
1 tsp black peppercorns
2 tbsp ghee/oil - divided
2 large red onions, finely sliced - divided
1-2 green chillies, chopped (use more/less as per taste)
1 1/2” piece ginger, peeled and sliced
10-12 cloves garlic, chopped
1 large handful fresh cilantro (hara dhania), chopped - divided
1 cup grated fresh coconut
1 1/4 cups water - divided
3/4 tsp turmeric powder (haldi)
3 tbsp coriander powder (dhania)
1 tsp red chilli powder (or more depending upon preference)
Salt to taste
2 tbsp roasted chana dal (putana)
1 large tomato, puréed
Additional cilantro for garnish
Method:
Dry roast the cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and peppercorns until fragrant and set aside to cool.
Next, dry roast the chana dal for a couple of minutes and cool.
In a blender, powder the chana dal until fine and set aside.
Next, powder the roasted whole spices until finely ground.
In a large pan, heat 1 tbsp ghee. Keep aside 2 tbsp of the sliced onions and add the rest into the pan. Add the ginger, garlic, green chillies and sauté lightly until the onions turn transparent. Turn off the heat and allow the mixture to cool for 10 minutes.
Set aside 2 tbsp of the chopped cilantro. Transfer the rest of it along with the fried onion mixture, powdered whole spices, grated coconut, 1/4 cup water, turmeric, coriander & chilli powders into the blender and blitz for a few minutes. The masala paste should be fine and not too watery. Divide it into two equal portions.
Mix one half of the masala paste with the drained mince and season with salt. Reserve the other half of the masala paste for the gravy.
Divide the mince mixture into quarters and pulse in the blender, ONLY for a second and just TWICE (the idea here is to blend the ingredients and make the mince a tad finer. Take care to not make it pasty. Also, don’t skip this step as it helps bind the meatballs). Once all the mince is pulsed, add in the reserved cilantro and chana dal powder and mix well.
Lightly grease your palms and form the mixture into golf-ball sized koftas by pressing them tightly and then rolling. Cover and refrigerate the meatballs while you prepare the gravy.
Heat the remaining tablespoon of ghee in a heavy-bottomed pan. Fry the reserved sliced onion over medium heat until golden brown.
Add in the other half of the masala paste and sauté until the raw smell disappears.
Stir in the puréed tomato and a cup of water (you may need to add more water depending on how thick/thin you want the gravy) and bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover & cook for 15 minutes.
Season to taste with salt and gently drop the koftas into the simmering gravy. Avoid using a spoon, just shake the pan gently to make room.
Cover and continue to cook on low heat for 25-30 minutes (shake the pan gently a few times in between to turn and coat the koftas). The cooking time will depend on the kind of mince used and the size of the koftas, so start checking after 15 minutes to see if the meatballs are cooked through.
Once they are done, remove from heat and serve hot garnished with more cilantro.