Fried Lamb Kofte
I always feel the kofte made with lamb meat are the best coz lamb has that moist texture and intense taste. The baby veal ones are equally good. But the beef ones are dry, so whenever I make the beef kofte I add the egg white to keep them moist. It also helps them bind so they don't break when you are frying them
Ingredients
- 1 lb lamb/veal/beef
- 1/2 cup channa dal bengal gram
- 1 medium size onion
- 4 garlic cloves medium
- 2-4 green chillies
- 1 sprig of fresh cilantro
- 4 cloves
- 4 green cardamoms
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- vegetable oil for deep frying
Instructions
- Clean, wash the channa dal, meat and peel the onions and garlic. You don't need to soak the channa dal at all.
- Add all the above ingredients in the list to the pot and bring to boil. Pound the cloves and green cardamom before adding them to the pot. The moisture in the meat and dal is enough to steam the meat and dal mixture. If it is too dry then add 2 - 4 tbs of water. Close the lid lightly and steam for 2 minutes or until the meat colour is no longer pink. You don't need to use the pressure cooker or instant pot. You can even just cook it by turning over the dal and meat till the colour changes.
- Let the mixture cool for 5 to 10 minutes while you prepare your other food - rice, curry, salad to eat with it.
- Using an all purpose wet grinder, grind the dal, onion and green chillies first, remove set aside. Sometimes I don't cook the green chillies and add them raw to the grinder to get that sting and green chilli flavour.
- Add all the meat pieces and chopped fresh cilantro to the grinder and pulse them till they get shredded.
- Mix the shredded meat with the ground channa mixture. Knead it with your hands, adjust the salt, shape into diamonds or flat rounds and deep fry them to crisp light brown. You can serve them with mint chutney as an appetizer or eat it with rice, dal, curry etc. Enjoy!
Notes
1. Overcooking the meat and dal mixture makes the kofte dough mushy so even adding egg white will not help you get the right texture.
2. Adding egg white to the kofta dough especially beef helps them bind better so they don't break when you are frying them.
3. Do not add extra water while grinding the dough. Just the juices left from steaming the meat dal mixture are enough. And do not dry it out when you are steaming them.
4. Any left over kofte can be stored in the fridge, then heating them up in the oven makes them turn crisp again, but they turn very soft in the microwave.
2. Adding egg white to the kofta dough especially beef helps them bind better so they don't break when you are frying them.
3. Do not add extra water while grinding the dough. Just the juices left from steaming the meat dal mixture are enough. And do not dry it out when you are steaming them.
4. Any left over kofte can be stored in the fridge, then heating them up in the oven makes them turn crisp again, but they turn very soft in the microwave.