Easy and Simple Lamb Kofta Curry (Indian Meatballs Curry)

This fragrant, super simple and easy one-pot Indian lamb mince kofta (meatballs) in a curry sauce is a perfect quick and easy dinner that can be prepared under an hour. Our koftas are seasoned perfectly with delicious and fragrant spices and pan fried to perfection. 

Why this recipe is a star?

• Simple kofta curry: This recipe will show you how to cook a super easy simple kofta (meatballs) curry that you can make under an hour and in one pot. Although it’s on the simpler end of curries, don’t underestimate that it is still filled with lots of delicious flavours.
• No coconut milk: I was searching for a good Indian lamb kofta recipe, that is still creamy, but without the coconut milk and the results fell short, so I decided to create one of my own. While I love coconut milk, I didn’t necessarily want it in this recipe.
• Balanced spice: This recipe has perfectly balanced spice levels, largely because of the small amounts of cream that we use in the recipe. The spice will not blow you away in this instance, but if you want a spicier lamb recipe then check out my bengali lamb chops curry or my aloo lamb matar keema recipe.

What are Koftas?

Koftas are essentially spiced lamb mince meat that is rolled into balls and then pan fried, set to the side and cooked further in a curry sauce. People also enjoy koftas as kofta kebabs.

I love a kofta lamb curry as it is a perfect and decadent curry!

Lamb Kofta Ingredients?

• Lamb Mince: Alternatively you could also use chicken mince and the recipe will still come out super tasty. Be aware of the fact that lamb mince is fatty and so will release natural juices when pan-fried. You can therefore use minimal oil, when cooking lamb!
• Spices and Salt: Use around a tsp of the following spices, or adjust according to your liking. In relation to salt, I used around a tsp and a half, but adjust according to how much mince you are using!
  • Turmeric powder
  • Chilli Powder
  • Cumin Powder
  • Corriander Powder
  • Garlic Powder
  • Ginger powder
  • Curry Powder
• Cumin seeds: We are using around one tsp of cumin seeds, these are going to make your koftas so much more fragrant and delicious.
• Half of an onion: It is essential that you finely chop your onion (red or white but my preference is white). If you roughly chop them, you will get bits of raw onion in your kofta, which is not the nicest taste
• Two garlic cloves: Again, ensure that this is finely chopped or minced. You don’t want big uncooked garlic chunks throughout your kofta, unless that is your thing, then go crazy!
• Egg: One cracked egg, ensure this is mixed in really nice and well!

Lamb Kofta Curry Sauce Ingredients?

• Half of an onion: We are using the other half of our onion, also finely chopped in our curry sauce.
• Two garlic cloves or one large garlic clove: You can finely or roughly chop this, it is totally your preference!
• Three medium sized tomatoes: If you have larger tomatoes to hand though, you can use two or one and a half. Ensure that the seeds are removed before you blend them up. Note though that blending is an optional step, but will make a difference!
• Cream: A splash of cream, just to lighten the sauce and make it super rich and decadent. Again, this is also optional but highly recommended as it just makes the curry so much more delicious!
• Water: Once you have added your lamb koftas back in, the sauce will thicken as we allow both the koftas and the sauce to cook together. You can then add around a half cup of water to loosen, or alternatively some more cream.
• Spices: Spice and salt wise, we are going to add roughly a tsp of both sets of ingredients.
  • Turmeric powder
  • Chilli Powder
  • Cumin Powder
  • Corriander Powder
  • Curry Powder
• Whole spices for fragrance (to toast!):
  • Cinnamon bark: half of a bark of cinnamon.
  • Cardamom pods: two cardamom pods
  • Cloves: two cloves

Step-by-step instructions to make the Kofta balls?

1. Place your lamb mince into a bowl and add all of your spices and your egg.
2. Mix together very well until the mince and spices are all combined.
3. Dip your fingers in some water (I would recommend having a cup or bowl of water to hand) and grab some mince with your hands and roll into medium sized balls.
4. In a pan, heat up two teaspoons of olive oil (or other oil of your preference but just ensure it is not too fragrant). Once heated, gently place all of your koftas into your pan. Fry on medium heat until the koftas have browned on all sides. Once done, remove the koftas into a bowl and set them to the side.

Step-by-step instructions on how to prepare kofta curry?

1. In the same pan, there will be lots of lamb fat and oil left, you can choose to remove it if you wish but cooking your sauce in this will make it extra delicious. Fry all of your aromatics and then once fragrant, add in your onions, garlic and allow that to become translucent and cooked.
2. Once cooked, add in all of your chopped or blended tomatoes.
3. Now add in all of your spices,  cover and allow that to cook together for around 5 minutes or so, until the tomatoes no longer have the raw taste to them!
4. Add in some cream, mix together well and then add in all of your koftas and cover. Add in more cream or a splash of water and serve!

Variations and Substitutions?

• Lamb mince meatball seasoning: I would really encourage you to get creative here as most south Asian spice ingredients will work well here. You can add ground coriander seeds, fennel, cinnamon or freshly chopped coriander, ginger and chillis. Season according to what you have in your pantry as if you have the South Asian basic ingredients, you can still probably make this deliciously!
• Skipping the creams?: You can either substitute the cream with a dairy free cream, or even add coconut milk (but I have made this a deliberately coconut milk free recipe).

Expert tips?

• The secret to making sure that the mince is ready to be a delicious kofta is ensuring that the mince is super well mixed. If you are using an egg, ensure you are using the right amount of mince. What can end up happening is that there is not enough mince to egg and the egg ends up forming a thick layer around the kofta in the pan (Trust me I have made this mistake before!)
• Do roll the koftas into medium-sized balls as they will reduce in size and you don’t want them to be super small!
• As mentioned, I would highly recommend blending the tomatoes as this is going to make your gravy so silky, nice and smooth.
• Do loosen the sauce with either cream or water, as this is also going to make your curry gravy for the lamb koftas super nice and silky.