Chicken Kofta Curry

This Chicken Kofta Curry recipe features the juiciest chicken meatballs, or koftas, in a spicy, tomato-based sauce. Once the koftas are ready, they take just 15 minutes to cook. Cook some lal masoor dal and fluffy white rice for a complete weeknight dinner!

Table of Contents

• Why you should make these koftas
• What’s in chicken koftas?
• How to make Pakistani Chicken Kofta Curry
• Some helpful tips
• Serving suggestions with chicken kofta curry
• Variations
• Storage
• More Pakistani recipes to try

Why you should make these koftas

• Traditionally, koftas are made with a yogurt base. To keep it dairy-free, I added tomato sauce.
• You can prep these ahead of time and use them to make several different weeknight meals. Speaking of weeknight meals, if you’re looking for budget-friendly ground meat dishes, then you’ll love my Easy Keema Recipe. It comes together fast and is perfect for busy weeknights.
• It is freezable. You can freeze the whole curry portioned out, or freeze the meatballs and then make the curry base before adding the thawed meatballs.
• The koftas of my childhood were made out of ground beef, never chicken, but here I am using chicken because it is quicker to cook and turns out juicier than beef and lamb, in my opinion. Plus, there is no need for egg or flour to bind or soften the koftas.
• This also helps keep red meat consumption low. 

What’s in chicken koftas?

You can, of course, use ground beef, lamb, or even turkey if you wish.

• ground chicken –  I make it with thigh meat because it adds to the juiciness in the koftas and although you can use breast meat, I would highly recommend you use thigh meat.
• onions, green chili, and cilantro – Although not authentic, I do feel that the addition of these ingredients gives the chicken more flavor.
• tomato sauce or puree – Again, not traditionally used but I wanted to omit dairy and so in came the tomato thanks to its sauciness. Tomato sauce (in the US) is canned smooth tomato, not Ketchup.
• spices – We’re keeping it simple with red chili powder, turmeric, cumin, and coriander powder. Garam masala on top is optional.

How to make Pakistani Chicken Kofta Curry

Chop the veggies. The onion in a food processor till just chopped. Don’t chop it too fine as it will become mushy and release water in the koftas. Empty out the onions into a medium-sized bowl. Next chop the green chili, cilantro garlic, and ginger if needed. I usually have my garlic and ginger minced and prepped beforehand, so add those in after chopping the chili and cilantro. Empty into the bowl with the onion. Now, add the ground chicken to the bowl and mix everything until it is well combined.

Make the koftas/meatballs. Keep a small bowl of water handy and start making the koftas. This is to prevent the mixture from sticking to your hands as you shape the koftas. Take a handful of the ground chicken mixture and form into a ball the size of a golf ball. Place on a plate and repeat till all the mixture is finished. Set it aside.

Make the curry base. Next, heat a pan on medium-high heat add oil, and then the diced onions. Fry till golden brown. Add the minced garlic, saute for a minute, and then add the spices. Saute and then add the tomato sauce. Saute again and lower the heat to medium-low. Once the tomato sauce starts to bubble, add the koftas. Toss to coat the meatballs with the sauce and then cover to let cook for about fifteen minutes.

Finish off and garnish. After fifteen minutes, uncover the pan and raise the heat to medium. Dry out the water and let the oil rise to the top. Garnish with cilantro and garam masala if desired.

Some helpful tips

• The key to juicy koftas is to ensure the cut of chicken is minced thigh meat. I have tried it with minced breast meat and it’s just not as juicy as the ones made with thigh meat. I picked up the meat at my local South Asian grocery store but I figure you can ask most butchers to grind the thigh meat instead of the breast.
• Use water to coat your hands before handling the koftas as the fat in the meat makes it super sticky!
• When tossing or flipping the koftas in the sauce, use a spoon or fork to help you. This ensures that they will not break. You can also jerk the pan back and forth to coat the koftas.

Serving suggestions with chicken kofta curry

• Although you can serve koftas with either rice or naan (a type of flatbread), my family prefers to eat gravy-based dishes with rice.
• Make it grain-free/paleo/Whole30 approved by serving it with cauliflower rice.
• Serve the koftas with red lentil dal and a side salad or Kachumbar.

Variations

• Make this dish fancier by adding boiled eggs sliced in half, and call them lazy man’s Nargisi Kofte! For a vegetarian version, make my Quick Egg Curry.
• These chicken koftas can be used to make a kabab roll or wrap.
• Bake or pan-fry the meatballs and serve them as appetizers with my Imli ki Chutney and or Sweet Pea Chutney as dips.

Storage

Leftovers can be stored for up to 3 days in the fridge. You can also freeze the curry in an airtight container for a month.

The chicken meatballs can also be pan-fried and frozen for use at a later date. Store in an airtight container or zip-top freezer bag. Thaw and continue to use in the curry as instructed.

More Pakistani recipes to try

Karahi Chicken

Hara Masala Chicken Curry

Tandoori Chicken Curry

Easy Keema Recipe

If you try this recipe I'd really appreciate you rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ it below! And let me know in the comments how it worked out for you. If you take a pic, tag me on Instagram @eatdrinkure, I love seeing your creations!