Game nargisi kofta
Bring something new to your curry repertoire with these egg and game koftas cooked in a sweet and spicy curry sauce.
Ingredients
For the kofta
- 6 free-range eggs
- 250g/9oz boned leg and breast of pheasant
- 250g/9oz boned leg and breast of partridge
- 250g/9oz boned leg and breast of grouse or mallard
- 8cm/3in piece fresh root ginger
- 8 garlic cloves
- 2–3 slender green chillies
- 8–10 coriander stalks with leaves
- 20–25 mint leaves
- 1½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp garam masala
For the curry sauce
- 2 tbsp cooking oil (not olive)
- 3 onions, finely chopped
- 5cm/2in piece fresh root ginger, roughly chopped
- 4–5 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- 3–4 dried red chillies, roughly chopped
- 1 heaped tsp cumin seeds
- 1 heaped tbsp coriander seeds
- ½ tsp fennel seeds
- 5cm/2in piece cinnamon, broken up
- ½ tsp turmeric powder
- 15–20 raw cashew nuts
- 12–15 peeled almonds, or use 2 tbsp ground almonds
- 250g/9oz plain yoghurt
- 2–3 tomatoes, roughly chopped
- 500ml/18fl oz chicken stock or water
- salt, to taste
- 2 heaped tbsp chopped fresh coriander, to serve
Method
Bring a saucepan of water to the boil and cook the eggs for 6 minutes. Transfer to iced water. Once cool enough to handle peel off the shells.
Put the remaining kofta ingredients in a food processor and blitz until you have a fine mince. (You may need to do this twice.) Set aside.
To make the curry sauce, heat the oil in a casserole dish over a medium heat and fry the onions for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they are a rich dark brown.
Add the remaining sauce ingredients to a blender and blitz until smooth.
Pour the sauce into the onions and bring to a simmer for 2–3 minutes, stirring continuously. Reduce the heat, cover with a lid and cook for 15 minutes, until the sauce has the consistency of double cream. Stir from time to time to prevent the bottom of the pan from catching.
Meanwhile, divide the kofta mince into six equal portions and work each ball with your hands until soft and supple. Flatten the mince in your palm and place an egg in the middle. Enclose the mince around the egg to form a kofta, making sure no open edges are exposed. Repeat with the remaining kofta mix and eggs.
Shallow fry the koftas in a large frying pan to seal the mince.
Add the koftas to the sauce and simmer for a few minutes until cooked through. (No longer otherwise the eggs will be overcooked.) Sprinkle with the coriander and serve.
Recipe Tips
You can serve the koftas on their own with green chutney or a raita or another rich Indian-style gravy or a coconut based curry.
