Easy Meatball Curry, Goan Style

Soft Chicken Meatball Curry

Let’s make an amazingly tasty and easy meatball curry. It’s a classic Goan dish. Today, I’m going to show you how to make a soft chicken meatball curry. But you could use this same recipe to make the traditional beef or mutton meatball curry.

Do follow my step-by-step video for a soft chicken meatball curry till the end for essential tips and you can be sure your meatballs won’t break open or become tough and dry.

This easy Goan meatball curry is fragrant and delicious and has a creamy gravy while the meatballs are soft and delicious. Do give my recipe a shot.

Interested in another tasty Goan chicken or meat dish? Do check out my recipe for Goan chicken xacuti.

Ingredients

For the masala mix

2 tsp crushed ginger

2 tsp crushed garlic

1 tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp garam masala

Mix and divide into 2 parts

For the meatballs/koftas

250g ground chicken breast

½ of masala mix

½ tsp salt

½ tsp ground pepper

2 green chillies, chopped

¼ cup coriander leaves, chopped

2 tbsp onion, chopped (½ small onion)

2 tsp cashew nut paste / 1 ½ tsp oil

½ tsp regular chilli powder

2 tsp lime juice

¼ cup fresh breadcrumbs (from 1 fresh bread slice)

½ egg

For the Curry

5 cloves

8 peppercorns

3 green cardamoms

1″ piece cinnamon

2 bay leaves

½ cup finely sliced onion (1 medium -size onion)

Remaining ½ of masala mix

1 ½ tsp Kashmiri chilli powder

1 ½ tsp regular chilli powder

2 tsp coriander powder

2 – 3 tbsp water

½ cup tomato paste (2 medium size tomatoes)

¾ cup water

¾ cup thick coconut milk

½ tsp sugar

½ tsp salt

Chopped coriander (garnish)

2 tbsp oil

Makes 10 meatballs

Procedure

1. We’ll start by making the meatballs.
2. Wash and pat dry the chicken breast. Then grind it in a mixer-grinder / food processor.
3. Coarsely grind the onion, green chillies, and coriander leaves.
4. Mix this with the ground chicken along with the salt, pepper, ½ the masala paste, cashew nut paste, regular chilli powder, lime juice, breadcrumbs, and the egg. Mix everything well. Cover the mix and keep it in the fridge for 30 minutes.
5. Grease your palms with oil and shape the meatballs. Cover them and keep in the freezer for 10 minutes and in the fridge for around 30 minutes.
6. Heat the oil. Saute the whole spices – cloves, pepper corns, green cardamom, cinnamon, and bay leaves on medium heat.
7. Add the onions and saute this till it browns. Add the remaining ½ of the masala paste, coriander powder, regular chilli powder, Kashmiri chilli powder, and 2 – 3 tbsp water. Stir everything and let it cook for 2 minutes. Add the tomato paste and stir the mix. Cook for 2 minutes.
8. Add the water, stir the gravy and bring it to a boil. Simmer for a minute and then add the coconut milk. Stir the curry again, let it simmer for 2 minutes, and then add the sugar and salt. Adjust the seasonings if necessary. After that, carefully add the meatballs to the curry. Do not stir the curry at this stage. Cover the vessel and cook the meatballs on medium-high heat for around 5 minutes.
9. Take off the lid. Tilt the pan around to swirl the contents so that the meatballs get well covered with the curry. Flip the meatballs with a spoon, and then ladle some of the curry on them. Cover the vessel and cook the meatballs on low heat for around 15 minutes more or till the meatballs have cooked. Usually, chicken meatballs will cook within 20 minutes. Don’t overcook them. Finally, garnish the meatball curry with chopped coriander.

Enjoy!