Nargisi Kofta (Chicken and Egg Curry)

It's funny how some dishes can be inspiration from music! To cut the long story short, I was trying to google this old Bollywood number - Ae Nargise Mastana. Some typo and there you go..Google suggests Nargisi Kofta!! The music hunt stopped right there and I was busy looking up for all the ingredients in my pantry to make this Mughlai dish. 

While the traditional recipe calls for almond paste, cream and a lot of oil/ ghee for deep frying and cooking, unfortunately, there was no birthday celebration or party tonight. So order of the day was to get a nice rich tasting kofta curry without the almond paste, cream and deep frying. Trust me, this recipe will take your taste buds for a ride. It's difficult to believe, this recipe could be so tasty and creamy, without all those forbidden ingredients! 

You need:

For the Egg Kofta :

Chicken keema (mince) – approx. 250 grams for coating 3 eggs (egg size keema ball for every egg is a good way to measure how much keema you need. And I used lean mince)

Besan/ gram flour – 1.5 Tbsp

Coriander powder – 1 tsp

Turmeric – ½ tsp

Cumin powder – 1 tsp

Red Chili powder – ½ tsp

Salt – ½ tsp

Eggs – 3 nos.

Corn flour – 1 Tbsp

Oil – 3-4 Tbsp

For the Curry:

Onions – 2 large (thin sliced)

Salt – to taste

Turmeric – ½ tsp

Coriander powder – 1 tsp
Onion - 1 medium (fine chopped)
Ginger - 1 tsp (grated)
Garlic - 1 tsp (grated)
Mint - 1 Tbsp (fine chopped)

Cumin powder – 1 tsp

Red Chili powder – ½ tsp

Garam Masala – 1 tsp

Bay leaf – 1

Cinnamon – 1 inch

Green cardamom – 4-5 (will be used in parts)

Black cardamom – 2  (will be used in parts)

Sugar – ½ tsp

Oil – 2 Tbsp (you can reduce this too, will be used in parts)

Poppy Seeds – 2 tsp (optional if you are going really healthy)

Yogurt – 2 Tbsp (should not be sour)

Tomato Paste – ¾ tsp (adjust to taste)

Kasuri Methi/ Dried fenugreek leaves – ½ tsp (substitute with fine shredded mint leaves)

To make egg kofta:

1. Boil eggs – In a pan bring water to a boil, gently immerse the eggs. Cover and boil for 3 min. Now switch off the heat. Let the pan stay with lid covered just like that for 15 min. Rinse under cold water and remove the shell. 
2. In a bowl add the chicken keema, besan, onion, garlic, ginger, mint, turmeric, coriander powder, cumin powder, red chili powder, salt, eggs, corn flour. Mix well with hand as if kneading a dough.
3. Divide the dough in 3 equal parts (since you are making 3 eggs). As I mentioned earlier, to coat one egg, take one egg size keema ball.
4. Damp your hands with little water since this stops the keema from sticking to your palms. Place the keema ball on your palm. Now flatten the keema ball using the finger of the other hand uniformly into a circular thin disc. Flatten enough so that when you place an egg in the centre of the keema and fold the sides, the egg can be covered with the keema from all sides.
5. Heat 2-3 Tbsp of oil a non stick pan. Gently place this keema-egg roll and cook till golden brown on all sides. 
6. Remove from the pan and reserve.

Making the kofta gravy:

1. In a wide pan, heat 1 tablespoon of oil.  Add bay leaf, cinnamon stick, 2 green and 1 black cardamoms seeds. Fry for 30 sec.
2. Now add onion, salt, poppy seeds, ginger chunks and garlic cloves. Adding salt as soon as you add onions helps in sweating the onions and stops them from soaking the oil.  (you may add garlic pods without chopping as they will anyways be blended with onions later). 
3. Once the onion is golden brown, push them to the side of the pan. All the extra oil will ooze out which can be used to cook the gravy. Once cool transfer the onion mixture to a blender. 
4. Blend the onions with the yogurt to a very fine paste. 
5. In the remaining oil add the remaining green and black cardamoms. Now add sugar and fry till it caramelizes, ie; becomes golden brown. 
6. Now add the blended onion paste. Fry for 4-5 min.
7. Add turmeric, coriander, cumin and red chili powder and garam masala. Fry for 2-3 min. 
8. Add tomato paste and cook for 1-2 min.
9. Now add the egg koftas and mix gently. Cover and cook for 8-10 min or till the inside of the keema ball is cooked.
10. Crush kasuri methi powder between your palms and sprinkle on the kofta curry once done. (If you are a cream lover, go ahead, drizzle that lovely silky stuff!! )
11. Serve hot with flaky parathas!

*If you don't have tomato paste or puree, give a gentle cut using a knife on the tomatoes to only cut the outer thin skin. This is done so that the it becomes easier to peel off the skin of the tomato after blanching it. In boiling water add the tomatoes and boil for 2 min. When you see the skin is peeling off, remove from heat. Peel off the skin. Remove the seeds from inside and blend. You can now use this tomato puree to make a  smooth creamy gravy.