Lamb mince makes delicious kofta (meatballs) that can be added to any curry sauce. This meatball curry is so tasty and perfect for a special meal or a weekend treat, and despite the long list of ingredients, it is easy to make and relatively inexpensive, too.
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I am a huge fan of spice and vibrant fresh flavour, which means we eat many Indian and Middle Eastern foods in our house. We’re also fans of lamb. For years, every Autumn, I’ve bought a whole lamb from a local crofter for our freezer. The lambs are reared in the fields outside my house, lambs I know have been treated well, and lambs that have been slaughtered locally, meaning lower food miles.
Lamb mince is an incredibly delicious and versatile ingredient. You can use it in comfort food dishes like shepherd’s pies and barbecue kofta skewers, but what about non-traditional recipes like hash, pancakes, tortillas, tacos, toasties, nachos, pasta bakes, or even a Scotch egg?
Recently, the keema meatball curry by Mamta Gupta over at Mamta’s Kitchen, really caught my eye, so this weekend I treated the family to a quick and delicious Indian curry (recipe reproduced with permission).
Would you believe that even the kids ate it! When you’ve got fussy kids like mine this is so much for the win!
The keema meatball curry was simple to make, and there’s something incredibly satisfying about working with whole herbs and spices. The scents and aromas wafting from the kitchen had the family ooh-ing and aah-ing long before dinner was ready, and the thing with Indian cooking is that you can always adjust the heat to your liking. I only used half a chopped chilli in my meatballs, which was perfect for the kids. Not too spicy, but still with a kick of heat to get the juices going. I always serve a little bowl of plain, natural yoghurt on the side to help cool things down.
Recipe Difficulty Levels
Easy
Requires basic cooking skills and ingredients you most likely already have in your kitchen.
Moderate
Requires more experience, preparation and/or cooking time. You may have to source special ingredients.
Challenging
Recipes requiring more advanced skills and experience and maybe some special equipment.
Mamta Gupta’s Indian Keema Meatball Curry
Ingredients
for the meatballs
- 500 grams lamb mince
- 1 large free-range egg slightly beaten
- 1 medium onion peeled and roughly chopped
- 0.5 inch fresh ginger root peeled
- 3 garlic cloves peeled
- 1-2 green chilli finely chopped (or use red)
- 1.5 tsp Shetland sea salt or to taste
- 0.5 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 10 fresh mint leaves (or mint, if you prefer)
for the whole spices
- 1 tsp whole cumin seeds
- 3 green cardamom pods broken slightly with a mortar
- 8 whole peppercorns
- 6 whole cloves
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 inch cinnamon stick or cassia bark
for the curry
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 medium onion peeled and roughly chopped
- 3 garlic cloves peeled
- 1 inch fresh ginger root peeled
- 1/2 tsp ground coriander
- 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
- 1/2 tsp chilli powder adjust to taste
- 1 tsp smoked paprika for colour
- Shetland sea salt to taste
- 2 tbsp tomato puree
- 2 medium fresh ripe tomatoes or 200 grams chopped tinned tomatoes
- 0.5 – 0.75 pint water
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 2 tbsp fresh coriander leaves to garnish
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Instructions
- Place all meat ball ingredients, except the lamb and egg, in a food processor and process finely. If you don't have a food processor chop the ingredients as fine as you can.
- Place the lamb in a large bowl and add the onion mixture and the egg. Mix well by hand or with a large spoon.
- Transfer the mixture to an airtight container and leave in the fridge for a few hours, or overnight, to marinate. This helps the flavours to infuse.
- When ready to cook the curry, shape the meatballs into 20 walnut sized balls. I divided the mixture into half, then half again to make the balls as evenly sized as I could. Wetting your fingers and palms helps with the rolling.
- To prepare the curry, heat the vegetable oil in a heavy based saucepan.
- When the oil is hot, add the whole spices. When the cumin seeds begin to sizzle add the onion, garlic and ginger mix.
- Fry this mixture until it is golden to dark brown. This might take awhile, but be patient – it’s an important step in making the curry taste amazing.
- Add the chopped tomatoes, tomato purée, ground coriander, turmeric, chilli powder, paprika and salt. Cook until the oil separates or the mix looks shiny.
- Add the water, bring to a boil and reduce the heat to a simmer.
- Add the meatballs, raw, to the simmering (but not boiling!) sauce. Allow to simmer for 20 minutes, with the lid off (covering with the lid sometimes causes the meatballs to break), shaking the pan on occasion and turning once.
- When meat balls are ready, any oil will separate and float to the top of the sauce. Add half the coriander leaves and garam masala, stir gently and transfer to a serving dish.
- Garnish with remaining coriander and serve hot with freshly made chapattis, steamed rice or plain pilaf rice.
Video
Notes
Other keema sutra recipes
Mamta Gupta’s Indian Keema Lamb Meatballs by Kavey Eats (Mamta’s daughter)
Spicy Lamb Keema Pizza by Supergolden Bakes
Lamb Keema Nachos by Foodie Quine
Lamb Keema Tacos by Fuss Free Flavours
Sailing on the Swan LK243
Meatballs have the strangest texture, far too light to carry the sauce. The lamb is lost. Smoked paprika overbears and lots more cooking of the sauce required to stop it tasting raw and watery.
meatball with white rice is the best combination for a dinner. i usually cook meatball with tofu ( try it out Elizabeth 😀 ) because my kids eat much more whenever i make that dish.
i forward more posts from you, have a nice week!
I’m a big curry fan, although mine are vegan! But i might try some soya meatballs!
What a great idea. I have only ever had meatballs in bolognaise. Bet they would be fab in a curry!
Making this for tea tonight! Although I won’t ever be able to compete with these beautiful photos!
Firstly your photography is awesome. I can’t stand lamb and you’re making even me hungry! I guess this would maybe work with different meat?
Wow how delicious does this look. A really authentically spiced curry.
Those look delicious & I love curry! We are going to give this recipe a try next weekend! Thanks.
Wow, this looks amazing! I have never had curry and meatballs together. I love all those spices, I bet the whole house smelled amazing while making this!
Oooof this looks amazing! I love curry and cook it possibly twice a week – I’m quite literally addicted to spices so this recipe couldn’t be any more up my street if you possibly tried!
I’m going to give it a go on Friday night. Thank you!
First of all, I love your photography! And these meatballs look delicious! Doesn’t help that I’m sitting through a chemotherapy session right now, dying for yummy food! Beautiful post! xoxoxo
I have never thought about a meatball curry before but it sounds and LOOKs amazing!
I’ve never had meatballs and curry together. This looks so good.
This looks and sounds like a great meal – I need to try it soon!
Looks like a very nice curry! Really must make it one day 🙂
I love lamb keema curry.It’s comfort food to beat all.
I am Indian and this has been a Sunday dinner favourite fora very long time.You pics are so great I can literally smell the aroma wafting from this beautiful dish.
Yumm.. this looks so delicious! I would love to try out this recipe today.
Omg I love Indian food! I’ve always wonder how many seasonings and spices were used to create such flavorful dishes! Thanks for the tips
I would so love to make this recipe but would need help I dislike all the ingredients you have to put in lol I guess that is what curry is all about all the spices have to be just right!
I do love a good curry and this ones sounds especially delicious.
I’m pretty sure I saw a pic of this on your Instagram and I started salivating. We luckily are able to buy lamb straight from a farmer by us. Will defo be cooking this x
I do love a curry and a meatball curry sounds really comforting too.
Beautifully presented and looks amazing. Btw, you photography is on point.
I’ve never tried curry, but I’d love to add it to my dish. I hear it gives it a nice kick
My mouth is literally watering with this, all those colours and flavours, wow.
Oh how lovely! When we return from hols I have a lot of food posts p[anned – you are inspiring me!
It looks so delicious! Thank you again for sharing such a delicious recipe and definitely, try this out.
Beautiful photos and this meatball curry look delicious. I have bookmarked this and will be making this soon. xx
I do enjoy a good curry quite often and this one looks absolutely delicious! Your photos are beautiful and the recipe sounds even better! I’ll have to try this one out the next time I’m craving a tasty curry!
Do you know what, I’ve never thought of using meatballs in a curry – we always use lamb/chicken/prawns. Going to try this next time to mix things up a bit x
Oh, that really does look beyond amazing! Saving it to make myself!
I love Indian food too! This meatball curry is indeed a dish with a spice and vibrant fresh flavour that makes you wanting it more and more.
Yum! I really like curry with some spice. I know I’d like this recipe!
I am a big fan of spice as well and I really feel like it can add flavour to pretty much any dish. This looks lovely.
Very interesting choice using meatballs. I never considered meatballs in curry. Looks delicious
This looks so yummy! Perfect for the upcoming cold weather.
This looks absolutely amazing! I have bookmarked it to come back to 🙂
Oh this looks fabulous, I’d love to give it a go!
I’m not usually a fan of currys but this meatball one sounds so yummy x
This is just too delicious. I absolutely love the curry flavours and I can’t wait to give this a go!
Ack- this is the second curry post I’ve come across today- guess what we’re having for dinner now! Yum! Thank you for sharing, looks delish!
Curry is always so delicious, and I’ve actually never used minced lamb before – in fact I’m not sure I could even get it here, but now I’ll be on the lookout for it! If I can’t find it I’ll substitute chicken or keep it vegetarian…otherwise I have all the ingredients so this one goes on my short list of new recipes to try!
This looks delicious. Personally I like a lamb mince burger served with liberal amounts of tsatsiki
This looks incredible, lamb is one of my favorites and tastes so good in a curry. I love that your using whole spices for a fresh, vibrant flavor
I miss a good Indian curry and always make my own, which I prefer. Now I have a new recipe, thank you for sharing.
Oh this looks delicious, I love curry being a vegetarian I substitute. Meatball curry very different, I like.
THIS LOOKS AMAZING! I want to lick the screen!
I have to try this for dinner one night!
This sounds incredible! So rich in flavor! I love the photos, especially showing the spices.
Oh I’m going to have to make this, it’s looks delicious! ☺️
I love all of the vibrant colours of a curry. This looks wonderful, I’ve never had a meatball curry before.