Hyderabadi Beef Koftay

I don't cook a lot of Hyderabadi dishes but when I do the aroma takes me back to my childhood.  These koftay were one of my favourite dishes growing up.  The way my mother makes it takes some time.  In her method, she strains the coconut milk and ground nuts which yields a smooth sauce.  I highly recommend doing this if you have the time.  A lot of times, I skip the step of straining the coconut milk and nuts to save time.  In the picture above, I have skipped this step and you can see it gives a more grainy texture but the taste is still wonderful!  I love to have these koftay with homemade roti!

Hyderabadi Beef Koftay

1/3 cup coconut milk
30 almonds, dry roasted
2 tsp white poppy seeds, dry roasted
1 onion, finely diced
2 tbsp adrak laysan
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp garam masala
2 inch piece cinnamon bark
2 black cardamom
salt to taste
2 tbsp cilantro
10 dried mint leaves

Koftay
1 lb ground beef (I used veal)
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
1/4 tsp red chilli powder
1/8 tsp turmeric
2 tbsp all-purpose
salt to taste

In a small skillet, roast the almonds and poppy seeds separately.  Grind to a powder in a spice grinder or mortar and pestle.  Mix with the coconut milk.  Add 2 tbsp of the coconut mixture to the ground meat.

If you would like a smooth sauce, follow this next step (this step is highly recommended):
Add 1/2 cup water to the remaining coconut mixture.  Mix well.  Pass through a fine sieve and into a bowl.  Press down on the remnants to squeeze all the liquid out.  This liquid will be used for the sauce.  Discard what remains in the sieve.

To the coconut mixture (or strained liquid), add yogurt, ginger garlic paste, red chilli powder, turmeric, garam masala, cinnamon, black cardamom and salt to taste.  Mix well.

In a pot, pour oil to cover the bottom of the pot.  Heat over medium-high heat.  Add onion and fry until golden brown.  Add 2 tbsp of the fried onion to the ground meat.

To the pot, add the yogurt mixture and stir continuously until the mixture comes to boil.  (This helps to prevent the yogurt from separating - a tip my mom taught me!)  Reduce heat to low, cover and cook until the oil separates from the mixture, stirring occasionally.

To the ground meat (which you have already added the fried onions and coconut mixture), add the remaining ingredients for the koftay.  Mix well and form small meatballs.

Once the oil in the sauce has separated, add 1/2 cup water and mix.  Add the meatballs.  Cover the pot and simmer on low heat for about 5 minutes.  Carefully turn over each meatball. Cover and simmer until the meatballs are cooked through.  Add any additional water if the mixture thickens too much.