Jamie Oliver’s Beef Kofta Curry

5 from 4 votes

These tender beef koftas bake in a spiced coconut and tomato curry sauce. They're fast, easy and nutritious, and they freeze well too.

Prep Time10

Cook Time22

Total Time32

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Asian, Indian

Keyword: beef kofta curry, jamie olivers beef kofta

Servings:

Calories: 721kcal

14 oz brown lentils canned, drained
1 tsp curry powder I use mild in deference to my kids but a spicier one would be welcome
¼ tsp salt
1.1 lb lean beef mince
1 inch piece ginger roughly chopped
4 scallions spring onions, roughly chopped
1 long red chilli deseed or leave out if you don’t want any heat
1 bunch coriander stalks only, save leaves for serving
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp brown sugar
1 tbs curry paste I used madras, it’s what was open in my fridge
9 fl oz coconut milk
17 fl oz tomato puree or crushed canned tomatoes

Set your oven to 400⁰F/200⁰C on combination steam setting. If your oven has variable steam settings, use 50%. If not, don't worry! Just set to combi steam at the correct temperature and the oven will figure out the humidity for you.
Put the lentils, curry powder, salt and mince into a bowl and mix well with your hands, scrunching everything together so some of the lentils break down and the mixture sticks together. Divide into 16 pieces and form each one into an elongated football shape – to divide quickly, I press my mixture into a disc and cut into eight equal wedges, then just split each wedge in two with my hands while forming the kofta. It’s much faster than trying to pinch off equal sized pieces one by one.
Put the kofta into a solid stainless steel tray and bake for 10 minutes.
While the kofta start to cook, put all the remaining ingredients except the coconut milk and tomato puree into a food processor or blender. Process until fairly smooth then add the coconut cream, tomato puree and ½ cup water. Pulse to combine.
Pour the sauce over the kofta when the 10 minutes is up, then return the tray to the oven for a further 12 minutes. Serve with your choice of accompaniments (see notes).

This recipe is adapted somewhat from Jamie’s 15 Minute Meals.
The quantities given mean you’ll end up with a very saucy curry. We like sauce, but if you prefer the balance to be more in favour of the kofta I’d suggest using 600-700g of meat and bumping up your seasonings a little (no need to add more lentils unless you happen to like opening a whole can just to use a few spoonfuls). If you increase the mince, make about 20 kofta instead of 16.
Using lentils as a filler here makes the meat go further and adds lots of fibre, folate and a host of other macro- and micro-nutrients, but be warned they are noticeable in the texture of the finished dish. If you like lentils that’s just fine – I love them and have no problem with it at all – but my husband would like it known he’d prefer they not be there. If you’re concerned about using them you could substitute about a cup and a half of fresh breadcrumbs for the lentils. You’ll miss out on those great nutrients in favour of a less noticeable filler, but that’s up to you!
The recipe is written for beef but lamb would also be excellent. Either way, use something lean but not too lean. A little fat makes the kofta self-basting and means you won’t have to bother coating them with oil before cooking.
To serve this as I have in the photos, you'll need steamed rice and green beans, lemon wedges, natural yoghurt, coriander leaves and fresh chilli.