Enjoy a Royal Delight with Chicken Nargisi Kofta Curry

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This post is sponsored by Chicken Farmers of Canada. However, all opinions expressed are my own.

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It’s the most wonderful time of the year! At the time of writing this, Christmas is a week away!

Guys I don’t know about you but I adore Christmas time! Back when I was in India, it wasn’t celebrated very much, but I’ve really taken advantage of the holiday spirit since coming to Canada!

I just love the cheeriness of the holidays. I’ve always got a huge smile on my face, and as soon as December comes, I play the holiday music nonstop! I could listen to Christmas jams all year long, how about you?

The holidays are symbolic when you’ve got your family close to you, gathering around for an incredible feast. Duh, of course you were expecting me to say that I love the food part of the holidays, right? I think the food is better than the gifts! But I suppose that the best gift is to share a wonderful meal with your loved ones. I love it when I can prepare a hearty meal for my family or when I’m invited over and served some awesome holiday food! I do admit I also tend to go out a little more during the holidays on some awesome foodie adventures!

I think chicken is an integral protein for Christmas. If you’ve been following the blog for awhile, you definitely know that chicken is my favorite bird! While paneer is my favorite vegetarian protein source, to me chicken is the ultimate blank canvas. There’s nothing more cozy to me than a roast chicken in the winter. Yum!

That being said, while classics are awesome, I think a new recipe and a twist to the norm is always bound to impress! That’s why for the holidays I thought this awesome Nargisi Kofta Curry recipe would be excellent to share!

Based on my research, it appears that the British were inspired by the Indian Nargisi kofta curry and thus invented their version with the Scotch eggs in the 17th or 18th century. Very interesting to learn about food history! For more information about the history of Scotch eggs and Nargisi kofta curry, check out this article.

Why Make This Chicken Nargisi Kofta Recipe?

I’ve wanted to try Scotch Eggs for the longest time. Now that’s some serious comfort food! Nargisi Chicken Kofta is essentially an Indian-style scotch eggs curry. We’ll batter our boiled eggs in a spiced minced chicken mixture, and fry those eggs to perfection. Add them into a luscious tomato gravy and you’ve got yourself the perfect feast on a cold snowy night! I guarantee that this recipe will soothe your soul and be the ultimate treat to your family!

When making the perfect chicken dinner, you want to ensure you have the best quality of meat. Trust me, the quality WILL have an impact on the flavor of the overall dish. If you’re in Canada, you want to look for this logo so that you know that your protein was raised sustainably and you’ve got the best quality chicken to give you the best results with your Christmas dish!

This nargisi kofta curry will seriously be a game changer for a holiday dinner! I definitely recommend you serve with Cast Iron Naan, Rumali Roti or even parathas, such as my Laccha Paratha recipe, for the ultimate feast! You’ll love the juiciness of the meat enveloping that incredible boiled egg!

Are you ready to switch things up for your holiday cooking? Get ready to bundle up with this warming winter chicken recipe and let’s get cooking!

Dietary Adaptations: Make This Royal Feast Your Own

One of the many joys of Chicken Nargisi Kofta Curry is how easily it can be tailored to fit your family’s unique tastes and dietary needs to make sure that everyone can enjoy this comforting holiday meal!

• Gluten-Free: Swap regular panko breadcrumbs for gluten-free breadcrumbs or crushed rice flakes. The rice flour coating keeps the koftas crispy without gluten.
• Dairy-Free: Use coconut yogurt or creamy coconut milk instead of plain yogurt for a luscious, dairy-free gravy.
• Vegetarian/Vegan: Replace ground chicken with mashed paneer, crumbled tofu, or mashed chickpeas. Use coconut yogurt in the gravy for vegan versions.
• Less spicy: Reduce or omit chili powder and green chilies for milder flavor that still packs warmth.
• Alternative protein options: Lamb, mutton, or ground turkey offer rich or lighter substitutions to suit your holiday table.

Tips for a Mouthwatering Nargisi Kofta

• Substitute the chicken with mutton or lamb for more traditional nargisi koftas.
• Breadcrumbs help with the consistency of the meatballs and make it easier to shape.
• I recommend searing/shallow frying or deep-frying the meatballs before adding it to the gravy, much more flavorful that way!
• Go easy on the spices, let the meatballs be the star of this dish!

Tools Needed

• Pot
• Large bowl
• Mixing bowl
• Spoon
• Non-stick Pan
• Wok
• Tongs
• Spatula

Ingredients for Chicken Nargisi Kofta Curry

Let’s go over what we’ll need to make our eggs and for the gravy. Remember, for the full ingredient list with their measurements and the complete recipe instructions, make sure to scroll to the bottom of this post for the FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE CARD, so you can save this recipe for later!

For the Chicken Nargisi

• Ground chicken: If you don’t have ground chicken you can use ground turkey, it will work just as well! If you’re in Canada, remember to look for the Raised by a Chicken Farmer logo so you have the best quality chicken out there!
• Ginger-garlic paste: Used to make our meatballs fragrant and flavorful. I always make mine fresh, do not buy it!
• Spices: Kashmiri mirch (red chili powder), garam masala, and ground coriander.
• Eggs: This is how it will become a Scotch egg, one of our stars of the dish for sure! We’ll boil our eggs and then coat the eggs with our minced chicken.
• Panko breadcrumbs: These will be used to bind our meatballs and give them a nice smokiness when they cook!
• Rice flour: Helps create a crispy crust outside and keeps the meatballs juicy.
• Peanut oil: Used to cook our meatballs.

For the Gravy

• Ghee: Used to cook out our gravy and to initially sauté the onions.
• Cumin seeds: An essential whole spice that will be sautéed with ghee.
• Onions, ginger, garlic and green chilis: We’ll sauté sliced onions and then add the other ingredients in a blender or food processor to make a paste.
• Plain yogurt: We’ll have such an excellent creamy gravy without adding any cream! To make our gravy creamy, we’ll be using plain full fat yogurt.
• Ground spices: Deggi mirch (red chili powder), ground coriander, turmeric, and salt to taste.
• Pureed fresh tomatoes: You can use canned tomatoes that are pureed or passata if you don’t have fresh tomatoes.

How to Make Chicken Nargisi Kofta Curry

This recipe will show how to boil your eggs, and how to coat the eggs with the minced chicken and cook the meatballs. We’ll also make an incredible tomato gravy that will really pair perfectly with your juicy Nargisi kofta! If you want more details on how to perfect your boil eggs, I recommend you check out my guide on How to Boil Eggs to Perfection!

Making the Scotch Eggs

1. Arrange eggs in a pot in a single layer and fill the pan with water (at least 1 inch in depth)
2. Cover the pot and bring the water up to a boil.
3. As soon as the water comes up to a boil, start your egg timer, turn off the heat and remove the pan from the heat for 8-10 minutes
4. In the meanwhile, prepare an ice water bath by filling a large bowl with water and ice. After the timer is up, transfer the eggs to the ice water bath.
5. Cool the eggs for at least 5 minutes and then lightly crack the shell with the back of a spoon. To peel the eggs, either peel it under a stream of cold running water, or submerge the eggs in the water bath and start peeling.
6. In a large bowl, add the chicken mince, cilantro, garlic, red chili powder, ground coriander, garam masala, panko breadcrumbs, and salt.
7. Mix well to combine and make tennis ball sized portions using the palms of your hands. This should yield between 5-6 meatballs.
8. Pat down the meatball to form a patty and add a peeled boiled egg in the center. Gently form the mince around the egg and ensure the thickness all around is even. Repeat the same with remaining portions.
9. Heat the oil for shallow frying and in the meanwhile coat each kofta/meatball with rice flour. Fry each kofta/meatball for 5-8 minutes or until golden brown on each side.
10. Don't worry about cooking it all the way through at this stage, the meatballs will finish cooking in the sauce. Once browned, take out the meatballs and set aside.

Making the Gravy

1. Puree onions and green chilis with some water. Puree fresh tomatoes if using.
2. Heat ghee in a wok or a pan and add cumin seeds. Saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
3. Add the onion puree and ginger garlic paste and mix well. Be careful since the puree might splutter.
4. Add turmeric, ground coriander and deggi mirch and mix well. Cook this mixture until it appears dry, fluffy and slides around the pan easily. Add a splash of water if the mixture starts to burn.
5. Add the pureed tomatoes/passata along with a pinch of salt and mix well. Cook this mixture as well until it appears dry, fluffy and slides around the pan easily. Add a splash of water if the mixture starts to burn.
6. Take 1-2 tablespoons of the tomato masala and add to a bowl. Mix in the yogurt to temper it and then add all of the yogurt in the pan/wok. Cook this mixture until it appears dry, fluffy and slides around the pan easily.
7. Add between 1/2 Cup to 1 Cup of water to create a gravy and mix well. Bring to a simmer.
8. Add the meatballs and coat well with the sauce. Cover with a lid and simmer on low for 5-10 minutes or until the gravy reaches your preferred consistency.
9. Garnish with cilantro, adjust seasoning to taste and serve hot!