Chicken Meatballs In Spiced Pumpkin Curry Sauce

When we first started receiving cable tv, my mum and I loved watching this Indian cooking show called Cook it up with  Tarla Dalal. This was somewhere in the late 90s I think. I grew up watching Hindi movies so can understand the language while my mum doesn't so I was also the translator, hahaha. Even though most of her recipes are vegetarian I love her recipes. I even subscribed to her magazine.
One of our favorite Indian recipe book in our home is this book by Tarla Dalal and it's always circulated among us sisters and our mother. This recipe is inspired by a recipe found in her book. She used bread koftas not chicken but I wasn't sure if the bread koftas will go down well with my meat loving man so made chicken koftas instead. I have made the sauce using both butternut and pumpkin, butternut gives a sweeter taste compared to the pumpkin.   It is great served with plain rice and a nice salad.

Recipe: Chicken Meatballs In Spiced Pumpkin Curry Sauce recipe inspired by the recipe Bread koftas in pumpkin curry sauce recipe by Tarla Dalal.

Koftas
500g minced chicken ( or finely chop up boneless chicken meat)
2-3 green chillies, sliced
1 garlic, grated
1" ginger, grated
1 tbsp coriander leaves  (optional)
1/3 cup quick cooking oats  ( ground)
salt
pepper

Sauce:
250g pumpkin or butternut squash
150g tomatoes
1 large onion
1 tsp chilli powder
1  1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp ground coriander powder
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp of  ground cinnamon and cardamon mixture
1/2 cup coconut milk
15 curry leaves
1/2 tsp sugar
1 cup water ( approximately)
2 tbsp oil ( corn or sunflower)
1/4 cup coconut milk

1/2 cup frozen or canned peas

First, peel and deseed the pumpkin. cut into large chunks and boil in lightly salted water till soft. Drain and puree in a blender with about 1/4 cup water, along with the tomatoes. Set aside.

Finely chop the onion. set aside

Prepare the koftas. Grind the onion, garlic, chilies, and ginger to a paste with 1 tbsp water. Add to a bowl containing the chicken mince. Mix in coriander ( if using) and the ground oats.  Season with salt and pepper. Shape into small bite-size balls. Heat a frying pan with 2-3 tbsp of oil and fry the meatballs just to color the outside but not yet cooked through. Drain on kitchen paper or on to a colander.

Now make the sauce. Heat about 2-3 tbsp oil, add finely chopped onion and curry leaves and cook till softened and starts to go translucent.

Add the pureed pumpkin and tomato mixture.  Stir and then add the ground spices except for the ground cinnamon and cardamom mix. Add curry leaves and stir in 1/2 cup water first and let the mixture cook over a medium heat about 2 minutes, add the chicken meatballs and add a little more water if the sauce looks too thick. Cook for a further 10 minutes. Stir in peas, sugar and coconut milk and simmer for a further 1 minute over a low heat.  Taste adjust salt and sprinkle the ground cardamon and cinnamon mixture on top and stir gently.  Switch off. Serve with rice and a nice leafy salad