Asma Khan's mouthwatering meatballs with spicy rice

Star of Emmy nominated Netflix’s Chef’s Table, Asma Khan is one of the UK's most prominent female chefs. With A-list fans such as David Schwimmer, Keira Knightly and David Tennant singing her praises she has become an unstoppable force in the food industry.

Asma joins us in the kitchen to whip up one of her favourite traditional Indian dishes, kofta meatball pulao with beetroot raita.

Asma says: In South Asia there are some classic meat and rice combinations. Biryani is one, but it is a dish that takes time and practice to perfect. Kofta Pulao is another, and a good alternative when entertaining.

Simple to prepare, Kofta Pulao requires no last-minute cooking or tweaking, but looks very grand and impressive despite the simplicity of cooking.

For this recipe, I have used turkey mince – possibly an unusual choice, but turkey is not only for Thanksgiving or Christmas. I have used cranberries and pistachios to garnish the dish, so this could well be an alternative festive lunch dish. Of course, you could use any other minced or ground meat to make this dish and the koftas can be made the day before, refrigerated and heated before being added to the pulao.

Kofta meatball pulao with beetroot raita

Recipe taken from Asma's Indian kitchen by Asma Khan

Serves: 10–12

Ingredients

For the kofta

1 slice of bread

1 kg/ 2 lb 4 oz/ 4½ cups minced (ground) turkey

1 tsp ground coriander

½ tsp ground cumin

1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder (or paprika)

1 tbsp ground garam masala

1 tsp each of white pepper and salt

1 egg, beaten

Oil, for deep frying

For the pulao

600 g / 1 lb 5 oz / 3 cups basmati rice

6 tbsp ghee

2 medium onions, thinly sliced into rings

1 piece cassia bark, 5 cm/2 inches long

4 each of green cardamom pods and cloves

2 large Indian bay leaves

To garnish

Cranberries

Pistachio slivers

Method

• To make the kofta, put the slice of bread in a shallow dish of water. Remove the bread from the dish and squeeze out the water. Break the soaked bread into small pieces in a bowl.

• Add all the other kofta ingredients, except the oil, and mix together

• Take a handful of the kofta mixture and roll into small balls (2 cm/¾ inch in diameter). Test-fry one kofta, then adjust the seasoning before rolling and deep frying the remaining mixture.

• Wash the basmati rice in several changes of cold running water until it runs clear. Place in a bowl with 2 tsp salt and soak in fresh water for 1 hour. Rinse the rice again and spread it out on paper towels to dry.

• In a heavy-based, deep pan that has a tight-fitting lid, heat the ghee over a medium heat. Add the onions to the pan and fry gently, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and caramelized.

• Using a slotted spoon, remove the onions from the oil and place on a plate to drain. Spread the onions across the plate so they crisp as they cool.

• Put the kettle on to boil. Using the ghee left in the pan, add the cassia bark, cardamom pods, cloves and bay and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Immediately add the rice to the pan. Stir for 1 minute to coat the rice in the spice-infused oil, then return the caramelized onions to the pan with 1 tbsp salt.

• Cover with 1.2 litres/40 fl oz/5 cups boiling water from the kettle. Bring the water back to the boil, then lower the heat, cover, and cook for 20 minutes.

• When the water has been absorbed by the rice, remove from the heat. Wrap the pan in a thick dish towel, then set aside.

• To serve, warm the koftas in a low oven. Layer them with the rice so the pulao is studded with koftas. Garnish with cranberries and pistachios.