Chicken Kofta with Date Chutney and Spiced Eggplant

From Best-Ever Recipes, Australian Women’s Weekly.

Ingredients

  • ¼ cup (50g) brown rice
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 small brown onion
  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 1 or 2 chilli, finely chopped
  • 500g chicken mince
  • ½ firmly packed fresh coriander leaves

Spiced Eggplant

  • 1 tablespoon of oil
  • 2 teaspoons of cumin seeds
  • 2 teaspoons of yellow mustard seeds
  • 6 baby eggplants, sliced thickly
  • 1 medium onion, sliced thinly
  • 2 clove garlic crushed
  • ½ cup water
  • 420g can chickpeas, rinsed, drained
  • ¼ cup firmly packed fresh coriander leaves

Date Chutney

  • ½ cup seeded dried dates, chopped finely
  • ¼ cup orange juice
  • ¼ chicken stock or ¼ cup water

Method

  1. Cook rice as per instructions on packet.
  2. Heat oil in small frying pan; cook onion, garlic and chilli, stirring, until softens. Process onion mixture, chicken mince, rice, coriander, and egg until smooth.
  3. Shape chicken mixture into 12 patties on tray, cover; refrigerate until required.
  4. Make spiced eggplant. Make date chutney.
  5. Cook kofta patties on heated oiled grill plate (or fry pan or barbecue) until brown and cooked through. Serve kofta with eggplant; top with date chutney.

Spiced Eggplant

Heat oil in medium saucepan; fry seeds over low heat until fragrant. Add eggplant, onion, and garlic; cook, stirring, about 5 minutes or until just softened. Add the stock or water and chickpeas; bring to boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, about 15 minutes or until mixture thickens. Remove from heat; cool then stir in coriander.

Date Chutney

Bring ingredients to boil in small saucepan. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, 5 minutes. Cool 5 minutes; bend or process until smooth.