Every Sunday, my late mother would prepare a beef dish for the family. This was our favourite meatball curry with potatoes. During the week, she mostly cooked fish and vegetables. So, I looked forward to Sundays where I could enjoy a meat dish. The gravy is coconut-based with spices, balanced with vinegar and tamarind water. Children enjoy meatballs and they will definitely relish them with this gravy.
Use your choice of meat (beef, chicken or lamb), wash first, pat dry and then grind into mince. To prepare the meatballs, bread slices soaked in milk including a couple of tablespoons of the ground paste, vinegar and salt are combined with the mince before shaping them into balls. They are cooked in a coconut-spiced gravy with potatoes and tamarind water. The meatballs were light, tasty with the gravy creamy and delicious. This dish can be served with rice or enjoyed with some crusty bread.
No need of adding egg or separately frying the meatballs in oil first and then cooking in the gravy. My mother taught me how to cook them in the pan. The trick is to let them cook in less moisture with the pan covered until they firm up (picture below). They never break apart and hold their shape throughout the cooking process. Follow my recipe to the tee and you will have perfect meatballs all the time.
Use your choice of meat (beef, chicken or lamb), wash first, pat dry and then grind into mince. To prepare the meatballs, bread slices soaked in milk including a couple of tablespoons of the ground paste, vinegar and salt are combined with the mince before shaping them into balls. They are cooked in a coconut-spiced gravy with potatoes and tamarind water. The meatballs were light, tasty with the gravy creamy and delicious. This dish can be served with rice or enjoyed with some crusty bread.
No need of adding egg or separately frying the meatballs in oil first and then cooking in the gravy. My mother taught me how to cook them in the pan. The trick is to let them cook in less moisture with the pan covered until they firm up (picture below). They never break apart and hold their shape throughout the cooking process. Follow my recipe to the tee and you will have perfect meatballs all the time.
Goan Meatball Curry
(Serves 6)
Ingredients:
1/2 kg ground mince (I have used beef)
1 large onion (chopped)
2 green chillies (slit)
1 tomato (chopped)
1 sprig of curry leaves
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 cup tamarind water
1/4 cup + 1 cup water
4 potatoes (quartered)
2 tablespoons vinegar
2 bread slices
1/2 cup milk
1/2 a bouillon cube
a pinch of sugar
few coriander leaves (chopped)
2 tablespoons oil
salt
To be ground to a paste with 1 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 cups fresh grated coconut
8 red dried Kashmiri chillies
2 tablespoons coriander seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
4 big cloves of garlic
1" piece of ginger
10 whole black peppercorns
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
Method:
Soak bread slices in milk for few seconds and squeeze off the milk. Add the bread to the mince along with two tablespoons of ground paste, 2 tablespoons vinegar and salt. Shape into balls.
Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds and curry leaves. Then sauté the green chillies and onion till soft. Stir in the tomato and once pulpy, include the meatballs one by one. Pour 1/4 cup water from the side of the pan, not over the meatballs. Do not stir or touch the meatballs. Cover pan with lid and cook on medium heat until meatballs are firm on the outside.
Mix in the paste gently with a silicone flat spoon spatula. Avoid using metal spoons when cooking meatballs to prevent them from breaking. Add tamarind water after passing it through the blender used for grinding along with the potatoes, bouillon cube and sugar. Simmer on medium heat till potatoes are tender. Check for seasoning and add salt, if required. Garnish with coriander leaves.
Serve meatballs curry with rice or crusty bread.
Note:
(Serves 6)
Ingredients:
1/2 kg ground mince (I have used beef)
1 large onion (chopped)
2 green chillies (slit)
1 tomato (chopped)
1 sprig of curry leaves
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 cup tamarind water
1/4 cup + 1 cup water
4 potatoes (quartered)
2 tablespoons vinegar
2 bread slices
1/2 cup milk
1/2 a bouillon cube
a pinch of sugar
few coriander leaves (chopped)
2 tablespoons oil
salt
To be ground to a paste with 1 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 cups fresh grated coconut
8 red dried Kashmiri chillies
2 tablespoons coriander seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
4 big cloves of garlic
1" piece of ginger
10 whole black peppercorns
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
Method:
Soak bread slices in milk for few seconds and squeeze off the milk. Add the bread to the mince along with two tablespoons of ground paste, 2 tablespoons vinegar and salt. Shape into balls.
Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds and curry leaves. Then sauté the green chillies and onion till soft. Stir in the tomato and once pulpy, include the meatballs one by one. Pour 1/4 cup water from the side of the pan, not over the meatballs. Do not stir or touch the meatballs. Cover pan with lid and cook on medium heat until meatballs are firm on the outside.
Mix in the paste gently with a silicone flat spoon spatula. Avoid using metal spoons when cooking meatballs to prevent them from breaking. Add tamarind water after passing it through the blender used for grinding along with the potatoes, bouillon cube and sugar. Simmer on medium heat till potatoes are tender. Check for seasoning and add salt, if required. Garnish with coriander leaves.
Serve meatballs curry with rice or crusty bread.
Note:
- For a clearer gravy, strain the ground masala through a sieve instead of adding the paste.