Curried Lamb Meatballs

A variation on the standard, savoury meatball in a tomato sauce. This time made with minced lamb and spiced with goodies such as fennel seeds, cardamon and cumin. A great dish for meat eaters who love a curry spice.

20 minutes

45 minutes

150ºC

Ingredients

Meatballs
400g lamb mince
1 small onion

- finely chopped
1 tbsp fennel seeds

- toasted
4 cardamon pods

- toasted
2 tsp cumin seeds

- toasted
2 cloves of garlic

- skin removed and crushed
Thumb size piece of fresh root ginger

- finely grated
60g desiccated coconut
Curry Sauce
2 tbsp coconut oil

- or oil alternative
1 medium onion

- finely chopped
1 tsp grated ginger
1 tbsp garam masala
1 tsp ground turmeric
400g tin of chopped tomatoes
1 tsp cider vinegar
Garnish
Fresh coriander

- roughly chopped
Poppodoms

Instructions

Prepare meatballs:
01 Toast fennel, cardamon and cumin seeds in a small pan to release the spice and grind well in a pestle and mortar (removing the outer husk from the cardamon pods). Place these spices and all other ingredients into a bowl and combine altogether. Using your hands is great for this but if you prefer use a food processor.
02 Form into small balls, cover and chill until needed.
Prepare curry sauce:
03 Heat oil in a pan, cook onions, ginger, spices until soft, add tomatoes, cider vinegar and a splash of water if necessary. Bring to simmering point.
04 Now add meatballs, remove from the heat, cover with a lid and place in the oven.
05 Bake slowly for 45 minutes.
06 Serve hot with boiled rice and poppadoms.

Notes

If mixing together the basic meat mixture by hand is not for you, it is perfectly OK to use a machine such as a Kenwood food mixer using the large beater attachment or even a food processor, and wet hands really do help when shaping the balls. Finally it is perfectly OK to make the dish the day before, allowing all the lovely spices to infuse and gently re-heating the next day. These meatballs also freeze well. By the way if you feel the aromatic sauce is too thick, add more water.