Do you have any recipes that are always a huge hit? You know the kind your family consistently requests for on special occasions or friends are excited all day when they know they are going to feature somewhere in the menu? Well, I have got a few of those winners and this recipe for meatballs is right at the top of the list. I’ve been making this meatballs recipe for quite some time now and it never fails to bring rave reviews and request for seconds and even third helpings at time!
The secret to this amazing recipe is the flavors in the meatballs and the sauce. For the meatballs I went with ground beef ( you could also mix it up with ground pork), breadcrumbs, eggs, coriander, garlic, garam masala, an onion and curry powder. After mixing and shaping, I shallow fry them until golden then finish in the flavorful homemade sauce.
The meatballs themselves are incredibly tender, juicy and flavorful from an easy splash of spices and the sauce just brings everything together. I usually serve it over pasta but rice would also go beautifully with it.
Ingredients:
Meatballs:
- ½ ground beef
- 1 onion
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- ½ cup breadcrumbs
- ¼ cup coriander leaves chopped
- 1 Egg
- 1 tbsp. curry powder
- 1 tbsp. garam masala
- Black pepper
- ½ tbsp. salt
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
sauce:
- 4 tomatoes blended
- 1 onion
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp. tomato paste
- 2 tbsp. vegetable oil
- 1 tsp. dried oregano
- 1 tsp. dried basil
- Salt and pepper to taste
Preparation:
Meatballs:
In a large bowl combine the ground beef, onions, garlic coriander, breadcrumbs, curry powder, garam masala, salt and pepper to taste. If you like it spicy, add tabasco. Using your hands, blend the ingredients together. Shape the meat mixture into balls and set aside.
Heat about 4 tbsp. of vegetable oil in a larger sauce pan. When the oil is very but not smoking hot, fry the meatballs in batches. When the bottom half of meatballs become very brown and slightly crisp, turn and cook top half. Remove from the heat and drain on paper towel.
sauce:
In a medium pan, add vegetable oil and cook the onions till they soften for about 2 minutes. Add basil, oregano and cook for about a minute.
Add the tomato paste and stir for about a minute. Add in tomatoes and let it simmer for 5–10 minutes . Add ½ cup of water and add in the garlic. Let it simmer for 5 minutes.
Lower cooked meatballs into simmering sauce and cook for 10 minutes. Serve over pasta or on their own.
Enjoy!