Meat-Ball Curry

I love meatball curry but if you are like me and look for easy alternatives then here is one recipe that helps.  You could use frozen meatballs quite easily, or as I have done in this recipe, most Middle Eastern stores or Indian stores housing a butcher will have a ready made kofta mix.  A ground beef or lamb mixture with the herbs and spices already mixed in. I used a lamb and beef kofta mix for this recipe, and I was not disappointed with the results.

Ingredients

1 pound minced beef/lamb kofta mix ( if not available use frozen meatballs ), or make your own
1 large onion chopped roughly
1 very large tomato or 2 Roma tomatoes chopped
1 heaped teaspoon garlic powder
1 heaped teaspoon ginger powder
1 green chili  minced (optional)
1 heaped teaspoon cumin powder
1 heaped teaspoon coriander powder
1/4 teaspoon clove powder
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon powder
1/4 teaspoon black pepper powder
1 level teaspoon  salt (can be adjusted later)
1 tablespoon vinegar
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh mint (optional)
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh coriander (optional)

Method

Form the kofta mix into small meatballs and set aside. I made cocktail sized balls and got about 50.
In a large microwave safe dish add the chopped tomatoes and onions.  Add 1 table spoon oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and mix.  Cover and place in microwave for 3-5 minutes until the onions and tomatoes are soft and cooked down and juices have come out.

 While the tomatoes and onions are cooking, mix all the spices with the vinegar in a bowl and stir to form a nice paste.

 Add this to the tomatoes/onions.  ( Add 3/4 cup of water to the bowl in which the paste was and remove any remaining masala with the water. Set aside)

Mix the spices and tomatoes/onions well and put in the microwave for 3 minutes . 

Remove and add the water set aside in the bowl in which the masala paste was made. Microwave again for 3 minutes. and stir well.

Remove and add the meatballs gently in the dish. Microwave for 3 minutes.

 Remove and stir well.

Add 1/2 cup of coconut milk and stir gently to mix. Cook for another 5 minutes or until meatballs are cooked.  
In the last 2 minutes of cooking add the fresh mint and coriander and stir well.

Serve hot with rice or naan.

Approximate nutritional value based on 5 meatballs ( total 50 meatballs per recipe)
calories 170/ Total fat 13.7 gm/ Total Carbohydrates 3.2 gm/ Protein 8.3 gm