This best meatball recipe has all the traditional flavors of Pakistani meatballs (koftas) but in a simpler and easier way. This beef meatball recipe uses a fair amount of spices. Almost half of the ingredients are spices which give this dish a vibrant flavor.
How to make meatballs easily at home and how to flavor them? Which are the tips and tricks with which these homemade meatballs remain intact and do not break? How can we freeze them for a long time? The answers to all these questions are here in this recipe and you’ll learn a lot more.
With this easy meatball recipe, you can make perfect meatballs for a party or for a casual dinner at home. Surely, this is going to be a regular addition to your family favorites. You could even outsource this dish to your friends as people always love to contribute yummy dishes like this one.
This meatball recipe is without breadcrumbs and eggs. Besides the essential seasonings of this simple meatball recipe, I used two other spices that give a nice aroma to the meatballs. I used these spices in the water while the steaming process.
What are Meatballs?
Meatballs are generously-spiced mincemeat balls. They’re easy to make, delicious, and bite-sized—perfect for a party, or for a casual dinner at home. People love to flavor them with all kinds of fun herbs and spices. Almost every cuisine has its version of meatballs, with a little variation in ingredients and cooking style. Meatball is popular in Middle Eastern, South and Central Asian, Balkans, Italian, and Moroccan cuisines.
This healthy meatball recipe is all about herbs and spices that work together to make a very unique flavor of meatball dish. Once you’ve made the spiced meat mixture, you can grill them for a lovely smokey flavor by pressing them around the skewers, cooking them on the stovetop, or baking them in the oven. Either way, they’ll be delicious.
Essential Ingredients for Best Meatball Recipe
Use as many fresh ingredients as possible. Fresh meats (not previously frozen), fresh herbs, freshly ground spices and fresh aromatics. Everything fresh is a key to a wonderful meatball dish.
Mincemeat for Meatball Recipe
Use 80% lean mincemeat. Almost 20% fat in the meat is necessary to make the meatballs moist, juicy, and tasteful.
I’ve used beef, but you can substitute it with ground chicken or lamb. You can prepare the mince easily at home. Take beef meat. Clean and wash it. Mince it well. I recommend preparing the mince at home. After mincing do not wash it.
In case you buy mincemeat from the market, you can wash it. If you do, make sure that you do not keep the mince immersed in water, and also make sure to drain any excess water so that the meatballs don’t break while cooking.
Aromatics (Onions, Chilies, Ginger, and Garlic)
Mince onions and squeeze them in your hand to drain their water. You can also wrap the minced onions in a paper towel and give a good squeeze to wring out any excess liquid. Draining the water is necessary for meatballs.
Deseed green and red chilies and chop them. You can add green chilies only. Prepare ginger-garlic paste or use ready-made.
Herbs and Spices for Meatball Recipe
Herbs and spices give a vibrant flavor to this dish. We’ll use fresh herbs like coriander leaves and mint leaves.
Meatballs are all about the spices. Besides salt, we season the ground beef with:
- Hot spices powder (garam masala powder)
- White Poppy seeds
- Cumin powder
- Coriander powder
- Red chili flakes & powder
Poppy Seeds
Poppy seeds add thickness, texture, and great flavor to recipes. They provide a sufficient number of calories and are a rich source of several essential minerals.
I used whole white poppy seeds (khaskhas) in this recipe. Whole poppy seeds are widely used as a spice and decoration in and on top of many baked goods and pastries.
You can grind them to make a paste. Finely and freshly ground poppy seeds make a big difference in the filling’s texture and taste. These seeds can be ground using a generic tool such as a mortar and pestle or a small domestic type electric blade grinder.
Gram Flour in the Meatball Recipe
Gram flour is an essential ingredient to keep the moisture in meatball masala at a necessary level. Take roasted black channas and grind them to make gram flour. You can add besan, but roast it before adding it to the meatball masala.
If you feel the meatball is not holding up well, try adding more gram flour gradually.
Mace (Javitri or Jalwatri) and Star Anise (Badiyan or Chakri Phool)
These two spices are not part of the main ingredients of meatball masala. I used these spices just to give the meatballs a nice aroma and fragrance.
How to Make Meatballs?
Many people get intimidated at the thought of making these meatballs but today this homemade meatball recipe and tips will help you attain perfect meatballs every time. This generously-spiced ground beef meatball recipe delivers soft, juicy, and tender meatballs that stay intact and do not break.
Preparing the Meatball Masala
Combine all the ingredients in a large enough mixing bowl. Take beef mince. Add minced onions, chopped coriander leaves, ginger-garlic paste, chopped mint leaves, chopped red and green chilies, salt, red chili flakes and powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, hot spices powder, poppy seeds, and gram flour.
We have to adjust the quantity of gram flour or besan as per the quantity of water in the mixture. If you add an excessive quantity of gram flour then meatballs will become hard. Mix all the ingredients well. This mixture should be neither too hard nor too soft.
Mix the meatball mixture well for 4-5 minutes. To enhance the flavor further we’ll add vinegar to it. Mix all the ingredients well. Now we’ll prepare meatballs from this mixture.
Shaping the Meatballs
Grease the hands with cooking oil so that the mixture does not stick to the hands. Take a portion from the mixture to shape it into a meatball. First press the masala in the palm by closing and opening the fist and then shape it into a ball.
Prepare all the meatballs in the same pattern and ensure to form evenly sized meatballs by using a kitchen scale. You can prepare these meatballs easily without any hassle. You can prepare 31 meatballs weighing 35 grams each with this meatball masala.
Steaming the Meatballs
Now we’ll steam these meatballs. You can fry them but the best and healthy option is steaming. We’ll steam them in the pressure cooker. Pour one cup of water into the pressure cooker and keep the water level below the seating of the strainer. If the water level is high, the water while boiling may reach the meatballs and they may get spoiled.
To enhance the fragrance, we’ll add badiyan flower and some pieces of jalwatri (javitri) to the water. Upon steaming, the fragrance of these spices will infuse into the meatballs adding a nice aroma to them.
Now place the strainer inside the cooker and arrange the meatballs on it. Close the pressure cooker. Do not place the weight on the lid. Keep the flame medium and steam the meatballs for 12 to 15 minutes. After 15 minutes remove the cover of the pressure cooker. Your meatballs are ready now. You can eat these steamed meatballs.
Browning the Meatballs
To give the exterior a cooked feel and nice color, we’ll pan-fry these meatballs. This step will also keep the meatballs from breaking while preparing the meatball curry. Pour 3 to 4 tbsp of cooking oil into the pan. You can use desi ghee or butter to your taste as a substitute. Heat the oil just slightly. Place the meatballs inside the pan. Ensure to keep the flame low.
Fry the meatballs till a light golden color. Fry all the meatballs. Flip frequently to prevent over-frying. You may fry them in batches. Flavorful, soft, and juicy meatballs are ready to eat. You can store them for later use. First, let the meatballs cool and then put them into a Ziploc bag and freeze.
Storing the Meatballs
Rest the meatballs after frying and let them cool. Pack them inside the Ziploc bag and place them in the freezer. Store them for 2 to 3 months or you may store them longer.
You can also prep and freeze the meatballs (meatballs) in a larger quantity and when required just make the curry base, take out the meatballs and drop them in your steaming hot curry. Let cook for a couple of minutes until the meatballs are soft.
Follow my recipe to make meatball curry from frozen meatballs.
Click here to go to Kofta Curry Recipe
How to Serve?
We can eat them with rice or make a curry base and drop them into it to make meatball curry (kofta curry or kofte ka salan).
Serve meatballs with hummus, olives, and a simple salad of sliced red onion, tomatoes, and cucumbers.
Stuff them into pita bread pockets with hummus, tomatoes, and lettuce.
Best Tips for the Best Meatball Recipe
- Use 80% lean mincemeat. Almost 20% fat in the meat is necessary to make the meatballs moist, juicy, and tasteful.
- Use as many fresh ingredients as possible. Fresh meats (not previously frozen), fresh herbs, freshly ground spices and fresh aromatics. Everything fresh is a key to a wonderful meatball dish.
- Poppy seeds paste is available commercially. Commercial pastes normally contain sugar and water, and also contain food preservatives to keep them from becoming rancid. So freshly ground seeds are the best option for foods.
- Adjust the quantity of gram flour or besan to control the moisture in the mixture. This mixture should be neither too hard nor too soft. If you add an excessive quantity of gram flour then meatballs will become hard.
- If you are using besan, roast it before adding it to the meatball masala.
- Some like to deep fry these meatballs which in my opinion gives a harder exterior to them.
- This recipe delivers tender and moist meatballs. However, over-frying can result in hard meatballs.
Meatball Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 kg beef mincemeat
- 250 grams onion (minced)
- 2 fresh green chilies (deseeded & chopped)
- 2 fresh red chilies (deseeded & chopped)
- 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
- 4-5 tbsp fresh coriander leaves chopped
- 8-10 leaves fresh mint leaves chopped
- 2 tsp black cumin seeds
- 1½ tsp hot spices powder (garam masala powder)
- 2 tsp salt or to taste
- 1 tsp red chili flakes
- 1 tsp red chili powder
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- 1½ tbsp white poppy seeds (whole or paste)
- 2 tbsp gram flour or basen
- 1 tsp vinegar
- few pieces of Mace (jivatri) & a half of Star Anise (badiyan flower)
Instructions
Preparing the Meatball Masala
- Take beef meat. Use 80% lean beef meat containing almost 20% fat in it. Wash it with fresh water.
- Mince it well. I recommend preparing the mince at home. You can prepare the mince easily at home.
- Combine all the ingredients in a large enough mixing bowl. Take beef mince. Add minced onions, chopped coriander leaves, ginger-garlic paste, chopped mint leaves, and chopped red and green chilies.
- Add seasonings like salt, red chili flakes and powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, hot spices powder, poppy seeds, and gram flour.
- Mix all the ingredients well for 4-5 minutes. This mixture should be neither too hard nor too soft. You can adjust the quantity of gram flour in the mixture to maintain the moisture level to hold well all the ingredients.To enhance the flavor further we’ll add vinegar to it and mix it.
Preparing the Meatballs
- Grease the hands with cooking oil so that the mixture does not stick to the hands. Take a portion from the mixture to shape it into a meatball. First, press the masala inside the palm and then shape it into a ball.Prepare all the meatballs in the same pattern and ensure to form evenly sized meatballs by using a kitchen scale. You can prepare 31 meatballs weighing 35 grams each with this meatball masala.
Steaming the Meatballs
- Now we’ll steam these meatballs in the pressure cooker. Pour one cup of water into the pressure cooker and keep the water level below the seating of the strainer.To enhance the flavor, we’ll add badiyan flower and some pieces of jalwatri (javitri) to the water. Upon steaming, the fragrance of these spices will infuse into the meatballs adding a nice aroma to them.
- Now place the strainer inside the cooker and arrange the meatballs on it. Close the pressure cooker. Do not place the weight on the lid. Keep the flame medium and steam the meatballs for 12 to 15 minutes.
- After 15 minutes remove the cover of the pressure cooker. Your meatballs are ready now. You can eat these steamed meatballs.
Browning the Meatballs
- To give the exterior a cooked feel and nice color, pan-fry these meatballs. Pour 3 to 4 tbsp of cooking oil into the pan. You can use desi ghee or butter as a substitute. Heat the oil slightly. Place the meatballs inside the frying pan. Ensure to keep the flame low.
- Fry the meatballs till they get a light golden color. Fry all the meatballs. Flip frequently to prevent over-frying. You may fry them in batches. Flavorful, soft, and juicy meatballs are ready to eat.
How to Store these Meatballs?
- Rest the meatballs after frying and let them cool. Pack them inside the Ziploc bag and place them in the freezer. Store them for 2 to 3 months or you may store them longer.You can also prep and freeze the meatballs (koftas) in a larger quantity and when required just make the curry base, take out the meatballs and drop them in your steaming hot curry. Follow my recipe to make meatball curry from frozen meatballs.
Wow
Hi Arun, Thank you so much for your great admiration. Definitely, it is a big applause for me.
Ohh! This is one dish I can have every day.
Very good recipe
AoA Shakoor Ahmed, Thank you so much for your great liking. Surely, you’ll enjoy this dish with your family.