Meatball Recipe
This generously-spiced ground beef meatball recipe delivers soft, juicy, and tender meatballs that stay intact and do not break. This recipe is all about herbs and spices that work together to make a very unique flavor of meatball dish.
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.
