One thing I love about Christmas season is that its all about good food and flavour! And the fact that we don't have to worry about portion control this season is a plus!
I was looking for an amazing lunch to have that was going to be simple enough to whip up in an hour but still tastes like i spent one century in the kitchen! I chose this recipe as my lunch for the day! Garlic and Thyme rap up my year as the best spice and herb combination of the year! They balance out each others flavours so beautifully and the use of honey adds a sweet kick to the recipe!
Without wasting any time let's get right into this recipe loves!
PREP TIME:10MIN
COOKING TIME:40MIN
TOTAL TIME:50MIN
SERVES 4
INGREDIENTS(MEATBALLS)
700g minced beef
1/12tsp. salt
1tsp. black pepper
1 tbs. garlic powder
1tsp. ginger powder
1/2 tsp. chilli powder
1 tbs. honey
1 large egg
11/2 cups breadcrumbs
Chopped coriander(Dania/ Cilantro)
3 chopped thyme sprigs
3 finely chopped garlic cloves
1 finely chopped white onion
1 lime
Vegetable oil
INGREDIENTS(STEW)
1 Small white onion
1 large red onion
3 garlic cloves
4 Thyme sprigs
Fresh ginger
1 tbs. beef masala
1 tsp. paprika powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
1tsp. cumin powder
2 chopped tomatoes
2 tbs. tomato paste
1tbs. honey
Chopped coriander( Dania/Cilantro)
Vegetable oil
2 cups hot water
PROCEDURE
To start things off chop your white onions, garlic cloves and fresh thyme into fine pieces. Heat up a pan with two tablespoons of vegetable oil and add your finely chopped pieces into the hot oil.
Measure 1 tbs. of garlic powder,1/2 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. chilli powder and add them into your pan. Fry everything evenly until the garlic turns golden brown and remove. (Be careful not to let your garlic burn. Garlic turns bitter when left to overcook!)
Next, place your minced beef in a large bowl and squeeze the juice from a fresh lime over the meat. (This helps to sterilize the meat. An alternative to the lime would be to dazzle some white vinegar over the minced beef)
Season your minced beef with your salt, pepper and ginger powder. Add in your chopped coriander as well as your fried onions,garlic and thyme.Mix everything evenly together with your minced beef using your hands.
Once done crack open one large egg onto your minced beef and mix it in evenly making sure to really squeeze the meat together so as to bind the meat and egg together. You will notice that at this point your meat is quite slippery and that is where the breadcrumbs come in!
Gradually mould in your breadcrumbs into your beef until the beef is at the desired consistency. This should be where your minced beef is not too slippery but also not to crumbly. ( If it is too slippery or too crumbly the meatballs will not hold their shape and will break apart during cooking!)
The next step is to mould the meatballs into round balls.( This is my favourite part of the process because it's kind of like how you'd mould play dough when you were a kid; Squeeze the dough together tightly and roll it between your small palms to form a ball or whatever shape !) The same principle is applied here; you need to squeeze the meat tightly with your hands and roll it into even sized round balls with your palms.( Squeezing the meat together in your hands helps in further binding of the meat)
Try as much as you can to make the meatball pieces the same size so that they cook evenly.
Place the meatballs in the freezer for 30 min to ensure that they hold their shape during cooking.Leave to thaw on the counter for 5 min before frying.
Heat up two tablespoons of oil in the same pan that fried your garlic,onions and thyme. Add in your meatballs and a stick of fresh ginger and shallow fry them. Keep turning until all sides have browned and remove from the pan with the ginger. Keep the fried ginger slice to be used later in the stew.
The next thing is now to make the stew for your meatballs.Start off by cutting up your white onions, red onions, garlic, tomatoes and dania. Using the remaining oil from frying your meatballs; fry your white and red onions together with one teaspoon of salt until the onions are golden brown. Next add in your garlic cloves ginger slice and pepper and fry until the garlic is slightly golden brown.
Add in your tomatoes, beef masala, cumin powder and paprika powder and mix evenly. Reduce the heat to low and cover the pan to let the tomatoes soften for about one minute.
Once the tomatoes have softened add you 2 tablespoons of tomato paste and one tablespoon of honey and mix everything evenly. ( The reason you add honey is because tomato paste can give a bitter or pungent taste to the food so adding honey or a tablespoon of brown sugar balances it out!)
Add in your chopped Dania and mix it in evenly.
Immediately add in your 2 measured cups of hot water to cook the tomato paste and spices. Place 3-4 fresh Thyme sprigs into the stew.
Add in your meatballs and leave to simmer under medium-low heat until the sauce is nice and thick! ( This step finishes cooking the meatballs and also lets the ingredients of the stew marry well with the meatballs.)
Turn off the stove and serve when hot with Rice or spaghetti. I had mine with some delicious white rice! This would also go well with my coconut and vegetable fried rice linked down below! https://imanimusime.wixsite.com/musimestastykitchen/blog/coconut-vegetable-fried-rice
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