MEATBALL CURRY

Half the amount of onion, garlic and spices goes into the meatballs,
the other half into the sauce; this recipe is as simple and
straightforward as it gets. (And I don’t see why it couldn’t work
equally well with pork or beef mince.) You can fry the meatballs if
you prefer, but it’s much easier and less messy to put them on a
lightly greased baking tray and cook them in the oven.
Serves 4 (makes at least 24 meatballs)
1lb (450–500 g) lamb mince
2 onions
2 cloves of garlic
1 egg
1 tin of coconut milk
Oil
Butter
2 tsp chilli powder
2 tsp curry powder or fenugreek
2 tsp allspice
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp turmeric
2 tsp ginger
1⁄2 cup couscous
Method
1. Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 6 (200ºC) and grease a baking
tray or Pyrex dish.
2. Put the lamb mince in a large bowl with 1 finely chopped
onion, 1 clove of crushed garlic and 1 teaspoon each of chilli
powder, curry powder (or fenugreek), allspice, cumin, turmeric
and ginger, plus the egg, and squish it all together with your
hands.
3. Roll the meat mixture into balls (don’t use flour, it works better
without), putting them straight onto the greased tray. Bake the
meatballs in the oven for 20–25 minutes and shake them up on
the tray at least once during cooking time.
4. Meanwhile, warm some butter and oil in a large saucepan and
fry the second finely chopped onion and clove of garlic until
soft, then add another teaspoon each of chilli powder, curry
powder (or fenugreek), allspice, cumin, turmeric and ginger and
cook for a few more minutes.
5. Empty the tin of coconut milk into a large measuring jug, make
up to 1 pint (500 ml) with cold water and add to the onion and
spices in the pan. (If you haven’t got a measuring jug add the
coconut milk then half fill the empty tin with cold water and
add that to the pan.)
6. Bring the sauce to the boil, stirring frequently, and allow to
simmer for a good 10 minutes to reduce the amount of liquid
by about a third.
7. Turn the heat right down, add the cooked meatballs and
simmer gently for about 30 minutes. If the sauce is still thinner
than you’d like it to be, stir a small cup of couscous into the
curry, allowing another 5–10 minutes for the couscous to swell
and soften, before serving.
8. Serve with plain boiled rice.