These are meatballs for when your grandmother isn’t coming over. They are garlicky and full of spices, with jolly hard-boiled eggs for added satisfaction, providing a great mess of comfort food for a cold winter night. I got the recipe from Cracking Curries, and added the pressure cooker option, which makes the meatballs oh-so tender. The great thing about this meatball is that you don’t need to pre-fry them, saving time and mess. You could also stew them in the crockpot (though the sauce-making takes some advanced prep).
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| Delicious over basmati rice. Orange juice serving suggestion from Dan. |
1 lb ground lamb
1 small onion
1/2 bunch cilantro
1 egg, beaten (or less)
1 tsp. cayenne
1 tsp. black pepper
2 tsp. salt
3 Tbsp. butter
1 large onion, sliced
2 medium tomatoes, diced
1 Tbsp. tomato paste
6 cloves garlic, minced
1″ knob ginger, minced
2 tsp. ground coriander
1/2 tsp. cayenne (to taste)
2 tsp. salt (to taste)
1 c. boiling water
4 eggs, hard boiled and peeled
Chop the onion and cilantro finely in a food processor. If this produces excess liquid, drain some off. Mix with your hands into the ground lamb. Add the cayenne, black pepper, and salt, and half some of the beaten egg to bind it together (not so much that it gets too goopy). Create into golf-ball sized meatballs and place them on a plate. Refrigerate for one hour while preparing sauce.
In a wide-bottomed pan with tall sides (or pressure cooker base), heat the butter and add the onions. Fry on low patiently until they start to brown, but take care not to burn. Add the chopped garlic until that browns as well. Add some of the boiling water to deglaze the pan. Add the tomato paste and stir until combined. Add the tomatoes, ginger, coriander, cayenne, and salt. Increase the heat and simmer for 10 minutes, smooshing the tomatoes as they cook. If it starts to splatter too much, add some boiling water. Use an immersion blender to blend smooth until it has a velvety texture–if too thick, add more water.
Place the meatballs into the sauce and spoon some sauce over. Continue to simmer, occasionally spooning over sauce, for 25 minutes OR pressure cook for 10 minutes. Halve the boiled eggs crosswise and place them yolk up on the serving platter and spoon some sauce over. Garnish with cilantro and serve over basmati rice.
There's a Moroccan version of this, but you cook the eggs in the tomato sauce. Here's a video version of the recipe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOay4YBtnjU
You don't need to make it in a tajine, most people would just make it in a pan. You normally eat it with Moroccan bread.
Oh, and in Morocco, they grow amazing oranges, so fresh orange juice is a normal accompaniment to the Moroccan recipe.