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Home | A Family that Eats Together: Curried Meatballs with Homemade Naan

A Family that Eats Together: Curried Meatballs with Homemade Naan

Curried meatballsMarin Mommies presents this week's guest recipe from Nicole Cibellis, Marin mom and author of the blog A Family that Eats Together, where she shares meal plans and recipes that will please foodies and children alike. Nicole is also the creator of the new Little Froglet line of children's activewear.

Nicole's meal plan for this week features slow-cooker Mexican chicken, lamb burgers with garlicky spinach, potato and leek soup with homemade croutons, braised chicken with artichokes, and these Indian-inspired curreid meatballs with homemade naan.

In my house we just love meatballs. Not only are they quick to make but also they are so easy. They are a great way to get young kids involved in the prep part of the process. I encourage my son to mash the coriander seeds in our mortar and pestle. He thinks that is just the most fun thing to do in the kitchen next to working the food processor. I was even surprised to find him eating he coriander seeds right out of the mortar and pestle. I didn’t expect that to be appealing to him but it sure was. Mixing the ingredients and making them into balls is also so much fun because the mixture is so squishy. Good fun!

Now, I know you are probably thinking who has the time to make homemade Naan, but it is quick and easy if you have a food processor. You add everything to the food processor, let it do all the work and then cook. Not so hard even for the most inexperienced home cook.

This was our Valentine’s Dinner and it was a complete hit. The meatballs went in a flash and we all used the naan to sop up the yummy sauce.

Happy Cooking!

CURRIED MEATBALLS

Serves: 4
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes

INGREDIENTS

Meatballs

  • ½ lb ground pork
  • ½ lb ground veal or beef
  • 1/4 cup bread crumbs
  • 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 2 tablespoons tamarind paste (found in the Asian aisle of the grocery store)
  • 1 tablespoon dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
  • 1 teaspoon crushed coriander seeds
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 egg
  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil

Sauce

  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh garlic
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 1 tablespoon garam masala
  • 1 tablespoon dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric
  • Pinch salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 48oz can diced tomatoes
  • 1 cup red wine
  • 1 tablespoon tamarind paste (found in the Asian aisle of the grocery store)

DIRECTIONS

  1. Combine the ground meat, breadcrumbs, cheese, tamarind paste, oregano, coriander seeds, fennel seeds, salt, and egg in a large bowl and mix well with your hands to combine.
  2. Form the mixture into 2-inch meatballs and set aside. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and add the oil. Fry the meatballs on all sides until browned. The trick to moist meatballs is to not over cook them. Once they are slightly browned on all sides transfer them to the saucepan and let them braise to finish cooking.
  3. Place a large skillet over medium-high heat and add the oil and then the garlic. Sauté for one minute and then add the bay leaves, garam masala, oregano, turmeric, salt, and black pepper and toast for 10 seconds. Stir in the tamarind paste and then add the tomatoes and red wine and let simmer for about 20 minutes. Add the warm meatballs to the sauce and stir gently to coat well with the sauce.
  4. Serve with Naan or rice.

NAAN

Serves: 4
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Inactive Time: 1 hour
Cook Time: 10 minutes

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
  • 4 tablespoons melted unsalted butter, slightly cooled
  • 3/4 cup whole milk plain Greek yogurt
  • 1 tablespoon warm water
  • minced garlic, optional

DIRECTIONS

  1. Place all the dry ingredients in a food processor. Mix them gently together with your fingers. Add all the wet ingredients to the food processor and pulse for 5 minutes.
  2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Pull apart 3-inch rounds of dough and roll them into a ball and place them on the baking sheet. Cover the baking sheet with a towel and leave them in a warm and draft free part of your home for 1 hour.
  3. When you are ready to cook them. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.
  4. Gently roll out each round and lightly brush butter on both sides of the dough. Place them on a tin foil lined baking sheet. If you are using minced garlic, spread a small amount on top of the dough with the butter. Place in the oven for 5 minutes or until lightly golden brown.
  5. Serve hot.