9 February 2014

Fruity Beef Meatballs with Curried Banana Sauce

This recipe works so brilliantly that I thought I'd share it. It is good as a meal on its' own, or can be served alongside a variety of other curries. It will work if you use only the pre-prepared curry powder, but the extra spices give a richer flavour.

serves 2 - 4 people

You will need:
Shallow ovenproof dish
frying pan
food processor (not essential, but it's the easiest way to prepare the date, apple and onion mixture)

Ingredients

Meatballs:
  • 2 medium onions
  • 2 apples
  • 8 pitted dates
  • about 500g beef mince
  • about 1 tbsp dried breadcrumbs
  • salt
  • ground mixed pepper

Sauce:
  • 3 onions, diced
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced/crushed
  • 2 tbsp curry powder (I use medium, you may prefer to use stronger or milder)
  • ½ tbsp turmeric
  • ½ tbsp ground cumin
  • ¼ teasp chilli powder (or equivalent fresh or purée)
  • 3 cloves
  • ½ teasp garam masala
  • ½ teasp grated nutmeg
  • 1 tbsp plain flour
  • about ½ glass wine
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • 3 dessertsp smooth apricot jam
  • 2 tbsp honey
  • 2 bay leaves
  • small handful chopped dried apricots
  • 3 firm medium bananas, cut into thick chunks
  • hot water
  • salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
  • 1 tbsp oil
  • 1 teasp butter

Method

Meatballs:
  • Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/350°F/gas mark 4.
  • Peel, roughly chop the onions, apples and dates, then whizz in a food processor until almost pureed.
  • Mix pureed fruit and onions with the mince, add breadcrumbs and mix thoroughly. Chill in the fridge for about half an hour.
  • Shape into balls and fry gently until the lower surface of each ball begins to caramelise.
  • Transfer meatballs to greased ovenproof dish and put on a low shelf in the oven whilst making the sauce.
  • Re-use frying pan for sauce, as follows:-
Sauce:
  • Roughly chop the onions, then fry gently in mixture of butter and oil until softened. Add garlic, and mix in whilst still on the heat.
  • Add the curry powder, spices and bay leaves, cook gently for about a minute to release natural flavours.
  • Deglaze pan with as much wine as you think it needs, but not so much as to add too much flavour.
  • Stir in flour making sure you coat the onion evenly, then add the lemon juice and enough hot water to make a thickish sauce.
  • Add chopped apricots and then remove from the heat.
  • Take the meatballs from the oven – the tops should have started to colour – and put the sliced (chunked) bananas in the dish, slotting them between individual meatballs.
  • Pour the sauce over the top.
  • Return to the oven, uncovered, for no between 45 minutes and an hour.
Serve with something tasty - basmati or pilau rice, naan bread, pitta bread and/or poppadoms.

This is my own version of similar recipes found in www.poshtodd.com/2012/11/amazing-curried-banana-meatballsmmm.html and http://www.greedygourmet.com/recipes-by-course/main-course/beef-meatballs-with-curried-banana-sauce/

~'.'~

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