Meatballs in Tomato and Chilli Sauce

This tasty recipe is from Manju Malhi’s Brit Spice

Meatballs in Tomato and Chilli Sauce
Serves 3-4

Meatballs
2 green chillies, seeded and finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
2 tsp peeled and grated root ginger
1 tbsp cornflour
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/4 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
500g sausagemeat (or minced lamb)

For the Tomato and Chilli Sauce
2 tbsp oil
1 onion, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1 green chilli, seeded and finely chopped
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp lemon juice
200g can chopped tomatoes
1/4 tsp garam masala

First make the meatballs. Put into the blender the chillies, garlic, ginger, cornflour, lemon juice, black pepper and 2 tablespoons of water, then whiz to a paste. Mix it with the sausagemeat, then roll it into golf balls.

Now make the sauce. Heat the oil in a large saucepan or deep frying pan and fry the onion for 7-8 minutes, until golden brown. Then add the garlic, green chilli, paprika, cumin, coriander, turmeric, salt, lemon juice and tomatoes, and stir for 4 minutes. It should turn into a thick, dark red sauce. Now put the meatballs into the sauce and stir in 125mls water. Leave it to cook for 6 minutes. Then stir in another 125mls water, and cook for another 6-7 minutes. Take the pan off the heat, sprinkle with garam masala and serve.

Note: To speed up the cooking, shallow-fry the meatballs in 4 tablespoons of oil for 5 minutes then put them in the sauce for 6-7 minutes.

Recipe ©Manju Malhi, Photo ©Pat Churchill