Growing up, it was a treat to have a "Mince Kebab" meal with roti. It just seemed like a dish that Mom made when she had more time in the kitchen than usual, and so that meant me spending more time with her in the kitchen. It was an extra special moment for me.
There were times when she would say, "The kebabs are a little too dry" or "The kebabs have come out really well this time" and it all depended on what she threw into the mix on any given day.
"Kebabs" is a common word we Durbanites use to say "Meatballs", yet the correct Indian word is "Kofta"
My first try to make these was over 20 years ago - and I made a huge pot full of them for a family of over 25 people! I was too young and nervous to even know if it tasted good :-)
Over the years I adopted my mother's basic recipe but I also tweaked it a little and especially now with omitting wheat from my diet and following Reboot - any binders such as breadcrumbs or corn flour have fallen away in this recipe. I have found that omitting egg isn't a train smash either.
This is how I made my latest recipe of Mince kebabs
Ingredients
Method
In a non stick frying pan, heat the coconut oil and fry the onions. In a large dish add all ingredients and once the onions are slightly browned, add them in to the meatball mixture with the oil. This is what creates your sticking magic. Mix well, but not too much, as this will result in tough meat balls. Ensure that the spices are well mixed evenly in the mince.
Roll up into balls - size depending on your choice. Or flatten the meatballs into rounds as burger patties.
If you are using the mixture to make burger patties - use more meat to form the ball and flatten them to form a large circle - once you cook them, (pan fry) they shrink - they become thicker in width and smaller in diameter.
You can either:
Let's look at the various ways to make a curry sauce and my version of my marinara sauce.
Marinara Sauce
To cook about 15- 16 meatballs you will need:
6 - 8 medium tomatoes grated or 1 bottle Passata
1 large onion chopped
1 teaspoon crushed garlic
1 tablespoon coconut oil
Salt to taste
1 Tablespoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
1 1/2 Tablespoon date paste - to cut the acidity
Handful of oregano or fresh basil
Method
In a saucepan, heat the coconut oil and gradually brown the onion. Add the garlic, and other spices and then the tomato/ passata. Stir until all the spices have mixed well with the tomato. Cover and cook for 10 minutes. Then add the date paste and herbs with 1/2 cup of boiling water and allow to simmer for another 10 minutes.
Add the meat balls in gently, one by one and cover the saucepan and allow to simmer for anther 15 minutes. Sprinkle with either more oregano or freshly chopped coriander.
Variation
To make a curry sauce using the above ingredients, add:
1 tablespoon mixed curry powder
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
1/2 teaspoon crushed ginger
A few curry leaves
Fresh coriander
Omit the following
Fresh oregano and basil
To make a creamy curry sauce
2 medium tomatoes grated or 1/2 cup Passata
1 large onion chopped
1 teaspoon crushed garlic
1 tablespoon coconut oil
Salt to taste
1/4 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
1 tablespoon mixed curry powder
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
1/2 teaspoon crushed ginger
A few curry leaves
Fresh coriander
Method
In a saucepan, heat the coconut oil and gradually brown the onion. Add the curry leaves, ginger and garlic, and other spices and then the tomato/ passata. Stir until all the spices have mixed well with the tomato. Cover and cook for 10 minutes. Then add the coconut milk with 1/4 cup of boiling water and allow to simmer for another 10 minutes.
Add the meat balls in gently, one by one and cover the saucepan and allow to simmer for anther 15 minutes. Sprinkle with freshly chopped coriander.
For Reboot /Paleo, you can serve up the mealballs with a sweet potato mash or zucchini noodles or Zoodles as it is known.
Alternatively, you could serve it up with a Paleo Friendly Naan Bread inspired by Ashley Thomas. Much of my inspiration lately on healthy living comes from her as well as Prava Singh
Enjoy and live a healthy nutritious, yet tasty life :-)
There were times when she would say, "The kebabs are a little too dry" or "The kebabs have come out really well this time" and it all depended on what she threw into the mix on any given day.
"Kebabs" is a common word we Durbanites use to say "Meatballs", yet the correct Indian word is "Kofta"
My first try to make these was over 20 years ago - and I made a huge pot full of them for a family of over 25 people! I was too young and nervous to even know if it tasted good :-)
Over the years I adopted my mother's basic recipe but I also tweaked it a little and especially now with omitting wheat from my diet and following Reboot - any binders such as breadcrumbs or corn flour have fallen away in this recipe. I have found that omitting egg isn't a train smash either.
This is how I made my latest recipe of Mince kebabs
Ingredients
- 1 Kg lean mince - I used half beef and half pork. You could only use beef.
- 1 large onion chopped finely
- 1 Teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried Italian herbs - I used the Robertsons brand
- Salt to taste - I used about a Teaspoon of Himalayan pink salt
- 1 tablespoon of crushed garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon of crushed ginger
- 1 tablespoon of garam masala
- 2 tablespoon of my mixed curry powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 2 tablespoons of melted coconut oil
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh coriander
Method
In a non stick frying pan, heat the coconut oil and fry the onions. In a large dish add all ingredients and once the onions are slightly browned, add them in to the meatball mixture with the oil. This is what creates your sticking magic. Mix well, but not too much, as this will result in tough meat balls. Ensure that the spices are well mixed evenly in the mince.
Roll up into balls - size depending on your choice. Or flatten the meatballs into rounds as burger patties.
If you are using the mixture to make burger patties - use more meat to form the ball and flatten them to form a large circle - once you cook them, (pan fry) they shrink - they become thicker in width and smaller in diameter.
You can either:
- pack them in containers to freeze, or
- place in an oven tray to grill for 20 - 30 minutes at 200 Deg Celsius.
- set aside for dropping into a tomato based curry or marinara sauce (meatballs)
- pan fry to serve up (burger patties)
 |
| Meatballs ready to go in the oven |
 |
| Grilled Meatballs |
Let's look at the various ways to make a curry sauce and my version of my marinara sauce.
Marinara Sauce
To cook about 15- 16 meatballs you will need:
6 - 8 medium tomatoes grated or 1 bottle Passata
1 large onion chopped
1 teaspoon crushed garlic
1 tablespoon coconut oil
Salt to taste
1 Tablespoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
1 1/2 Tablespoon date paste - to cut the acidity
Handful of oregano or fresh basil
Method
In a saucepan, heat the coconut oil and gradually brown the onion. Add the garlic, and other spices and then the tomato/ passata. Stir until all the spices have mixed well with the tomato. Cover and cook for 10 minutes. Then add the date paste and herbs with 1/2 cup of boiling water and allow to simmer for another 10 minutes.
Add the meat balls in gently, one by one and cover the saucepan and allow to simmer for anther 15 minutes. Sprinkle with either more oregano or freshly chopped coriander.
 |
| Meatballs in Marinara sauce |
 |
| Meatballs in Marinara sauce over a sweet potato mash |
Variation
To make a curry sauce using the above ingredients, add:
1 tablespoon mixed curry powder
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
1/2 teaspoon crushed ginger
A few curry leaves
Fresh coriander
Omit the following
Fresh oregano and basil
To make a creamy curry sauce
2 medium tomatoes grated or 1/2 cup Passata
1 large onion chopped
1 teaspoon crushed garlic
1 tablespoon coconut oil
Salt to taste
1/4 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
1 tablespoon mixed curry powder
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
1/2 teaspoon crushed ginger
A few curry leaves
Fresh coriander
1 can coconut milk or 1 1/2 cups homemade coconut milk
Method
In a saucepan, heat the coconut oil and gradually brown the onion. Add the curry leaves, ginger and garlic, and other spices and then the tomato/ passata. Stir until all the spices have mixed well with the tomato. Cover and cook for 10 minutes. Then add the coconut milk with 1/4 cup of boiling water and allow to simmer for another 10 minutes.
Add the meat balls in gently, one by one and cover the saucepan and allow to simmer for anther 15 minutes. Sprinkle with freshly chopped coriander.
For Reboot /Paleo, you can serve up the mealballs with a sweet potato mash or zucchini noodles or Zoodles as it is known.
Alternatively, you could serve it up with a Paleo Friendly Naan Bread inspired by Ashley Thomas. Much of my inspiration lately on healthy living comes from her as well as Prava Singh
Enjoy and live a healthy nutritious, yet tasty life :-)
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