A flavorful, nutty dish– a bit time consuming but well worth the wait! I used a ground meat substitute, but it can of course be made with ground chik’n or lamb instead.

 

Ingredients:

— for the meatballs —

1 lb ground meat (I use Gimme Lean)

2 eggs, beaten

2-3 minced green chillis

1/2 cup finely chopped coriander leaves

salt to taste

 

— for the cashew paste — 

1/2 cup chopped cashews

1/2 cup coriander leaves

1/4 cup mint leaves

3 green chllis

 

1 large onion, chopped

2 tomatoes, roughly chopped

2 tbsp ginger-garlic paste

1 cup plain dahi

2 tbsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground turmeric

1/2 tsp each of: ground cumin, cinnamon, cloves and cardamom (I used a spice grinder for these)

4 cups water

salt and lime juice to taste

 

Method:

Mix all the ingredients for the meatballs and let sit for 1-2 hours to let the flavors meld. Then, form into 1 inch balls

Place all the ingredients for the cashew paste in a mortar and pestle– grind to a find paste (you can also use a food processor, but I think the best way is with the mortar and pestle)

Heat oil in a deep pan and shallow fry the meatballs until brown on both sides. Take them out of the oil and set aside

In the same oil, fry the onion until soft, then add then tomatoes and ginger-garlic paste– fry for a few minutes until tomatoes melt. Add the yogurt and cashew paste, fry until the oil rises to the top and the ingredients have blended well. Now add the dry spices, fry for 1-2 minutes, then add the water and salt.

Finally, add back the meatballs and simmer on low heat for 20 minutes or so until the gravy has thickened. Add lime juice just before serving.

Enjoy with brown rice or Kerala parottas! 🙂