Sometimes just changing the shape of food is all that is needed to give a favourite meal a different dimension. Typically, meat curries are made with chunks of meat but this recipe instead uses lamb mince to make meatballs which are then cooked and served in the curry sauce.
Traditionally, the preferred fat for Indian food is ghee, which is butter that has been clarified and simmered to remove all the excess water. As you can see from the recipe, this curry contains coconut oil as well as coconut milk. Although coconut is high in saturated fat, not all saturated fats are the same. Now for the science bit!
Fats are made up of chains of carbon and hydrogen atoms called fatty acids. The length of the chains determines how they are classified. You may have heard of short chain, medium chain and long chain fatty acids. Most of the fats that we consume are made up of long chain fatty acids whilst coconut is mainly composed of medium chain fatty acids. This distinction is important because we metabolise the fatty acids in different ways according to their size. Being mainly composed of medium chain fatty acids means that coconut oil is easily digested and is metabolised quickly and rapidly turned into energy. Additionally, one of the main fatty acids in coconut oil is lauric acid which is also found in breast milk. This provides another benefit of coconut oil due to its anti viral and anti bacterial properties. So you can see why it is beneficial to add moderate amounts of coconut to your diet.
However, the debate about animal fats continues. Some people argue that is is not necessary to limit their consumption whilst others are firmly entrenched in the traditional opinion that all saturated fats are bad for health. Nevertheless, any excess fat in food gives an unpleasant mouthfeel so it makes sense to eliminate it. In this recipe, as lamb mince errs on the fatty side, the meatballs are initially browned in an non stick frying pan to release some of the excess fat and then drained on kitchen paper. It won't remove all the fat, which isn't the goal because some fat is needed for flavour, however, it should take away enough fat to reduce any unpleasant greasiness in the finished dish.
Fragrant Lamb Meatball Curry
Serves 4
Ingredients
Meatballs
500g Lamb Mince
10g Fresh Ginger
1/2 Red Onion
2 Cloves of Garlic
1 Tsp Ground Cumin
25g Ground Almonds
Sea Salt & Freshly Ground Black Pepper
Curry Sauce
1/2 Red Onion, roughly chopped
25g Fresh Ginger
2 Cloves of Garlic
150g Fresh Tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 Tsp Ground Cumin
1 Tsp Ground Coriander
1 Tsp Ground Turmeric
15g Coconut Oil
4 Whole Cloves
4 Cardamon Pods, crushed
3 or 4 Small Pieces of Cinnamon Bark
1-2 Chillies
400ml Coconut Milk
50ml Water
8 Curry Leaves
1 Tsp Garam Masala
Juice of ½ a Lemon
Coriander Leaves, to garnish
To make the meatballs
Finely chop the onion, ginger and garlic in a food processor. Add to the lamb mince together with the ground cumin, ground almonds and a little salt and pepper. Mix well to combine.
Divide into 20 even sized pieces and roll into balls.
To make the curry sauce
Place the red onion, ginger, garlic, tomatoes, ground cumin, coriander and turmeric in a food processor and blitz until a paste is formed.
Heat a shallow saute pan, approximately 5cm (2") deep and 25cm (10") in diameter. Heat the coconut oil and then gently fry the spices until their aroma is released. Add the paste and cook for a few minutes. Then, add the coconut milk, water and whole chillies. Stir well, bring up to the boil then cover and gently simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Stir in the garam masala, curry leaves and lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.
To cook
Pre heat the oven to 180℃/160℃ Fan.
Brown the meatballs in a non stick frying pan. Drain any excess fat on kitchen paper. Place the meatballs in a single layer in the pan with the sauce.
Cover and cook in the oven for 30- 40 minutes.
To serve
Garnish with coriander leaves.
Serve with boiled brown basmati rice and Coconut, Cucumber and Mango Salad.
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