Hearty Sambar and Curry Leaf Chicken Meatballs
These Chicken Meatballs serve as an excellent high-protein lunch or dinner, in wraps, or over salads for a burst of spicy, savory South Indian flavor and rich cashew sauce.
✦ Ingredients
- Ingredients for chicken balls
- 250 grams minced chicken
- 30 grams dry bread crumbs (or old bread, blitzed)
- 40 grams bell pepper, finely diced
- 5 grams ginger garlic paste
- 40 grams onion, finely diced
- 5 grams Hearty Sambar PODI
- 5 grams Curry Leaf PODI
- 5 grams Crispy Garlic PODI
- 10 grams coriander leaves, finely chopped
- 5 grams mint leaves, finely chopped
- 30 milliliters coconut milk (for meatball mix)
- 1 tsp salt
- 5 milliliters oil spray
- Ingredients for rice
- 250 grams cooked warm rice
- 20 grams ghee
- 25 grams Spicy Coconut PODI
- 2 grams salt for rice
- Cashew Sauce
- 60 grams roasted cashews
- 8 grams coconut and Crunchy Peanut PODI
- 40 g coconut shreds
- 1 grams salt for sauce
- Cabbage and carrot slaw
- 150 grams cabbage, shredded (for slaw)
- 10 milliliters lime juice (for slaw)
- 2 grams salt for slaw
- 5 grams coriander leaves, for garnish
- 15 grams fried onion, for garnish
- 10 grams Crunchy Peanut PODI, for garnish sprinkle
✦ Instructions
- Mix the meatball base: In a large bowl, combine minced chicken, finely diced bell pepper, garlic, finely diced onion, sambar PODI, curry leaf PODI, crispy garlic PODI, finely chopped coriander, finely chopped mint, salt. Mix by hand until just combined - don't overwork it.
- Shape and bake meatballs: Preheat the oven at 200C, roll the mixture into balls around 30g and roll them over bread crumbs, and put in a tray and spray oil and bake.
- Make the coconut-ghee PODI rice balls: While the meatballs bake, take arm cooked rice in a bowl. Add ghee, spicy coconut PODI, and salt. Mix by hand while the rice is still warm so the PODI fully coats every grain and the ghee melts through evenly.
- Blend the cashew-peanut PODI sauce: In a blender, combine roasted cashews, spicy coconut and crunchy peanut PODI, honey, coconut and salt. Blend until smooth and creamy, scraping down the sides as needed. Adjust consistency with a splash of water if too thick.
- Toss the cabbage slaw: Toss shredded cabbage with lime juice and salt. Set aside to lightly soften while everything else finishes.
- Plate and garnish: Arrange the baked meatballs and coconut-ghee PODI rice balls on a plate with the cabbage slaw. Drizzle generously with the cashew-peanut PODI sauce. Add coriander leaves, fried onion and crunchy peanut PODI.
While rice balls offer an excellent combination, the required sticky rice and complex binding techniques can be overly demanding for everyday home cooking. Serving the chicken and slaw simply alongside cooked rice delivers the same exceptional flavor harmony with much less effort.