Indian Style Meatball Kabobs - My Culinary Adventures

For some reason, I find that food always looks more appealing on a stick………..cake pops, shish kabobs, fruits kabobs, you name it. I usually make meatballs for making Kofta (meatball) Curry but this time I decided to put the steamed meatballs on bamboo skewers and pan fried them along with some veggies.

These meatballs can also be steamed and frozen for a quick appetiser. Simply shallow/deep fry them (no need to thaw them) and serve with tomato ketchup or any dipping sauce. You can also fry them and add to an onion and tomato gravy for a quick curry.

Ingredients:

For meatballs:

Ground mutton/beef 1 lb

Gram flour 1 tbsp

Garlic paste 1 tbsp

Chopped cilantro 2 tbsp

Finely Chopped green chillies 1 tsp

Finely Chopped onion – 1 medium

Mustard Oil 1 tbsp

Yogurt 1 tbsp (optional)

Garam Masala Powder 1 and 1/2 tsp

Red chilli powder and salt according to taste

Other ingredients:

Green Bell Pepper – 1 (cut into 1 inch squares)

Red Onion – 1 (cut into 1 inch squares)

Few Cherry tomatoes/ Any tomatoes cut into 1 inch squares

Olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper

Bamboo skewers soaked in water for at least 30 minutes to prevent burning

Method:

1) Wash the ground meat and leave it in a colander for a couple of hours so that all the water drains out.

2) Marinate the bell peppers, onions and tomatoes with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper and keep aside for about 20-30 minutes.

2) In a heavy bottomed pan dry roast the gram flour on low heat till it changes colour slightly and gives out a nice aroma.

3) Mix all the ingredients for the meatballs with the ground meat and form small golf ball sized balls. The meatballs will shrink after steaming so keep them slightly bigger than the size you prefer.

4) Arrange the meatballs in a single layer in a large wok. Add about half a cup of water. Cover the wok and steam the meatballs for about 10-15 minutes on high heat until all the water evaporates.

5) When the meatballs cool down arrange them on bamboo skewers along with the marinated veggies .

6) Shallow fry the meatball kabobs in a frying pan on medium heat till the veggies are tender but crisp and the meatballs are fried on all the sides. Since the meatballs are already steamed they can be fried pretty quickly without worrying about whether they are cooked from inside or not.