Meat Balls & Chickpea Curry

During my visit to Pakistan,  one of the dishes which I ate for the first time was a combination of chickpeas and meat. I had never before had this combination and I was really amazed to find that it tasted so good. Since I wanted to make this dish at home, I used the regular Meatball curry recipe which I had and added chickpeas to it  and the dish came out fantastic. Served it with home made Naan and it was the prefect dinner for my family. Enjoy 🙂 ~ Kamakshi

Prep Time : 20 mins                                 Cook Time : 45 mins
Serves : 4

INGREDIENTS

  • 1-1/2 cup boiled Chickpeas

For the Meat Balls

  • 300 gms Ground Mince Meat ( Mutton, Lamb, Beef)
  • 1/2 Onion, finely chopped
  • 1/2 Cup Gram Flour (Besan) – lightly roasted
  • 1 tbsp Lemon Juice
  • 1 tsp Chilli Powder
  • 2 green Chillies, chopped
  • 1 spring Coriander/Cilantro , chopped
  • 1 tbsp Ginger-Garlic Paste
  • 1 tsp Roasted Cumin (Zeera) Powder
  • 1 tsp Garam Masala
  • 1 tsp Salt
  • 1 Eggs
  • 4 tbsp Oil
For the Gravy
  • 1 cup Onion, finely diced
  • 3 Tomatoes, chopped
  • 2 green chillies, chopped
  • 1 tbsp Ginger-garlic Paste
  • 1 tsp Cumin (Zeera) seeds
  • 1 tsp Chilli Powder
  • 1 tsp Cumin Powder
  • 2 tsp Coriander (Dhania) Powder
  • 1/2 tsp Turmeric (Haldi)
  •  2-3 tbsp Oil
  • 1 cup Coconut Milk
  • Salt to taste

METHOD

  1. For the Meat balls : In a large bowl,mix all the ingredients for the meat balls and combine it well. Make 15-16 lemon size balls and keep aside.
  2. In a non-stick pan, add 1 tbsp of oil and pan fry the meat balls in batches. The meat balls have to be lightly browned on the outside. It does not have to be cooked fully as it will be cooked again in the gravy.
  3. Pan fry all the meat balls and keep aside.
  4. Heat oil in a pan  and add the cumin seeds and chopped green chillies. Add the onion and ginger garlic paste until it changes color and become slightly brown. Then add the tomatoes, coriander and cumin powder, chilli powder, turmeric and salt. Mix well and cook till the tomatoes become soft and mushy and the oil starts separating from the masalas.
  5. Now add the boiled chickpeas and mix it well so that the chickpeas are nicely coated with the paste. Fry for 5-10 mins. 
  6. Add the coconut milk,. 1/2  cup of warm water and bring to boil. Turn down to simmer and slowly drop the meat balls in the gravy. At this point, do not stir the meat balls as they might break. Hold the pan from both sides and slowly shake the pan in circles so that the meat balls mix well in the gravy. This way the meat balls will not break.
  7. Simmer and let the meat balls  cook for 10-15 mins. Add a bit of warm water, if the gravy starts drying up. 
  8. Serve hot with Roti or home made Naan.