- 24 beef meatballs
- 2 onion
- 4 garlic cloves
- A thumb of ginger
- 2 chilli
- A handful of coriander
- 4 tsp garam masala
- 4 tsp mild curry powder
- 800g chopped tomatoes
- 300g white basmati rice
- ½ tbsp olive, sunflower or coconut oil
- Sea salt
- 200ml cold water
- 300ml boiling water
- Baking tray or grill pan
- Deep frying pan or wide saucepan with lid
- Small pan with lid
- Measuring jug
- 1.
Fill your kettle and boil it. Preheat your grill to high. Line a baking tray or grill pan with foil and set a rack on top of it if your grill pan came with one (if you don’t have a rack, don’t worry. You can cook the meatballs directly on the tray). Place the meatballs on the rack or on the tray and slide under the grill. Cook for 8-10 mins, turning once, till golden brown all over. When they are ready, take out from under the heat and set aside.
- 2.
While the meatballs grill, peel and finely chop the onion. Place a deep frying pan or wide saucepan on a medium heat for 1 min. Add ½ tbsp oil and the onion. Season with a pinch of salt and fry, stirring often, for 8 mins till the onion has softened and picked up a little colour (if it browns too quickly, turn the heat down and add a splash of water).
- 3.
Meanwhile, peel and grate the garlic and ginger. Halve the chilli and flick out the seeds and white bits (or leave them in for more heat). Finely chop the chilli. Roughly chop the coriander leaves and stalks.
- 4.
Add the garlic, ginger and half the coriander to the onion. Add 2 tsp each garam masala and mild curry powder. Cook, stirring, for 1-2 mins till the pan smells aromatic.
- 5.
Tip the chopped tomatoes into the pan. Half-fill the tin with around 200ml cold water and add that to the pan. Stir to mix. Carefully add the meatballs to the pan. Pop on a lid (or use a baking tray if you don’t have a lid). Turn up the heat, bring to the boil then turn the heat down a little and simmer for 20 mins. Stir a couple of times. The sauce should thicken a little and reduce. Meanwhile, fill and boil your kettle.
- 6.
While the meatballs simmer, rinse the rice under cold water and tip into a small pan. Add 300ml hot water from the kettle and a pinch of salt. Cover, bring to the boil, then turn the heat right down and very gently simmer for 8 mins till the rice has absorbed all the water and is tender. Take the pan off the heat and let the rice sit in the pan, lid on, for 5 mins to steam and finish cooking.
- 7.
Taste the sauce and add a pinch of salt if you think it needs it. Fluff the rice with a fork and divide it between 2 warm plates or bowls. Ladle over the meatball curry and garnish with coriander leaves to serve.