Turkey Meatball Curry

Do you know what intimidates people the most about cooking Indian food? The spices. Most dishes I know of use a minimum of 4-5 spices. When I first started my forays into Indian cooking, I was overwhelmed. Which combinations do I use for this dish? Should I use them whole or grind it up? What are the relative amounts of each? When do I add them? Do I really want to buy this giant bag of cloves when I only need 4? Then, I found my answer!

 

SPICE MIXES!

  

There is no shame in using spice mixes. All the proper spices and their amounts neatly packaged into a $1-2 dollar box? My salvation hath arrived. Now, don't get me wrong. There is an advantage to cooking with individual spices. It's more customizable to your tastes. Whole spices have a better aroma. Etc. etc. But, you know, when you just want a little touch of the homeland on your plate and you don't have the time go hunt down pomegranate seeds or black cardamom, a spice mix will do just fine. If fact, more than fine. A spice mix will do just down right delicious. It's not a mark of amateurism or incompetence. It's just convenient.  So everyone, let's get on board! 

Now, this recipe originally started as just kabobs and I usually stopped at step 5. But, as a lover of rice, I needed some curry to accompany my carb addiction. The bell pepper adds a little bit of tang to complement the spice. Overall, really easy and relatively quick. Because of the spice mix. 

You will need:

1 package of Shan Chicken Jalfrezi Mix (or whatever amount that is an appropriate spice level)

1-1.5 pound ground turkey (or any ground meat, but the cook times for this are with ground turkey)

1 egg

3 plum tomatoes, chopped

2 medium red/orange/yellow bell pepper, chopped

1 medium red onion, chopped

1 long hot pepper, chopped (optional)

Cooking spray

Cooking oil

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. 

2. Mix together the tomatoes, half the bell pepper and the hot pepper with half the spice mix packet. If you are worried about the spice level, just taste it to check.

3. Then mix in one egg and the ground turkey, sequentially. 
4. Form into 2 inch patties and arrange on a baking pan.

5. Bake for 7 min. This is just to get the patties to set a little bit so they don't fall apart. You may notice some fluid/protein leaking out of the patties. If this happens, take it out of the oven. They are done. The trick is to cook them, just enough so they hold, but not so much that they finish cooking and don't absorb any flavor from the gravy.

 

6. While the patties are baking, start the gravy. Add 1 tbsp of oil to a pot or a deep pan on medium heat. Add the onions and fry until translucent. Add in the remaining bell peppers and fry for another 2 min. Add in the remaining half of the spice mix and stir to mix quickly. Take care that the powder does not stick to the pan and burn. Add in 1/2 cup of water. Cover and simmer for 10 min. 

7. Remove the patties from the pan. Take care to leave all the protein behind. Gently, place into the gravy, covering as much of the patties with the gravy as possible. Cover and simmer for 15 min or until meat is cooked through. 

8. Serve over hot rice or egg noodles. Enjoy!