Indian Inspired Meatballs & CHAPATI

Indian Chapati

Lamb Meatballs with rice & raita

Found this Indian Chapati Bread...Kinda like a tortilla, but chewier in texture and a little nutty in flavor.

At school tomorrow the boys have "Field Games"...The PE coaches teach the children games from around the world...Each class represents a country...Zack's country is Tanzania - where his teacher studied last Summer. Tanzanian food is influenced heavily by India. I volunteered to get the Chapati Bread and dinner tonight was inspired accordingly.

I have a lot of spices on hand and even a couple of Indian Cookbooks from my FIL. I had read about Indian Meatballs at one point and a couple weeks ago when I made meatballs with baked rigatoni I was disappointed because 1/2 of the ground meat I used was lamb instead of pork. I didn't want to toss the meatballs because they were delicious save the gaminess of the lamb. So I froze them and happened to remember I had them today!

Drizzle oil to coat the bottom of a pan, add in a cinnamon stick, then add in ground corriander, tumeric and chile pepper. I chop up 1/2 an onion and put it in an clean apple sauce jar...I didn't have any tomatoes in the house - no fresh or canned (all that pasta the last couple nights!) - so searching through the fridge I decide to try this with fresh salsa (I used Santa Barbara brand, but any would do...even Titos!), adding it to the apple sauce jar, then I stick the hand blender in and puree with the onion. Add the contents to the pan with the spices, add water (1 C or so), bring to a boil, turn down the heat and add in the frozen meatballs (YES...you can also do this with store bought frozen meatballs). Cook until the meatballs are defrosted, adding in more water if needed. Remove the cinnamon stick and toss in frozen peas just before serving, stir gently.

I mixed up a raita-esque sauce with cucumbers and plain yogurt, served the meatballs on a bed of rice and warmed chapati.