Spinach Curry with Beef Meatballs
Spinach Curry
I’m a really big fan of Indian cuisine. To me it comes close to art how they mix and make use of different spices! The blend of aromatic spices is the essence of Indian cuisine. Which is proven in today’s dish of spinach curry. Spinach curry is a popular vegetarian dish of creamed spinach usually served with rice. I decided to add some meat to mine in the form of meatballs and instead of rice I used cauliflower rice. Done in under 35 minutes and great as a weeknight dinner. And I forgot to mention completely paleo.
What is Curry?
Unfortunately, when people hear curry they automatically visualize a yellow Indian spice mix. And in our supermarkets, that’s what is being sold, a yellow curry powder. For which you usually have the choice between a curry powder or spicy curry powder. What you are imagining is the British concoction of curry powder dating back to the 18th century. With the sole purpose of making it more accessible in England. However, in India and in other Asian countries many curries are made from scratch. The word curry is derived from the Indian Tamil word kaṟi. Which loosely translates to sauce, soup or gravy to be served with rice.
You can distinguish between dry curries and wet curries. In India dry curries are mostly used, which is the process of frying the spices in oil before adding them to the dish. While for example in Thailand the different spices and vegetables are mixed together to make a wet paste which is then cooked with coconut milk to create the sauce. The concept of curry is so broad that it varies per country and even per region within a country how it’s made. In India most of them start out with coriander, turmeric, cumin and red chilies. From there depending on the region or even family preferences different spices are added.
Garam Masala
In my recipe I didn’t use curry powder. But instead I used garam masala, which is an authentic Indian spice mix. Garam masala stands for hot mixture of spices. And similar to the varieties in curries this spice mix differs per region. The garam masala I used contains; star anise, coriander, cumin, caraway seed, chilies, cinnamon, ginger, pepper, mango powder and bay leaves. They are toasted and ground together. I used coconut yogurt to bring it all together.
Spinach Curry with Beef Meatballs
Equipment
- Blender or Food processor
Ingredients
- 300 gram spinach fresh
- 150 ml chicken stock
- 180 gram coconut yogurt
- 1 tbsp tapioca flour
- 2 tsp garam masala
- 500 gram ground beef
- 1 large egg
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tsp caraway seeds ground
- 1 tsp coriander ground
- 1 tbsp fresh ginger minced
- ¼ tsp pepper freshly ground
- 30 gram almond flour
- 2 pinches chili powder
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp salt
- coconut yogurt and some slices of chili pepper for decoration
Instructions
- Make spinach curry first. Put spinach, chicken stock, coconut yogurt, tapioca flour, garam masala and 1 tsp salt into blender and make a creamy mixture.
- Keep in reserve.
- Make the meatballs. Put ground beef, egg, minced garlic, ground caraway seeds, coriander, pepper, minced ginger, chili powder, almond flour and 1 tsp salt into a bowl and combine them well by hand.
- Taste the beef mixture and add more salt if necessary.
- Shape 20-24 small balls.
- Heat the olive oil in a deeper 26 cm diameter frying pan. Add the meatballs and brown well all sides on medium high heat for 5-6 minutes.
- Add spinach curry to meatballs, stir gently. After the first bubbling reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for 10-12 minutes until meatballs are cooked through.
- The spinach curry will thicken because of the tapioca flour. If it’s too thick add a bit of water or chicken stock to it.
- Serve with cauliflower rice or rice (if you eat), decorate some slices of chili pepper and a bit of coconut yogurt. Enjoy!