Meatball Rezala

Servings: 4 - 6

Ingredients:

• Ground Beef - 2 lb (1 kg),
• Onion - 1 med, 1/2 of it thinly sliced
  
• Green Chili - 6, (3 sliced & seeds removed if you do not like the heat)
  
• Garlic cloves - 4
  
• Ginger root - 1 inch (to yield 1 tsp in paste)
• Ghee/ Clarified Butter - 4 tbsp
• Hot spice Powder - 1 tsp
• Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
• Coriander powder - 1 tsp
  
• Milk - 1/2 cup
• Plain yogurt - 1/2 cup
• Sugar - 2 tbsp (or to taste, the dish is meant to be on the sweet side)
• Black pepper - 1/2 tsp
• Salt - 1.5 tsp
  

Methods:

• 1. In a food processor, blend 3 chilies, garlic, ginger to form a rough mince. In a bowl, mix in the ground beef with 1 tsp salt, pepper, hot spice powder, cumin, coriander powder and the minced aromatics. Form tennis ball size meatballs and refrigerate for minimum of 1/2 hour to up to 2 hours.
• 2. Meanwhile, in the blender, blend the remaining garlic, ginger and half of the unsliced onion into a puree.
• 3. In a bowl, beat the yogurt with the sugar and set aside.
  
• 5. In a heavy base non-stick pan, saute the meatballs, in batches, until you get a brown coating. Make sure not to cook it all the way through, as it will finish cooking in the gravy. Remove and let it rest on a plate.
  
• 6. Clean the pan off with a paper towel to remove the fat released from the meatballs. Add the ghee/butter to the pan and heat.
  
• 7. Add the sliced half of the onion to the pan, and 1/2 tsp of the salt. Saute till translucent.
• 8. Add the yogurt mixture and simmer on med heat for 4-5 min. Return the meatballs to the pan along with the milk. When adding the milk, make sure to remove your pan from heat, and then once stirred in properly, return it on the heat. This will stop the milk from breaking.
• 9. Add the remaining 3 chilies. Simmer the meatballs on low-med heat for about 35-40 min or until the milk evaporates and the ghee separates to create a thick shiny white gravy. Serve with Polao or Nutmeg Rice.