Saturday, October 15, 2011

Curried Meatballs with Rice Pilaf

Curried Meatballs with Rice Pilaf - from my cousin Christine, October 8, 2011


No, you didn't come to the wrong blog by mistake, this really is a non-dessert recipe.  I haven't "cooked" in awhile and this doesn't change my dry spell because this is actually a dish my cousin Christine made for me and one of my nieces when we got together.  Christine knows how limited my cooking skills are so every once in awhile she helps me out by providing real food for my dinner :).  She's also nice enough to include the recipe, probably in hopes that I'd make it myself since they're usually so simple even I could cook them.  So far I haven't but hey, there's always someday, lol.

In the meantime, I'll post the recipe so you all can enjoy the dish like I did.  Thanks Christine!

¼ cup vegetable oil
2 small onions, chopped fine
1 cup long-grain white rice
2 cups water
1 pound ground chicken
½ cup panko (Japanese-style bread crumbs)
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon curry powder
Salt and pepper
½ cup dried apricots, chopped
¾ cup slivered almonds, toasted

1. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add half of onions and cook until softened, about 4 minutes. Add rice and cook until mostly opaque, about 4 minutes. Add water and bring to a boil, lower heat to medium-low, cover, and cook until rice is tender, about 20 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, combine chicken, remaining onion, panko, 2 tablespoons cilantro, curry powder, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper in large bowl. Knead mixture with hands until well mixed. Shape into 1-inch meatballs.
3. Heat remaining oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add meatballs and cook until browned on all sides, about 6 minutes. Cover and cook through, 4 to 6 additional minutes. Transfer to platter.
4. Add apricots, ½ cup almonds, and remaining cilantro to rice and stir until thoroughly incorporated. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with remaining almonds. Serve with meatballs.



3 comments:

  1. I was pleasantly surprise when I check my email today, by this recipe. I was expecting to see one of your delicious looking desserts like the coconut and caramel brownie....The meatballs looks great, although I'm not a big fan of curry....I love you blog. I might not leave a comment every time, but I always read every one.

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  2. Cindy, I'm not a big curry fan either but the flavor in the meatballs was very mild and they were pretty good.

    I don't respond to every comment from everyone but I do read them all as well - thanks for always reading my blog!

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