Dinner with Rukmini
Browse all of the recipes in Rukmini Iyer’s cookbooks by ingredient.
Lamb Keema Meatballs, Lemon Rice, Peas and Mint
A reinvention of a traditional lamb keema curry with moist and herby meatballs and a fluffy lemony rice base.
From the book
The Roasting Tin Around The World
Easy one-dish dinners inspired by flavours from around the world
Leave the hard work to the oven with minimal prep and less washing up
From easy midweek dinners to simple bakes and desserts
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Introduction
My grandmother gave me her recipe for lamb keema and this is my version but made into meatballs. They steam gently on top of the lemon rice but crisp up right at the end when the lid is off.
Ingredients
| For the meatballs: | |
|---|---|
| 1 | onion, peeled and halved |
| 2 cloves of | garlic, peeled |
| 5cm | ginger, peeled |
| 10g | fresh mint, leaves only |
| 1 tsp | ground coriander |
| 2 tsp | ground cumin |
| 1 tsp | fennel seeds |
| 1⁄2 tsp | ground turmeric |
| 1⁄2 tsp | chilli flakes |
| 1 tsp | salt |
| 400g | lamb mince |
| 1 | free-range egg |
| For the rice: | |
| 200g | basmati rice, rinsed |
| 400ml | boiling chicken or lamb stock |
| 1⁄2 | lemon |
| 200g | chestnut mushrooms, halved |
| 200g | frozen peas |
| A couple of handfuls of | flaked almonds |
| To serve: | |
| 10g | fresh mint, leaves only |
| natural yogurt |
Essential kit
You will need: a food processor.
Method
Preheat the oven to 210°C fan/230°C/gas 8.
Tip the onion, garlic, ginger, mint, spices and salt into a food processor and blitz until finely chopped. Tip in the lamb mince and egg and blitz again until fairly smooth. Alternatively, chop the onion, garlic, ginger and mint finely by hand and mix with the rest of the meatball ingredients.
Tip the rice and stock into a large shallow lidded casserole dish or roasting tin. squeeze in the lemon juice, then chop the skin into quarters and add to the rice Scatter over the halved mushrooms and frozen peas.
With damp hands form the mince mixture into walnut-size balls, and dot them over the vegetables and rice. You should have about 20. Cover very tightly with foil (this is really important or the rice won’t cook through) or the lid, then transfer to the oven and cook for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, remove the lid or foil, scatter over the flaked almonds, then return to the oven for a further 5 minutes. Scatter over the rest of the mint leaves and serve with yogurt alongside.
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