Adraki Pyaz Murg / Ginger & Onion Chicken Curry

In north Indian kitchen (yes didn't I told U earlier I'm from north India) you don't cook chicken curry if you are out of two main things needed for almost any kind of curry : Tomatoes & Garlic. And in my kitchen U can't even think about that BUT I did it and everyone ate it & to top that he said complemented chicken curry is very tasty. It doesn't happen every day but other day when I decided to cook dinner despite knowing that I'm out of tomatoes & only last two cloves of garlic I opted for chicken, remembering how a day before 4th grader has been whining over the dinner table why U made veggie dinner again. Now for the name, till couple of years back every recipe I cooked didn't needed a name just calling it "chicken curry" or Pasta or whatever the main ingredient is in the dish, worked well as it's name. But now from last couple of years older one needs a name for every dish....which chicken? What kind of chicken? What did U put in pasta? So that's how yesterday I named it "Adraki Pyaz Murg", Adrak means Ginger, Pyaz means Onion & Murg = Chicken. So here's the recipe I whipped out for dinner.....

 

Servings : It served 3 hungry tummies(2 adults & one 4th grader) as lil'one decided she gonna stay on veggie diet that day.

What I used :

• around 2 cups of cubed boneless chicken(I used 10 chicken tenders, I assume 2 chicken breasts would yield same amount)
• 2 large onions, thinly sliced
• 2 heaping tablespoons of chopped ginger
• 1/2 cup dahi/curd/plain yogurt
• 2-4 green chillies (use less or more as per your taste)
• around 2+1 tablespoon of oil
• 1/2 tsp. garam masala(optional, as I didn't use it b'coz was out of it)
• 1/2 tablespoon of dried methi/fenugreek leaves(Kasuri Methi *see notes)

for marinate :

• 1/2 tsp. paprika
• 1/4 tsp. turmeric/haldi
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper/kali mirch
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• around 1 tablespoon of oil
• juice of half a lime (if small use the whole)

whole spices:

• 2-3 dry red chillies
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp. of cumin seeds/ jeera
• 3-4 green cardamons/chotti elaichi
• 8-9 whole black peppercorns/sabut kali mirch
• 3-4 cloves/laung
• 1 inch piece of cinnamon stick/dal chini 

dry spices:

• 1/2 tsp. turmeric/haldi
• 1 tsp. paprika
• 1/2 tsp. red chilli powder
• 1 tsp. dhania/coriander powder
• salt

Notes : Dried methi/fenugreek leaves is widely known as Kasuri methi. Mine are dried at home & loosely packed in tight containers. While using it in the recipe I just take desired amount & crush it in the palm of my hand & sprinkle it in the dish. It not only add lovely aroma to the dish but also enhance the color of the dish also. If U are using store bought Kasuri Methi & if it's already in powder form use only 1/4 tsp. but still crush it using your fingers tips to release the aroma.

What I did :

• Clean, dry & cube(bite size) the boneless chicken.
• Marinate it with all the ingredients listed under marinate list for at least half an hour. I keep it on shelf but if I marinate it for longer time I would put it in the fridge.
• While chicken is marinating. Heat 2 tablespoon of oil & caramelized the onions to the stage where they are all brown & crisp but not burnt means U have to work on low to med. heat. keep stirring them. It can take a while, sprinkle pinch of salt while U saute them it helps releasing the water from the onions. Also if U don't cut on oil it's more easy. I did it in two batches. after first batch is done use slotted spoon to take the onions out of the oil. U should have plenty of oil left for the second batch but if U feel it's less add little bit more.
• After the onions are done saute the ginger in the same oil. Take it out.
• Once the onions are little cool to handle DO NOT ATTEMPT TO EAT THEM THEY ARE ADDICTIVELY TASTY. And if U taste them U won't have enough for the dish they are so addictive, provided U have done them right b'coz if they are burnt they are no good for snacking they are no good for cooking chicken either. Grind the onions, ginger, green chillies & curd into a paste. 
• Now using the same pan, turn the heat on. U should have left with some oil in it around 1/2 tablespoon OR if not add little bit, saute the whole spices for around 30-40 seconds. Add Ginger, Onion paste to it. Careful it'll splutter.
• Cook this paste for around 7-8 minutes. Add all the dry spices including salt.Keep cooking on med. till it start to leave the oils on the sides of the pan.
• While this paste is cooking take another heavy bottom pan(preferably wide kind) heat little oil around 1 tablespoon just enough to coat the bottom of the pan and saute the cubed chicken in that.May be for 3-4 minutes, it'll not look pink from outside but will still be pink from inside, kind of half cooked(*see notes).Keep it aside.
• Once the onion paste is cooked add 2 cups of water & let it come to boil. Add half cooked chicken, garam masala & crushed methi leaves,stir. Cover & let it cook for another 5 minutes or till the chicken is fully cooked.If using chicken tenders it should be done in 5 minutes, for chicken breast it'll take few more minutes. 

Notes : To saute the chicken without it getting stuck to the pan, make sure pan is hot. Don't try forcefully to stir it when it's still pink on the side which is touching the pan(means too early), because once the side touching the pan gets cooked it automatically releases from the pan & U can turn it to cook the other side.

Serve it hot with your fav. kind of carbs, for us it was roti. Curry is on little hot side, to cut back the heat U can serve plain yogurt or some raita with it.

Happy Weekend to everyone :)

Grilled chicken and a Review

Do you like to own kitchen gadgets which are associated with famous chefs and food network cooks/chefs, I do. Not that it'll make me cook like them but it's kind of a pampered feeling, when you U get something like that, specially when it's gonna stay outside on the kitchen shelf (little show off won't hurt anybody right). So, thanks to CSN stores who have 200+ online stores and over 1 million products  I own my first piece of kitchen equipment which has name of one of our favourite chefs on it.....BAM!!! If you are thinking Emeril Legasse, you guessed it right.

If U remember my this post I got an offer from CSN to review any product from their site. I took few days browsing for single burner grill pan(cast-iron) and finally asked DH for some help in deciding and it took only few minutes and order was done. The moment he saw reversible feature on this YES one side is Grill and other side is Griddle, he said BAM! this is what your kitchen need. I'm going to share the recipe for grilled chicken I made using my new Emerilware Cast Iron Reversible Grill/Griddle, review after the recipe. Those who don't have a grill pan can surely bake it in the oven for around 30-40 min. at 350 degree F, depending upon the size of chicken pieces oven time will vary.

Note : I'm giving the recipe for 2 chicken breasts, which can easily fit in a pan also. If U are going to use two burner grill U can easily double the recipe as it can hold 4 chicken breasts I used combination of white(breast) meat and dark(leg pieces) meat because I wanted to see how much time does it take & which one gives the best result, check the review at the end of the recipe for details on that part.

What U need :

• 2 boneless skinless chicken breast cut into half(in total 4 pieces)
• 2 tablespoon thick yogurt/hung curd
• 7-8 garlic cloves
• around 1 inch piece of ginger
• 3-4 green chillies (use more or less acc. to how hot u like it)
• juice of half a lime
• 1 tsp. coriander powder(dhania)
• 1 tsp. turmeric(haldi)
• 1 tsp. red chilli(lal mirch) powder
• 1 tsp. garam masala
• salt
• 2 tsp. cooking oil

What U do :

1. Prick chicken with fork at 5-6 places.
2. Mix rest of the ingredients using small food processor/blender and marinade is ready.
3. Marinate chicken breasts in the above mixture for at least 4-5 hours. I marinate meat a night before as it gives very flavorful & moist result. Keep it in the fridge.
4. Take the chicken out of the fridge around half an hour before U want to grill it.
5. Prepare the grill, as I'm using double burner grill so it sets onto back & front burner. Before turning the gas on using a brush or kitchen towel oil the grill, make sure you get the oil on all the grill lines as this is not a non-stick grill so we gonna need that oil. In case of any x'tra oil on the grill blot dry it using some paper towel. I kept back burner on med. high and front burner on high(b'coz front one is small). Once it's hot adjust the heat level to med.. I adjusted back one to med. & front one to med. high, idea is to maintain same level heat(in my case I wanted med. heat) on both the burners so grill can maintain the same temp. (read notes in the review as I had a problem here).
6. Once the grill is hot put the chicken pieces onto it. I used my other cast iron pan to put some weight onto the chicken so I can get nice sear & grill marks(main reason for getting the grill) on the meat.
7. After around 7-8 minutes flip the chicken and cook for another 7-8 minutes. Use same tech. to get the marks on the other side too. I cooked chicken breasts for around 18 minutes in total.
8. Once the chicken is cooked, take it off the grill & cover it with foil & let it sit for 5 min. or so.
9. Serve it with chutney of your choice and some salad.

Now comes the REVIEW part of my Emerilware Double Burner Reversible Grill/Griddle

About Grill/Griddle : It's an Enameled Cast Iron by All Clad(a well reputed name in the kitchen world). Everyone can not understand how cooking can be fun when you have to move around a pan or a grill which is almost 13 & 1/2 pound in weight. Let me explain in simple words you get little extra iron in your diet when you cook in iron pots and pans, little extra flavor and a little workout at the same time and the satisfaction after looking at those grill marks priceless.

It's a reversible grill/griddle so that means one side is grill(with ribs) which can be used to make grilled meat, seafood, vegetables and grilled sandwiches like panini and you can have classic char grilled look specially on meats(with criss cross marks) and taste. Food cooks on elevated height for low-fat results.

Another side is griddle(flat surface) which can be used to make eggs, french toast, burgers, pancakes etc.

Size of the grill is 20" x 10.5" and perfectly fits on two burners which is good when U want to cook meal for the whole family. If U want to have criss cross marks on your meat don't overcrowd the grill as U need to move the meat around. Food cooked was moist from inside and we liked the char grilled look & taste. Here's my experience with 3 different foods I tried :

1) Grilled Fish : I used my this recipe & cooked 3 fillets of fish......2 tilapia & 1 rainbow trout.Now these are delicate fishes so didn't wanted to press them for grill marks. they cooked in around 8-9 minutes but did got stuck little bit(I had oiled the grill) and very little grill marks, wasn't very happy decided to grill fish steak next time as that is little more solid meat. But after few days saw 2 famous chefs(diff. shows) on food network grilling same tilapia and there result was also very much same like mine(now feeling much better).

2) Grilled Chicken : Chicken breasts were very moist(were done in 18 minutes) & was so happy to get the criss cross marks (to get that, turn the food by 1/4 circle once it's half way on the first side). I did used meat thermometer to make sure it's cooked. The problem here was dark meat, chicken legs do take longer time to cook so I did gave them a go ahead but by the time all other pieces were cooked legs were still raw from inside & because the grill was half empty it was making a smoke plus I wasn't sure if keeping them longer will still keep the meat tender so I finished cooking them in my toaster oven for another 20 minutes or so.

  For next time I have decided to use only one kind of meat at a time.

3) Burger on griddle : I really loved these. I used my recipe from here for meat balls & instead made burger patties 8 patties in 10-12 minutes, that's quick and in the mean time toasted the buns in toaster oven.

Cleaning Grill side : I loved the food but I really did not liked to clean the grill, though it's pre-seasoned & I also applied oil before grilling but still food got stuck & reaching all the spots in the grill can be time consuming(I'm talking 15 min. or so). U can not use any harsh metal brushes & also it's not advisable to soak cast-iron in water for long time. So for next time I'm gonna use a toothbrush I'm hoping that will make my job easier and also I might try cooking spray instead of oil if that works better.

Cleaning Griddle Side : This one sure was easy, took may be couple of minutes.

Weight & Storage: As I mentioned above it's around 13-14 pounds, not for a kitchen where U don't have a space to leave it on the kitchen top somewhere as it can be really heavy if U gonna store it inside after every use, chances are U might not use it at all. I don't have a very big kitchen so where I'm keeping it---- I have around one feet of counter space between pantry closet & stove, so I'm keeping it there on top of a non-skid mat,  in standing position leaned to the pantry closet.

Other Things to note : Though it is suppose to maintain heat level, I felt electric gas is not the best option for this as the food kept on the small burner side took longer time because the burner does not cover all the width of grill on its side so it wasn't very hot on the sides. Yesterday checked some reviews on the web & most of them said the same thing about using it on electric burner,but it's great for gas stoves. So, changing the apartment is one option I think I should consider now......ummm.....or may be just try to put only that much food on the smaller side burner which can fit on top of the burner area(I guess second option is more practical so I'll stick with that).

Some other features(as mentioned on the material provided with it) :

Enameled cast iron construction for superior heat retention and distribution.

Unique fat drainage channels incorporate pouring spouts for easy cleanup

Tough enamel surface reduces odor absorption.

Suitable for all stove tops, excluding glass and ceramic cook tops.

Lifetime warranty

Cost, Shipping & handling : Cost of  the Reversible Grill was $49.95, it seems like a pretty good deal. It did took around 3 weeks to get my grill some confusion as FedEx left my package at the apartment office without any notice on my door & I kept waiting. Finally got it at the end of November.

My Final words for this Reversible Grill : I like it, food cooked on it was moist & flavorful. I still have to try many things on it(most important one is to get my husband addiction of this, so that I can have vacation from the kitchen sometime...BAM!). I'm comfortable using griddle on any day but for grill I'll def. prefer weekend as cleaning is little time consuming, but once I get hang of it then it might be different.

Disclosure : Review given above about the Emerilware Reversible Grill is totally my opinion, it's no way influenced by any company or person. I was given an opportunity by CSN stores to do the review of any product from their site so I got this grill for free from their site. I have not received any money for the review, from CSN Stores or any other company or person.

Spinach Chicken / Palak Murg

Palak Murg is one of the famous dish from North India. Again there are many recipes for it, but the one I'm going to write down today is..... I can say authentic to my family, as it's not using spinach puree & also lot of onion & tomatoes are used in this one. Today's recipe is very simple in two ways : first there are no measurements, no particular recipe to follow and second it's cooked by him( reason for no measurements & no recipe). In regular day to day cooking we don't do measurements but when it comes to cooking by him, I'm never sure what will be the final dish but one thing is sure, no matter what he puts in the dish or how it looks like the taste is surely going to be superb. As I said I don't have exact measurements for the ingredients but I'm still gonna write down the basic ingredients & steps, it can be easily adjusted to your taste.

What U need :

• around 2 pound(1 kg.) chicken, cleaned, washed & cut into pieces
• lots of onion(around 4-5)
• lots of tomatoes(if u think 4 are O.k add one more)
• 2 Tblsp. of tomato paste
• lots of green hot peppers(may be 6-7)
• spinach as much u want, washed & chopped
• any store bought chicken masala powder
• cumin (jeera)
• cloves (laung)
• cinnamon stick (dal chini)
• garam masala
• cooking oil

For marinade :

• lots of ginger & garlic roughly chopped
• salt
• turmeric(haldi)
• paprika
  
• coriander(dhania) powder
•  1/2 cup plain yoghurt/dahi

What U do :

1. Mix everything in the marinade list in a big bowl & add chicken to it, coat it with the mixture. Keep it in the fridge for whatever time U have on hand (for an hour to maximum overnight, around 12 hrs. or so).
2. Bring it out of the fridge, at least half an hour before cooking.
3. Heat oil in a big wide pan/karahi. Splutter whole spices in it. Add chopped onions. Saute them well.
4. Once the onions are done add tomato paste, chopped tomatoes, green hot peppers. Let the mixture cook.
5. Add chicken masala powder & marinated chicken alongwith all the marinade.
6. Once the chicken is 90% done add chopped spinach. If at any point it gets dry add some water.
7. Cook till chicken is completely done. Sprinkle some garam masala on top of it.
8. Serve it with naan / roti / rice.

Note : If using store bought chicken masala, adjust the salt in the dish, as many a times those spice packets have salt in it.

Creamy Spinach Pasta

To me pasta is very versatile. It can be prepared as a complete meal in itself or as a side dish or even as a salad. Another good thing about pasta is being a one pot meal it's hit at my place. I love pasta so much that I can even eat it for breakfast, lunch, dinner, afternoon snack or even late night snack. I don't need lot of cheese in my pasta, but yes lots of veggies are kind of must. Pasta is regular at my place but every time with little twist depending upon what veggies I have. This one with spinach is one of my favorite. Now talking of spinach, sometime in the beginning of this month DH decided that he want spinach for at least one meal everyday. In my household we cook most of the veggies & greens but when you want to eat spinach everyday you need to think out of the box, regular palak paneer, saag they are good no doubt but I'm sure no one can eat it day after day and most importantly for eating one good thing you can not give up other good things. So, for next 7 days I will try to post one recipe with spinach each day, just to give some idea that how easy it can be to include spinach in your everyday diet, you don't have to be Popeye and eat your spinach direct from the can you can make it more tasty & visual treat for your eyes before you eat that healthy stuff.

Some of the health benefit of including spinach in your regular diet are:

1. 
   
   Excellent source of vitamin A, C & folate.
2. Flavonoid compounds in spinach function as antioxidants and as anti-cancer agents.
3. It's an excellent source of  bone-building nutrients including calcium and magnesium.
4. Promotes Gastrointestinal Health
5. The anti-inflammatory nutrients in spinach can also help with conditions in which inflammation plays a role. For example, asthma, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis and rheumatoid arthritis are all conditions that involve inflammation.
6. Cooked spinach is an excellent source of Iron.

Now for the recipe :
What U need :

• half pound of small pasta like macaroni, shell or farfalle
• 1 8oz. box of white button mushrooms
• 1 cup of cooked chicken cut into bite size pieces
• salt
• black pepper
• red chilli flakes
• 1 Tblsp. chopped garlic
• 1 bunch of fresh spinach cleaned or 1 frozen box(10 oz. ) of spinach defrosted
• around 1/4 cup of milk
• 1 Tblsp. of evoo

What to do :

1. Boil pasta as per the packet direction, Boil it for a minute or two less than the specified time as we gonna finish cooking it in the sauce.Reserve the pasta water.
2. In the mean time while pasta is boiling, clean & roughly chop the mushrooms.
3. Heat oil in a big pan, saute garlic & mushrooms in it. If you chop the mushrooms thin it should not take more than 5 minutes. Once done sprinkle some salt & black pepper.
4. Add milk to it & let it boil, simmer cook for another 2-3 minutes.
5. Cool little bit, take it out & puree it. That's the creamy sauce for the pasta.
6. In the same pan pour little pasta water & add chopped up spinach to it, let it cook for few minutes(roughly 4-5 minutes). Don't add any salt to this as we are using pasta water which is salty.
7. Once spinach looks like cooked add boiled pasta(drained), cooked chicken & mushroom sauce to it. Sprinkle some red chilli flakes. If it's little dry add some of the pasta water. Let everything cook together for a minute or two.
8. If you like sprinkle some Parmesan or any other cheese of your choice on top of it.

Note : I puree the mushrooms into sauce as this is one thing which my DD doesn't eat no matter what recipe they are in, so disguising is the only option I'm left with. You can leave it chunky as per your taste. Also for the vegetarian version, chicken can be left out & may be another packet of mushrooms can be added sliced & sauteed for the dose of extra protein.

Home made Chicken Burrito

 

This is one of the very easy recipe yet tasty & loved by everyone in our house. It's totally homemade as we don't like the taste of packed tortillas available at grocery stores, but one can surely use ready made tortillas for this as per their taste & convenience. Also I'm not using any packet seasoning for it  but instead making use of spices I already have in my kitchen and in fact those spices are also the base of Mexican cooking, and I guess that's another reason why we love Mexican food.....it's not only hot but also flavorful. Here goes the recipe :

What U need :

    For Filling :

• around 1 cup of thinly sliced boneless chicken
• 1 Tblsp. garlic sliced/chopped 
• 1/2 cup sliced onion
• 1/2 cup sliced red bell pepper
• 1/2 cup sliced green bell pepper
• salt ar per taste
• 1&1/2 tsp. black pepper
• red chilli pepper as per taste
• 2-3 hot green chillies(optional)
• 1 tsp. papprika
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• 2 tsp. cumin(jeera) powder( I use little extra as we love it's flavor)
• little oil

    For Tortillas : 

• 3/4 cup all purpose flour(I used maida)
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour(I use atta)
• 1/4 cup semolina(suji)
• salt as per taste
• 1 Tblsp. of cooking oil/clarified butter(ghee)
• enough water to knead the dough

    For Burritos:

• salad of your choice like shredded carrots, lettuce, diced onions,tomatoes, celery
• sour cream or thick plain yogurt
• hot sauce

What to do :

    Step 1 : Making the dough : Mix everything except water in a big wide bowl. Slowly add little water at a time & knead it to soft dough. Cover & let it rest at the room temperature & prepare the filling in the mean time.

    Step 2 : Cooking the filling : 

1. In a bowl toss chicken strips with little oil(1 tsp. ) 1/2 tsp. of each salt & black pepper.
2. Heat little oil in a heavy bottom pan. Cook chicken in it.(see NOTES)
3. Once the chicken is done take it out & in the same pan add another spoon or so of oil & add garlic.
4. After few seconds add onions, green bell pepper & red bell pepper. Saute them for couple of minutes. Do not overcook them.
5. Add all spices & green chillies if using also add cooked chicken to it & mix everything. If it looks too dry add little water or chicken stock. Cover & let it cook for 2-3 minutes. Turn the gas off.

    Step 3 : Cooking Tortillas

1. Take a little dough & roll it into your hand & make a smooth ball of it.
2. Using rolling pin roll it into around 10" disc.
3. Cook it on both sides on a hot griddle. For detail procedure you can check this post about making Indian flat bread called roti, as the procedure is very much same.
4. Repeat for rest of the dough.

    Step 4 : Getting Burritos ready

1. Lay one cooked tortilla on plate. Spread around 2 Tblsp. of filling in the center. Top it with salad of your choice.
2. Spread some sour cream or thick plain yogurt. 
3. Finally some hot sauce.
4. Now roll it : pull up and tuck the bottom, wrap the right side in and then the left, tightly. Click here for detail step by step pictures on how to roll a burrito.

    Step 5 :Enjoy your burritos while they are still warm.
Notes :

1. Add chicken to the pan in a single layer. Once the chicken touch the surface of the pan DO NOT TOUCH IT for couple of minutes or so. Stay there, watch it & you'll know when to turn it. Because once the bottom side is cooked, it'll turn to little brown(no more pink) and when you try to turn it, it won't stick to the pan means it's ready to be turned. If it sticks then wait. Why am I emphasizing on this so much because for long time I myself was not sure that this will work I always feared that chicken gonna stick to the pan so I always used my non stick pan for this purpose but then again we are not big fan of non-stick pots & pans here. So then I decided to use my cast iron pan for this purpose as it's quite heavy & since that time non-stick pan is in my kitchen but we don't use it anymore.
2. Make sure filling is not watery otherwise end result will be soggy.
3. Don't fill it too much, or it will be little too difficult to roll.
4. Paprika, oregano & cumin are the  main flavors of this dish, do not compromise on those.

Variations : 

1. There is no fixed way to fill your burrito, go as per your taste. I haven't used any red beans which are commonly used but instead I had some boiled chickpeas in the fridge so I added those to the filling too.
2. Mushrooms are good substitute for chicken to make it vegetarian.
3. Rice can also be added while filling the burritos .

Meatballs to the rescue......

Meatballs.....sounds very western, but we grew up eating this thing except that in our part of the world they were known as koftas....or to be more precise meat kofta...the other well known cousin of it was non-veg manchurian....so you basically got the idea what I'm talking about. Meatball is ball of ground meat mixed with different spices, sometime uses binding agent like egg, some sort of veggies like onion etc..

Different people in different countries make them in different ways. I too make them in 3-4 different ways but this is the one which is more popular in my household specially with my DD, so I always have these handy. Yes, I usually makes a big batch, let them cool down & then freeze them, so whenever DD wants something special for lunch in the school(though she wants special every single day but that's another story) or after school snack, meatball comes to the rescue.....in rice pulav,pasta salad or just like that.

Ingredient :

• 1 pound of ground chicken/turkey (i use 80% fat free, as little fat gives it nice softness & flavour)
• 1 pound of ground pork (u can use chicken only if u don't eat pork)
• 1 medium onion finely chopped
• 1 large carrot grated/shredded finely
• 2 tbsp. ginger garlic paste
• 4 or more green chillies finely chopped(adjust as per your taste)
• half cup of chopped cilantro( or parsley, whatever u like)
• juice of half lime
• 2&1/2 tsp. of salt (for 2 pound of meat)
• 1 tsp/ paprika
• 2 tsp. cumin(jeera) powder
• 2 tsp. coriander(dhania) powder
• 1 tsp. black pepper
• 1 tsp. turmeric (haldi)
• 1 tsp. garam masala
• little oil

Method :

1) Saute the onions little bit so that they don't have raw onion smell(it helps in keeping the meat mixture soft).

2) Take a big bowl mix everything in the ingredient list including onions. Mix them using your hands. Cover it & let it sit in the fridge for at least 4-5 hours, I usually do this step in the night & keep the mixture overnight in the fridge.

3) Take the mixture out at least half an hour before you plan to make meatballs.

4) There are different ways to cook them, baking is one of them which I prefer to do. Grease 2 baking sheets using 1tblsp. of oil per sheet, pre-heat oven at 400 degree F. Grease your hand little bit, using a spoon scoop the mixture out & roll them into ball using your hands & put them into the baking sheet. Balls are roughly 1 & 1/2 inch in diameter. Once all the balls are done gently shake the tray so that balls kind of roll in it so that they get coating of oil on it(or otherwise u can use cooking spray).

5) Put them in the centre rack of the oven for 20-25 minutes or till they r done & golden brown in color. Once in the middle of baking take the tray out & shake it so that balls move little bit & rotate the tray position while putting it back.

6) To check for doneness cut a meatball into half, it should be no longer pink from inside.

Note : depending upon the size of meatball, kind of mixture & oven temp. baking time varies. If you want you can use meat thermometer also but i don't have one. When they are fresh they can be eaten just like that as finger food or if you plan to freeze them for later use, you can simply put them in the sauce/gravy while it's still cooking & let them defrost in the sauce itself, that way they won't dry up.

You can always use fat-free meat to make it totally healthy......as the fat if any, in this dish, is coming only from the meat.