Tasty Tuesday: Indian Meatballs

Indian Meatballs with Tamarind Glaze

Top Chef Masters, Season 3, Episode 2 Quickfire Challenge
Ingredients
Meatballs:

2 ounces chicken thighs and legs
2 ounces pork belly
2 ounces short ribs
3 cloves of garlic
1 jalapeno
3 inches of ginger
3 scallions
1/2 cup cilantro

Chutney:

1/3 cup canola oil
36 fresh or 54 frozen curry leaves, roughly torn
12 dried red chilies
2 teaspoons brown mustard seeds
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
2 medium red onions, halved and thinly sliced
1 cup skinned peanuts
3 1/2 pounds tomatoes, roughly chopped
9 ounces tomato paste
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon Sambar spice or curry powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 1/2 tablespoon kosher salt

Directions

Meatballs:

1. Grind meat to medium grind.

2. Finely chop all remaining ingredients and add to meat mixture.

3. Heat oil in heavy skillet and fry meatball on all sides until browned. Reserve.

Chutney:

1. Heat the oil with the curry leaves, chilies, mustard seeds and cumin over medium-high heat until the cumin is golden and fragrant, about 2 minutes. Stir in the turmeric and cook until the chilies darken, 1-2 minutes longer. Stir in the onions and cook until they have wilted and opaque, 5-7 minutes

2. Stir in the peanuts and cook for 3 minutes and than add the tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, Sambar powder, cayenne and salt. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring often, pressing the tomatoes up against the sides of the pot to crush them.

3. Reduce the heat to medium and cook until the tomato juices are reduced and the chutney is thick and jam-like, stirring often, for 20-35 minutes. Taste for seasoning and add more salt if needed. Transfer to airtight container and refrigerate for up to 1 week.

4. To plate, serve cooked meatball with chutney.