Meatballs in an Airfryer
Flavoursome meatballs made healthier - in an airfryer! You can add them to curries or pasta or as a filling in wraps or sandwiches.
Ingredients
- 1 kg minced beef
- 2 small-medium sized onions very finely chopped
- 2 teaspoons of ginger & garlic paste
- 2-3 small green chillies, the spicy variety, de seeded and finely minced
- 2 teaspoons of plain red chilli powder, reduce it if you like
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garam masala powder
- 1/4 turmeric powder
- 1/2 cup finely chopped coriander leaves
- 1/4 cup finely chopped mint leaves
- 2-3 teaspoons mustard oil
- 1 teaspoon mustard paste, optional but recommended to enhance taste
- salt to taste
Instructions
- In a large bowl mix all the ingredients together (except the oil) and keep overnight for best results
- Make lime sized balls and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment or foil. If you like brush a little oil over the meatballs
- I fried the meatballs in my Philips Airfryer - preheated the airfryer at 200 C for 7 minutes and fried the meatballs brushed with a few drops of oil for about 7-8 minutes. Halfway into the frying time remove the fryer basket out and shake it a little to ensure even cooking/browning. As my fryer basket is small I fried about 22-24 meatballs per batch. The subsequent frying sessions took approx 7 mins to cook.
- Remove and serve hot as an appetizer (with a toothpick poked in each meatball). If you wish to cook them along with spaghetti or any other kind of pasta, use as required. Store them in a freezer safe, airtight container and freeze them to be used later (if you wish to make a North Indian style kofta curry or a Mangalorean style meatball curry)
Notes
1. If you don't have an airfryer you can also bake the meatballs in a regular oven. Preheat the oven to 220 degrees C and bake for 17-18 mins or till done. The baking time will vary depending on the type/size of the oven so keep a watch. The meatballs should be light golden in colour.
2. Since onions tend to release water it is ideal to make the meatballs and airfry/bake (basically cook them) before freezing. Do not freeze the uncooked mixture as the onions will turn soggy (and smelly) upon thawing. Cooked meatballs will last a long time when stored in an airtight, freezer safe container. Just remove as many as you require and pop them in the microwave before serving (or cooking in a curry)
3. We have had best results with the Brazilian beef available at Carrefour (tried it twice) and a bad experience with veal (avoid it if possible)
2. Since onions tend to release water it is ideal to make the meatballs and airfry/bake (basically cook them) before freezing. Do not freeze the uncooked mixture as the onions will turn soggy (and smelly) upon thawing. Cooked meatballs will last a long time when stored in an airtight, freezer safe container. Just remove as many as you require and pop them in the microwave before serving (or cooking in a curry)
3. We have had best results with the Brazilian beef available at Carrefour (tried it twice) and a bad experience with veal (avoid it if possible)