Meatballs and Plantain in Yoghurt Sauce

Growing up, my mum was always the experimental chef and taster in the house. She was always willing to try new dishes and had tons of cookbooks for inspiration. When I ate my lunch in elementary school, I always got the awkward stares at my meal. Yoghurt sauce was one of them. I did not care too much about the awkward stares because my lunch was always delicious. Fast-forward a few years and yoghurt sauce is still a staple in my house.

Yogurt has a number of great health benefits. They contain probiotics, which is considered beneficial bacteria that live in your digestive tract and help fight off microorganisms that can cause intestinal infections. Yoghurts are usually fortified with a number of vitamins and nutrients depending on the brand but the most common nutrients are Vitamin B5, B12, potassium, zinc and a host of others. If you are lactose intolerant, I will not recommend this or you can consult your doctor for healthier substitutes. In my recipe, I used ground pork but you can use ground beef or chicken for your meatballs. You can serve this as a whole meal or as an appetizer with the sauce on the side. Enjoy!

Recipe for Meatballs and Plantain in Yoghurt Sauce

Ingredients (Serves 2-3 people)

1 cup of ground pork (Substitute with beef or chicken)

1 finger of plantain

¼ cup of chopped spinach (Substitute any leafy green)

2 large seasoning cubes

1-teaspoon chili powder

¼ teaspoon ginger powder

¼ bulb of onion

½ red bell pepper

1 carrot

¼ cup of Plain Yoghurt

¼ cup of coconut milk

1 tablespoon of flour

1 cup of warm water

1 cooking spoon of vegetable oil

 

Method

Season with your ground meat with one large seasoning cube.

 Pour in your chopped spinach, chili powder and ginger powder and mix together to incorporate the spices.

With an ice cream scoop or a regular spoon, scoop a little of the meat and roll into a ball with the palm of your hand and place in the fridge for about 10-15 minute to rest. (To prevent the pepper from burning, rub some oil on your hand first)

Heat up a pan with your vegetable oil and fry the meatballs on all sides till brown. Fry this on low heat so it can cook internally. Fry for 8-10 minutes with the pan covered on low heat. You can also choose to brown it in the pan on medium heat and place in the oven to bake.

Chop your plantain into chunks and add to the pan with the meatballs so it can cook in the juices. Increase the heat to medium, take out the meatballs and allow the plantain brown.

Take the plantain out and fry your chopped onions, bell pepper and carrots and take them out of the pan and set aside.

Completely reduce the heat to low and gently pour in the coconut milk stirring carefully on low heat. Mix the yoghurt with water and gently pour into the pan of coconut milk making sure you are continually stirring so the mixture does not curdle.

Sprinkle the flour over the mixture while stirring so the flour does not form lumps. Add the seasoning cube, meatballs, vegetables and plantain and allow it to simmer for 3-5 minutes.

Serve as a full meal or place the meatballs on a skewer and serve with the plantain on the side and the yoghurt sauce.