I recently watched the film “A Touch of Spice”. There the grandfather told his grandson that the mix for meatballs must be spiced with cinnamon. I fully agree. Traditionally the meatballs are spiced with paprika, pepper and cumin, but in my opinion the meatballs spiced with cinnamon and allspice taste simply delicious. “You always have to add something unexpected into your dishes, in order to surprise the guests,” the grandfather says in the film.
The Christmas holidays have left visible traces on our hips. So I try to cook with low fat and reduce oil and fat in my recipes. The meatballs are normally fried crispy in hot oil, but I have formed the meatballs and placed them on a baking tray lined with baking paper and baked the meatballs in the oven. Halfway through the baking time I turned the meatballs so they are nicely browned all around. The meatballs were juicy inside and crispy outside. In addition, I made a light meze with carrots and yogurt. I served the meatballs with meze and plain rice. This is tasty diet cooking the Turkish way. Enjoy it! Afiyet olsun!
Ingredients
For the rice:
250 g long grain rice or Basmati rice
500 ml of water
salt
For the meatballs:
350 g lean ground beef or lean steak tartare
1 small onion, finely grated
1 small egg
1 roll or a slice of white bread (50 g) from the previous day, soaked in water and well drained
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 pinch ground allspice
1 pinch paprika
salt and freshly ground pepper
For the carrot Meze:
2 tsp olive oil
300 g carrots, coarsely grated
1 small garlic clove
300 g low-fat Turkish or Greek yogurt
salt and freshly ground pepper
- Preheat oven to 200 °C. Line baking tray with parchment paper.
- Wash the rice, place in a pot and pour 500 ml of water and bring to a boil. Add salt to taste and simmer at low temperature. Once the water has been absorbed, turn off the heat and let rice stand on the hot plate.
- Mix the ingredients for the meatballs in a bowl and combine well. Season with the spices, salt and freshly ground pepper. Wet your hands and form walnut-sized meatballs and place them on the baking paper. When all the meatballs are formed, bake the meatballs in the oven for about 15-20 minutes. Turn the meatballs halfway through the baking time. The baking time will vary depending on your oven and how hot it is, please check the meatballs after 10 minutes.
- For the meze heat olive oil in a pan and fry the carrots and garlic for 3-5 minutes. The carrots should still have bite. Turn off the stove. Season the carrots with salt and pepper and set aside. Just before serving add yogurt and mix well.
- Serve the meatballs with carrots and rice. Enjoy it! Afiyet olsun!
I believe that in aditidon to microwaving them, one can also bake them. I imagine that one could also fry them in oil. I tend to view them as late night snacks, so I microwave five or six when I have late night munchies.
this looks fantasticyou have any idea where to get brown rice syrup in genramy?last week i went to a store with an extra us section but couldn’t find one
Bei der Diät mache ich mit. Sonst aber bei keiner
das höre ich doch gern
Hi semiha, Kegala hat mich in ihrem Blog drauf gebracht! Das wird es morgen geben! Ich freue mich schon drauf
Wünsche gutes Gelingen und afiyet olsun!
I know, I was very pleased with them, they are small but petcrfely formed and yes white. It was a great packet of mixed seed. I do hope you make it next year, it is delicious.
Oooh, these look scrumptious! Where did you find vegan Worcestershire sauce in Germany? I’ve seen some that might have been but the ingendiret lists were loooooong.I really want to try all of your recipes!
Roast lamb, roast potatoes and pukimpn with butter and sugar remind me of my gran. She was a great cook and a brilliant baker and her kitchen was always a happy place to visit. After a fantastic roast meal there would always be Asynpudding’ (vinegar pudding). This is a sweet/sour baked pud made with a lot of vinegar and an awful lot of sugar. Once served it would be drenched in double cream definitely not for dieters!
Wow these patties look wodnerful! I want to try lots of German food this year. I went and got a German cookbook last night. My husband’s grandparents are from Germany and it’d be cool to explore their food.
Wahnsinnig toll, da we4re ich ja auch zu gerne dabei gewesen! Ich liebe Sushi und wenn es dann noch so fachme4nnisch zutrieebet wird….mmmhhh!
liebe Grfcdfe Melanie
As you may know, I’m on the quest for the perfect vgiege burger. These sound very good, though I don’t usually cook with TVP as it is quite processed. However, I do actually like TVP and have a bit in my cupboard for when I’m in the mood for spaghetti bolognaise . I love the spices you’ve used here how well do these burgers hold together? Do you think silken tofu would work?
Maybe the clerk was retarded in his tkinhing since I’ve been told retarded means unable to progress. Our kids can often come a long way and they are smart cookies. Just because you cant talk doesnt mean you dont have a whole lot to say. some people just cant get it out. Someone should tell the manager how rude the clerk was and give the clerk some accurate literature. Maybe give the manager some literature to circulate. Those kind of people make me so mad!
Mmmm, lekker! I just got some TVP so I will have to give these a whirl! PS- do you have any idea whehetr one can find vital wheat gluten flour in Germany? What would it be called?