Tomato Curry Chicken Meatballs

I bought a pound of ground chicken during the stock-up because they were out of other forms of chicken.  It's been hanging out in the freezer since.

This is kind of a relative of the Thai-inspired coconut peanut meatballs.  I now have curry powder, and decided to replace the peanut butter with tomato paste (also in the freezer, because you never use a whole can at once).  The third item from storage is light coconut milk.  Plus, I have three varieties of rice at the moment.  The changes make it more like an Indian dish, but not an actual one you can find in an Indian cookbook.  It's kind of like a chicken kofta curry.  The sauce tastes like an Indian version of marinara.  I highly recommend sneaking a little curry powder into your next batch for a little kick.

More than that, this is a celebration that a second batch of potato nachos finished off the 10 pound bag before they spoiled!  Kind of weird to have Indian food on Cinco de Mayo, but I really had to move up the nachos on my menu calendar to keep from wasting food.  I threw a generous splash of tequila in the pan after toasting the spices, but I'm not adding alcohol to this recipe.  It was really more about forgetting to buy a lime to garnish, and using the tequila as that flavor profile.  I'm not standing in a grocery line for one item.

The recipe is supposed to have spinach in it.  I do have some in the freezer, but decided to use the greens off a carrot I pulled just to see how big the older ones were getting.  Carrot tops also make a good substitute for parsley and other light herbs.

Meatballs
*1 lb ground chicken
1/4 C panko breadcrumbs
*1 green onion, finely chopped
1 Tb fresh cilantro, finely chopped
*1 tsp grated ginger
*1 clove garlic, minced
*1 egg
1 tsp fish sauce or liquid smoke
1/2 tsp kosher salt

1.  Combine all ingredients in a bowl and knead gently until evenly mixed.  Refrigerate while you prepare the sauce ingredients, about half an hour.

2.  Start preheating oven to 400º.  Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.  Roll 1 oz balls of meat mixture, 16 in total.

3.  Bake 25-30 minutes, until cooked through and lightly golden.  This is when your sauce and rice should be ready.

Sauce
1 Tb oil
1 C diced onion
*1 clove garlic, minced
*1 tsp grated ginger
*2 tsp curry powder
1 15oz can light coconut milk
1 tsp brown sugar
*1/4 C tomato paste
*3 C spinach or other leafy green
*mint for garnish
lime or lemon wedges for serving
rice for serving

1.  Start cooking your rice according to package directions.  Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.

2.  Add garlic, ginger, curry powder, brown sugar, and tomato paste to the pan.  Stir into the onion and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes.

3.  Add coconut milk to pan and bring to a simmer.  Stir until seasoned tomato paste dissolves into the coconut milk.  Stir in spinach and cook until wilted.

4.  When meatballs come out of the oven, peel off the parchment and add to the skillet.  Coat in sauce and serve hot over rice, garnished with fresh mint or cilantro and a citrus wedge on the side.

Difficulty rating  :)