Better Than Takeout Butter Chicken Meatballs

• 24 chicken meatballs - see notes to make them homemade
• 1 onion - chopped
• 2 cloves garlic - peeled and minced
• 2 cm fresh ginger - grated
• 1 1/2 tbsp garam masala
• 2 tsp mild curry powder
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper - more or less depending on how spicy you like it
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 can 400 g passata - you can use canned whole peeled tomatoes or chopped tomatoes
• 1 can 400 ml full fat coconut milk
• 125 g greek yoghurt
• 50 g butter

Extra virgin olive oil

Salt

• Rice - Basmati or Jazmin are my preference here, to serve

Naan - or bazlama or pita, to serve

Parsley - or cilantro, chopped, to serve

• 500 g ground chicken
• 1 L egg
• 3 tbsp breadcrumbs

Salt and black pepper

Flour or breadcrumbs to coat (optionally)

1. Preheat the oven to 230C (fan assisted, 250C no fan) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Place the meatballs on the backing sheet with a gap between them (see notes to make them homemade), drizzle a bit of olive oil over then and bake for 5 minutes. Flip the and bake for another 5 minutes (they don’t need to be cooked through, we will cook them in the sauce later).
3. While the meatballs are baking, heat some olive oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Add the onion, cook it for a couple of minutes and season it with salt. When it’s translucent, add the garlic and ginger, mix well and cook for 5 more minutes (probably at this point the meatballs are already done, don’t forget about them!).
4. Add the spices and cook for about 1 minute so as to enhance their flavour.
5. Add the tomato paste, passata and coconut milk. Rinse the cans with water (about half can full of water) and add this to the sauce. Mix it all well and let it simmer for 5 minutes at medium heat.
6. Blend the sauce and return it into the pan. Stir in the yoghurt and butter and once the butter has melted add the meatballs. Coat them well with the sauce and let it cook all together for 10 minutes so the sauce thickens and the meatballs absorve the flavours.
7. Serve with rice, naan and a bit of chopped parsley or cilantro. Enjoy!
8. In a bowl mix the chicken, egg and bread crumbs with salt and pepper. Shape the meatballs by roughly using 1,5 tbsp of meat mix each time (I use an ice-cream scoop), coat them in flour or breadcrumbs optionally and place them onto the baking sheet as you form them. Continue from step 2.