Chicken Meatballs in a simple tomato sauce

Do you still get excited when you buy things for the house??

I still get excited like a kid for his new toy. Waiting patiently till the men come to assemble the furnitures or until they get delivered. May be this is a little silly for many, but I would like to think it, as the inner child in me is still there, getting excited and happy for even the smallest things to happen and I would like to keep it that way. Forever trying to find happiness and joy in simple things in life.

This is Friday today. And Friday for me means meal planning. I will do all the prepping tomorrow. But as for the menu planning and the planning for the prep, as to what pastes and marinades I have to make or what vegetables I have to cut to give myself a head start when I start cooking, is all done. As I talk about meal prep, meatballs are a great thing to have inside the freezer. They are great as snack, in the salads or inside the curry. They are small and you can flavour them the way you like. I prefer mine a little Indianish, as I flavour them with garam masalas and all.

Fridays are also special, because this is the day when we do our grocery shopping. And shopping during the time of Corona means a lot than it used to mean earlier.  It means a lot of washing and cleaning as soon as you reach the home. But you have little choice in there.

Chicken Meatballs in a simple tomato sauce

Serves 4

Ingredients:

For the meatballs:

250gm minced chicken

1/2 small onion - finely chopped

3 fat cloves of garlic - finely minced

1/4 tsp homemade garam masala

1/4 cup panic breadcrumbs

2 tbsp parmiggiano-reggiano

salt & pepper

1/2 tsp dry red chilli flakes

2 tsp extra virgin olive oil

1 egg

For the sauce:

1/2 medium onion - finely chopped

A handful of basil leaves

1 can peeled and chopped tomatoes

3 fresh tomatoes - chopped

salt & pepper

4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup heavy cream

Method:

In a pan sweat the onions in olive oil.

When the onions become translucent add the garlic to it.

Saute for a minute or until the garlic becomes fragrant.

Transfer everything to a big bowl.

To the bowl add the minced chicken and the other ingredients for the meatballs.

Mix them generously.

Wrap the bowl with a cling film and toss it inside the fridge overnight.

In a saucepan or pot start heating up the garlic in olive oil.

After a minute add the onions and sauté until the onions become a little reddish.

Add the canned and fresh tomatoes to them.

Add salt and cook on low flame, covering the pot all the while, until the tomatoes become pulpy and mushy.

When the oil starts to ooze out from the tomatoes, put the meatballs in it, placing them individually, so that they don't go on top of one another, and keep cooking for 15 minutes more.

Stir the sauce gently, not breaking the meatballs.

Add cream to it and simmer for another 2-3 minutes.

Add pepper, basil leaves and the dry red chilli flakes.

Serve with a loaf of bread or just some plain steamed rice.