Melt-in-your-mouth tender beef meatballs poached in a sweet and spicy coconut curry sauce and served with a drizzle of creamy mascarpone. They will blow your mind for only 15 minutes of hands-on prep!
These meatballs came about sort of by accident. I made seared tuna steaks with coconut curry sauce and had leftover sauce. I did the best thing you can do with leftovers – turn them into something new and exciting!
Making the coconut curry sauce
The coconut curry sauce it simple. I sautéed the aromatics, then added the vegetables, coconut milk and water and simmered for 15 minutes.
Ingredients for the coconut curry sauce
- 1 – 1.5 cans of coconut milk*
- 1 yellow pepper
- 2 medium sized fresh tomatoes
- 1 large yellow onion or 2-3 smaller ones
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 1.5 cm piece of fresh ginger
- 2 tablespoons of fresh cilantro, plus more for garnish
- 2 red chillies or 1/2 a fresh jalapeno (you can also use the rest as garnish)
- 1 tablespoon of coconut oil
- 2 tablespoons of curry powder
Once everything was soft I blended it all together until smooth and then returned it to the skillet and turned the heat back on at medium.
* I used 1.5 cans of coconut milk because the remaining 1/2 can went into coconut lime rice. If you don’t plan on using the remaining 1/2 can then you can either only use 1 can of coconut milk and replace the rest with water or use a full 2 cans of coconut milk for a really flavourful and rich sauce.
This recipe makes about 2.5 – 3 cups of coconut curry sauce.
It’s a great make-ahead flavour enhancer – freeze it to have a tasty sauce ready on busy weeknights.
Making the meatballs
To save time, make the meatballs while the coconut curry sauce is simmering. Mix the ingredients together in a bowl and shape them into golf ball sized meatballs.
- 900 grams / 2 lbs ground beef (or substitute other ground meat)
- 1 red onion, finely diced
- 4 heaping tablespoons breadcrumbs
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup plain yogurt
- 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, finely chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic, mashed
- 1 cm piece of ginger, mashed
- 1-2 hot red chillies, finely sliced and seeds removed
- 2 teaspoons curry powder
- 2 teaspoons garam masala
- 1.5 teaspoons salt
Normally when making meatballs I fry them and then simmer them in sauce. In this case though I wanted to save time so I simmered the meatballs from raw and holy wow – they came out melt-in-your-mouth tender!
Amazing results and time savings is my jam.
After blending the coconut curry sauce and putting it back in the skillet, heat over medium heat until lightly bubbling. Gently put each meatball into the hot sauce – if the sauce is cold when you put the meatballs in they could sag and lose their shape before they have a chance to set.
After about 5 minutes of simmering, flip each meatball and then cover and simmer on medium-low heat for about 30 minutes.
Serving the coconut curry meatballs
While the meatballs are simmering you may want to make some basmati like I did.
Pro tip: To add a bit of low-effort pizzaz to your basmati: heat a teaspoon of cumin seeds in 1 tablespoon of butter or ghee until aromatic and then add the rice and toast it until lightly browned before adding water.
When you’re ready to serve you can make a quick cream sauce. Spoon out 2-3 tablespoons of the cooking sauce and mix it with 2-3 tablespoons of mascarpone or cream cheese. You may want to use a fork to mix the mascarpone/cream cheese before combining it with the sauce so you can get a really smooth cream that’s free of lumps.
Drizzle on the cream sauce and then garnish with more chopped cilantro.
Creamy Coconut Curry Meatballs
Melt-in-your-mouth tender beef meatballs poached in a sweet and spicy coconut curry sauce and served with a drizzle of creamy mascarpone. They will blow your mind for only 15 minutes of hands-on prep!
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 30
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Main
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Caribbean
Ingredients
Coconut Curry Sauce
- 1 – 1.5 cans of coconut milk*
- 1 yellow pepper
- 2 medium sized fresh tomatoes
- 1 large yellow onion or 2–3 smaller ones
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 1.5 cm piece of fresh ginger
- 2 tablespoons of fresh cilantro, plus more for garnish
- 2 red chillies or 1/2 a fresh jalapeno (you can also use the rest as garnish)
- 1 tablespoon of coconut oil
- 2 tablespoons of curry powder
Meatballs
- 900 grams / 2 lbs ground beef (or substitute other ground meat)
- 1 red onion, finely diced
- 4 heaping tablespoons breadcrumbs
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup plain yogurt
- 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, finely chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic, mashed
- 1 cm piece of ginger, mashed
- 1–2 hot red chillies, finely sliced and seeds removed
- 2 teaspoons curry powder
- 2 teaspoons garam masala
- 1.5 teaspoons salt
Garnish (optional)
- 2–3 tablespoons of the sauce from the skillet
- 2–3 tablespoons of mascarpone or cream cheese
- 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh cilantro
Instructions
Prepare the coconut curry sauce: sautéed the aromatics in coconut oil until fragrant, then added the vegetables, coconut milk and water and simmer for 15 minutes.
Prepare the meatballs: while the coconut curry sauce is simmering, mix all the meatball ingredients in a bowl until evenly combined and then shape into golf-ball sized meatballs.
Blend the coconut curry sauce: Once the vegetables are soft, remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes then blend until smooth.
Cook the meatballs in the sauce: Return the sauce back to the skillet. If it’s too thin, add up to a 1/2 cup of water keeping in mind that it will reduce more as the meatballs simmer. Turn the heat on medium and once the sauce is lightly bubbling*, add the meatballs. Cook for 5 minutes on one side and then flip each meatball. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for about 30 minutes.
Garnish: Spoon out 2-3 tablespoons of the cooking sauce and mix it with 2-3 tablespoons of mascarpone or cream cheese. You may want to use a fork to mix the mascarpone/cream cheese before combining it with the sauce so you can get a really smooth cream that’s free of lumps. Drizzle this on the meatballs along with some chopped fresh cilantro.
Notes
* The meatballs should be added to hot sauce so they set immediately and keep their shape.
Keywords: coconut curry meatballs
If you like this meatball recipe, you may also like my Sweet & Spicy Hoisin Freezer Meatballs.
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