Oooh I had never cooked with Garam Masala before and wow this Lamb Meatball Stew turned out smashingly good! It made my kitchen smell so savory! I gave some away to a few friends to try and got 2 huge, yummy thumbs up. Like mmmm…hmmmmm while chewing. You know me I’m a feeder….that’s what I do. Wow though the meatballs cook separately and somehow didn’t even fall apart and I didn’t use an egg or breadcrumbs or anything. I bought my Garam Masala from a local Middle Eastern market and they THANKED Â me for supporting them. Seriously it’s a thing to do and worth your trip to support independent grocers in your area. I found other goodies in that store as well that made my tummy so happy. If you haven’t been introduced to Garam Masala before, here is a great rundown.
Look at how thick and rich this stew turned out! It was hearty enough to be filling and filling enough to feel hearty. My heart was happy anyway. I honestly wanted to make something with the last of the mint in my garden before a hard frost killed them….that was last night. It’s definitely a warm, comforting stew that will please your senses immensely. It’s somewhat hearty but not overly filling. Lamb stew isn’t typically prepared with cauliflower and carrots, but I wanted it to resemble what beef stew is, and who doesn’t need more veggies in their diet??
Yes I did blanch my own tomatoes and then stew them. You can cheat and use canned, stewed tomatoes but I am hell bent on using the ones from my garden as they ripen in the windowsill….ahhh November.
It’s that easy once you blanch them for 30 seconds…score the skin on the tomato and peel the skin right off. Just don’t do what I did next….
I KNOW I’m insane and I did try and peel, squeeze, juice these little guys and added them to the pot of tomatoes stewing. These squirted all over my kitchen…good excuse to deep clean if you ask me but honesty don’t.
The beauty that are these garden fresh tomatoes. Towards the end I did add a bit of tomato paste to thicken the sauce up. If you use canned, stewed tomatoes you might be ok without it.
Then I added the cauliflower and carrots. I used baby carrots and sliced them pretty thinly. This was at the point where I added the meatballs to the cast iron pan. They didn’t get overcooked and soaked up all of the lovely Garam Masala seasonings. I can still smell it. I also added fresh mint here, which is optional.
What happened here is onions caramelizing with minced ginger added in the mix right before the lamb meatballs were added to the pan. Ooooh the flavors!
This is what the lamb meatballs look like once they are cooked. Then transfer them to the stew and let them soak up a bit of the juices and serve. It was really quite easy.
Song for the Prep: Back of a Car by Big Star
I brought a serving of this to a few friends, one of whom ate this in his car. No one wants to share this, it’s just that good. Nah but it’s funny. Plus this album is a classic…listen to the whole thing while you roll some meatballs.
Lamb Meatball Stew
- November 5, 2021
- 1 hr
- Print this
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground lamb meat
- 2 T olive oil
- 2 T ginger, minced
- 8 tomatoes, stewed OR 1 (14.5 oz) can of stewed tomatoes
- 1 medium white onion, chopped
- 3 C cauliflower florettes
- 3 C baby carrots, chopped thinly
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 T garam masala
- 1 T brown sugar
- 2 C chicken bone broth (or just broth)
- 2 T tomato paste (less or more for consistency)
- 1/3 C fresh mint
- Sour cream dollop for garnish (optional)
- Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
- Step 1
- Blanch tomatoes in boiling water for 30 seconds. Score the skin with a knife and peel. Cut into chunks and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Step 2
- Meanwhile mix the lamb meat with 1 T of the garam masala. In a cast iron skillet add 2 T olive oil, heat and add onion. Cook over medium-low heat until it starts to char a bit. Then add 1 T of the minced ginger, cook for about 30 seconds and add the meatballs to the pan as you roll them, working quickly. Turn meatballs every few minutes until fully cooked through, about 6-8 minutes.
- Step 3
- While the meatballs are cooking, add the broth, cauliflower, and carrots, 1 T garam masala, brown sugar, remaining minced ginger, and the garlic to the tomatoes that are stewing.
- Step 4
- Add salt and pepper while it cooks and don’t forget to take some tastes to make sure it is enough but not too much. If the stew is runny, add tomato paste until it is thick enough to be stew-like.
- Step 5
- Once the meatballs are done cooking, add them to the stew and cook for 3 more minutes so that they soak up some of the flavor.
- Step 6
- Serve with fresh mint as garnish and optional sour cream.
