Spicy Indian Turkey Meatballs

I've been making this recipe for about 6 months, and we are in love.  It's funny because the the inspiration recipe was this one.  The original was a chickpea "meatball" in the sauce, not meat at all. We were at our cabin, and I had limited ingredients, so I made it like this below.

I've made this with combinations of ground turkey, pork or beef and frankly each is very yummy! The sauce is the part that is so flipping delicious.  You could serve it over rice, or cauliflower rice, or even as an appetizer meatball.  You might need some Naan bread to help wipe up every last drop of the sauce. Yum!

A couple of EDITS- 1) Feel free to increase the seasoning if you like it spicier!  2) We ate the leftovers for a late breakfast with a sunnyside up fried egg with a runny yolk. Exceedingly yummy!

Serves 4-5

Ingredients

Meatballs:

20 oz ground turkey (or mixture of pork, turkey or beef)

1 egg

1/4 cup minced cilantro

1 Tbsp minced fresh jalapeno

1 cup chopped spinach (optional)

1/2 Tbsp fresh ground ginger

1 Tbsp minced garlic 

1 tsp salt

Sauce:

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 Tbsp minced shallots, or onions

1 Tbsp minced garlic

1/2 Tbsp fresh ground ginger

1 Tbsp minced fresh jalapeno

1 can petite minced diced tomatoes

1 can 15 oz tomato sauce

1 cup chopped spinach (optional)

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp garam masala, or curry powder

Salt to taste

Yogurt or sour cream for serving (optional)

Mince up the spinach, cilantro, jalapeno, ginger and the garlic, divide into half (1/2 for meatballs, half for sauce).

Mix ground meat well with beaten egg, spinach, cilantro, jalapeno, ginger, garlic and salt.  Set aside.

In a large low saute pan, add olive oil, onions, garlic and jalapeno. Saute until they start to soften, add ginger, cumin, turmeric and garam masala (or curry powder).  Stir to "warm" the spices, then add the tomato sauce, and petite diced tomatoes.  Bring to a soft boil, and taste to check seasoning.  Add more spices if you like it spicier, or just salt to taste.  Reduce to medium heat. Roll meat mixture into balls and drop in the simmering mixture (or even use a small cookie/ice cream scoop to drop the meat mixture into the simmering sauce.  Using a spoon, gently nudge each meatball into the sauce.  Cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes. Right before serving, add the fresh chopped spinach. Serve over rice, over cauliflower rice, or even on it's own.  

You can top with a dollop of yogurt and cilantro, if desired.

Add the egg, the spinach and the seasonings (turmeric, garam masala, salt....XXX)

Mix well. 

Mix half of the ginger, garlic and jalapenos in a saute pan with a bit of olive oil over medium heat until they start to wilt a bit.