Rice Meatballs With Lemony Thickening

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This Rice Meatballs With Lemony Thickening is really easy to prepare. The best thing about this recipe is that it is a whole meal. A soup and meatballs all are in the same plate. If you have fresh, soft bread next to it, everybody comes to the table, really quickly, to dive in. What else can a cook ask for?

You have probably read that there are many meatball recipes named after cities in Turkey, this meatball is not named after a city but it is from Çanakkale.

How to prepare rice meatballs?

Cook this meal just before serving. Otherwise the rice in it becomes too soft and sticky. However you are free to prepare the meatballs before hand and cook just before serving.

Use ground meat with around 12% fat. Add a grated or finely chopped onion and a few garlic cloves.

Rinse the rice until no starchy water is left and add to the meat.

Use parsley for color and taste.

Add salt, black pepper and cumin.

Knead everything just enough to make sure everything is well combined. Make small round meatballs.

Place them in a flat dish or a tray.

Coat with a thin layer of flour. Shake to remove excess flour.

How to cook the rice meatballs?

Bring water to boil in a pot.

Add salt.

Toss in the meatballs. Let cook until the rice is cooked. Taste a few to check.

How to add egg thickening to boiling water?

Separate the egg white into a small bowl. Whisk lightly with a pinch of salt. Add the lemon juice.

Then start adding the hot water in tablespoons, while vigorously whisking. This is important; if you do not mix, the egg will be cooked to fast and will look like white flakes in the sauce. Keep adding warm water until the mixture in the small bowl is warm.

Then add the now warm eggy mixture into the main pot while mixing. You are ready to serve!

This is a one pot meal. Perhaps you might want to add a plain pasta next to it, but not really necessary.

I hope you will try this easy recipe and enjoy. Do not forget to write to me about how yours turned out.

If you liked this recipe try my other meatball recipe next time: Meatballs With Rice: Kadınbudu Kofte .

Print Pin

Rice Meatballs with Lemony Thickening

This comes out very delicious. Kids love it.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Turkish

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 35 minutes minutes

Servings 4 servings

Calories 250kcal

Ingredients

Meat Balls

• 500 grams ground meat beef, flank
• 30 grams rice
• ½ bunch parsley – about 15 grams chopped
• 1 onion chopped
• 2 garlic cloves chopped
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• ½ teaspoon cumin
• 1 tablespoons flour

To boil

• 1 litre water
• ½ teaspoon salt

Lemon and Egg thickening

• 1 eggs
• 1 teaspoon lemon’s juice
• 1 pinch salt

Garnish

• 1 pinch dry mint flakes
• 4 lemon wedges
• 1 pinch fresh ground black pepper

Instructions

Meatballs

• First prepare the meatballs.
• Chop the onion, garlic and the parsley. You can use a food processor.
• The meat should be beef, from the flank part of the beef if possible, with 12% fat.
• Rinse and drain the rice.
• In a mixing bowl add the meat, onion, garlic, parsley, salt, pepper, cumin and rice. Knead until well combined about 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile boil about a litre of water with ½ teaspoon of salt.
• Make small meatballs from the meat and place them on a flat dish or tray. Sprinkle a tablespoons of flour. Make sure all the meatballs are covered with flour.
• When all the meatballs are ready, drop them into the boiling water. Cook until the rice in the meatballs are cooked. You can understand by the looks or by tasting one. Remove from the heat, when the rice is ready.
• While cooking if unpleasent looking bubbles come up, skim and discard them.

Lemon and Egg Thickening

• Separate an egg yolk. Whisk shortly after adding a pinch of salt.
• Then add lemon juice and mix again.
• Then add, while mixing, several spoons of hot water from the meatball pot. After the egg mixture is also warm, slowly add the egg mixture to the main pot, while mixing. Make sure you mix all the time, or else the eggs might get cooked too fast and will create an unpleasent look as if there are white flakes of eggs around the stock. Mix until the egg mixture is well combined. It will take only a minute.
• Serve warm with lemon wedges.
• Garnish with dry mint flakes, additional chopped parsley, fresh ground black pepper.

Notes

If possible cook this dish just before serving.

Follow all the steps of thickening to be successful. 

 

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