Lamb-Almond Dumplings in a Tomato Cream Sauce

Ground lamb was on sale the last time I was in the grocery store, so of course I couldn't pass it up. The flavours in this dish were perfectly balanced. Serve with the buttery basmati rice for an amazing meal.

I made a couple of mistakes with this recipe and forgot the chopped red onion. I also thought this recipe didn't need cumin seeds and used all of them making the rice (apparently cumin seeds now don't last much more than a month around me!), so I added a bit of ground cumin to the meat mixture instead. I'd recommend following the recipes, but it's not the end of the world if you have ground cumin instead.

One year ago: Red Lentil and Chickpea Soup

Lamb-Almond Dumplings in a Tomato Cream Sauce (from 660 Curries)

Ingredients
450g lean ground lamb
1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
1/4 cup slivered blanched almonds, ground
1/4 cup firmly packed fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh cilantro
6 medium-size cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tbsp Punjabi garam masala
1 1/2 tsp coarse kosher salt
2 tbsp ghee
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 cup canned tomato sauce (I used strained tomatoes)
1/2 tsp cardamom seeds, ground
1/2 tsp cayenne
1/2 cup heavy cream

1. Combine lamb, onions, almonds, mint, cilantro, garlic, garam masala, and salt in a medium bowl. Divide into 12 equal portions and shape into a meatball.
2. Heat ghee in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add cumin seeds and cook until they sizzle and smell nutty, 5 - 10 seconds.
3. Add meatballs to the pan in a single layer. Cook, gently shaking every 2 - 3 minutes until they are evenly browned, 5 - 8 minutes. Transfer meatballs to plate.
4. Pour tomato sauce into skillet and scrape bottom to deglaze. Stir in cardamom and cayenne.
5. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally until a thin film of oil starts to form, 5 - 8 minutes.
6. Stir in cream.
7. Add meatballs to skillet and spoon sauce over them. Cover skillet and simmer, basting occasionally, until meatballs are light pink in center, 10 - 15 minutes. Serve.