Lamb-Almond Dumplings with Tomato Cream Sauce

By Kath Dedon

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Lamb-Almond Dumplings with Tomato Cream Sauce is a fabulous recipe from Raghavan Iyer’s 660 Curries. I had a pound of ground lamb in the refrigerator and wanted to try something new with it. A search for “ground lamb” on eatyourbooks.com led me to the recipe. (If you have a large cookbook collection, as I do, a subscription to Eat Your Books is SO useful!)

The recipe uses ¼ cup ground slivered blanched almonds as a binder. I have some blanched almond flour so I used that. If I were to grind slivered almonds, I would probably use the coffee grinder that I use for a spice grinder. If you have a nut allergy, you might try grinding sunflower seeds instead.

In his tips, Iyer mentions that the ground almonds are the binder, but he says if the meatballs fall apart when you’re forming them, you can add a beaten egg to the meat mixture. With the almond flour, I found the egg was not necessary. The meat was easy to form into meatballs.

I did not make Iyer’s recipe for Punjabi garam masala to use in this recipe. Instead, I used Kashmiri garam masala from World Spice Merchants. The curry was absolutely delicious, but I am now curious to make it again with the garam masala that he recommends.

Lamb-Almond Dumplings with Tomato Cream Sauce is one of the best things I’ve made lately. Bob and I both loved it over cauliflower “rice”. I’m excited to have leftovers tonight!

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Lamb-Almond Dumplings with Tomato Cream Sauce

(Adapted from Raghavan Iyer’s recipe in 660 Curries)

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(print the recipe)

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Serves 4 – 6  (4 as a stand-alone main dish, 6 as part of a multicourse dinner)

1 pound ground lamb

½ cup finely chopped red onion

¼ cup slivered blanched almonds, ground (or blanched almond flour)

¼ cup fresh mint leaves, finely chopped

2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro leaves and tender stems

6 medium cloves of garlic, finely chopped

1 tablespoon garam masala

1½ teaspoons kosher salt (or 1¼ teaspoons table salt)

2 tablespoons oil (I used avocado oil.) or ghee

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 cup canned tomato sauce

½ teaspoon ground cardamom

½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

½ cup heavy whipping cream

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Cooked rice or Cauliflower “Rice”* for serving

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Ingredients: Lamb, blanched almond flour, mint, cumin seeds, coriander and cayenne, garlic, cilantro, red onion, cream, tomato sauce, and garam masala

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1. Mix the lamb, red onion, ground almonds (or almond flour), mint, cilantro, garlic, garam masala, and salt together in a bowl. (Using your clean hands is the easiest way to do it.) Form the mixture into 12 meatballs.

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2. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. When it is hot, add the oil or ghee. Add the cumin seeds and cook, stirring, for about 5 – 10 seconds. They’ll turn reddish brown and smell nutty.

 

3. Add the meatballs and cook, gently turning them, until they are evenly browned. This will take 5 – 8 minutes. Remove the meatballs to a plate.

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4. Stir in the tomato sauce and scrape the pan to deglaze it. Stir in the cardamom and cayenne. Lower the heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for about 5 – 8 minutes stirring occasionally. A thin layer of oil will form on the surface and on the sides.

5. Stir in the cream.

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6. Add the meatballs to the cream sauce and spoon some sauce over them. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Serve over rice or cauliflower “rice”.

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*Cauliflower “Rice”

1 small head cauliflower, leaves and tough core removed, and cut into smaller pieces

1 tablespoon butter

 

(You can use the grating disc with your food processor, if you have one. It’s very quick and easy. If you don’t have one, grate it by hand with a grater that you would use for cheese.)

 

1. Grate the cauliflower. (I did this step before I started the meatballs.)
2. While the meatballs are simmering in the sauce, heat a second skillet over medium heat. When it’s hot, add the butter. Add the cauliflower and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 – 4 minutes. Serve with the meatballs and sauce.

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