Surprisingly delicious and tender meatballs with semolina at home. Step-by-step recipe with a photo. The subtleties of cooking. Video recipe.
Meatballs are the simplest and cheapest dish. Their difference from cutlets is insignificant. The difference is that the meatballs are stewed in a fragrant tomato sauce, sometimes with the addition of sour cream. You can cook them, like cutlets, in different ways, with the addition of bread or buns, bread crumbs or semolina / oatmeal, boiled rice or raw grated potatoes. There are a lot of recipes for their preparation. Thanks to stewing meatballs in a sauce, they are soft, juicy, tender and more uniform in composition than cutlets. The meatballs are served with the gravy or sauce in which they were cooked.
In this recipe, I added semolina instead of rice to minced meat. It additionally connects all products with each other. For an everyday dinner, such meatballs with semolina in tomato sauce are a tasty, quick and satisfying hot dish. You do not have to wait until the rice is cooked, which will save you time for cooking. Semolina is added to the minced meat and the meatballs can be fried immediately. They will become soft and juicy when stewed in a sauce. It is important to make sure that there is a sufficient amount of sauce, especially if you serve buckwheat or boiled rice as a side dish.
- Caloric content per 100 g - 52 kcal.
- Servings - 15
- Cooking time - 1 hour 15 minutes
Ingredients:
- Assorted meat for minced meat - 500-600 g
- Bulb onions - 2 pcs. medium size
- Chicken egg - 2 pcs.
- Semolina - 3-4 tablespoons
- Tomato paste - 4-6 tablespoons
- Salt - 1 tsp or to taste
- Spices and herbs to taste
- Vegetable oil - for frying
- Garlic - 2 cloves
- Sugar - 1 tsp
- Ground black pepper - pinch or to taste
Step by step cooking meatballs with semolina:
1. Peel and wash onions and garlic. Then grind them. This can be done in several ways: mince, grate, chop very finely with a knife, or chop in a blender.
2. Wash the meat, dry it with a paper towel and twist it as well. To prevent minced meat for meatballs from turning out to be dry or fatty, take two or more types of meat. For example, pork and beef, pork and chicken. Take arbitrary proportions, but usually take equal parts of both.
3. Drive in the eggs to make the meatballs stronger. before stewing, they are pre-fried. I have two eggs because they are small in size. If you have large eggs, one is enough.
Although eggs can not be added to this recipe, because semolina will bond products well. But then you need to do one trick for better adhesion of the mass - to beat off the finished minced meat on the table or board, so that when you hit the surface you hear a resounding slap. This technique will keep the meatballs in shape and prevent them from falling apart during further cooking.
4. Add semolina, salt, black pepper and spices to the minced meat. As a spice, I use ground nutmeg, ground paprika, and meat seasoning.
5. Stir the meatballs well until smooth. It is better to do this with wet hands, passing it between your fingers.
6. Moisten your hands with water and form round meatballs about 5 cm in diameter, for children cook small ones - up to 3 cm in diameter.
7. Place the tomato paste in a deep bowl, salt, add sugar and pepper. I put in some more ground ginger.
You can also buy ready-made tomato puree for a recipe or cook it yourself from fresh tomatoes. To do this, remove the skins from the tomatoes by scalding them with boiling water, and chop the pulp with a blender or grate.
8. Pour drinking water over the tomato and stir until smooth with a fork or whisk.
nine. Pour vegetable oil into a skillet with a thick bottom and heat well. Then lay out the meatballs. Fry them lightly on one side until golden brown. Turn over and fry slightly on the other side until firm golden brown and crisp.
10. Add tomato paste to the pan, it should cover the meatballs by more than half, and it is better to fill it with water to the top, because semolina will absorb a lot of water. Add half a glass of water if needed. Optionally, add onion-carrot frying to the gravy.
Bring the sauce to a boil, cover the skillet with a lid, reduce heat and simmer for 20-25 minutes. Serve ready-made meatballs with semolina with boiled rice or mashed potatoes, sprinkling with tomato sauce.
