Sneaking in something new

I know the boys will eat meatballs. And they love naan bread. Rice is usually okay, if there is some kind of sauce involved. Sugar snap peas are considered fun - they like to squeeze out the peas first.

Knowing all this, I still took the risk of trying yet another new item on the family. Double risk, actually. First I didn't make butter chicken sauce for the meatballs, I used Tika Masala sauce instead. (And sorry but both that sauce and the butter chicken come from a jar, a President's Choice jar, and I'm currently okay with that!)

Then I got really daring and swapped out regular ground beef meatballs or chicken meatballs, both of which are on the good list, for meatballs made from ground lamb. Though I didn't tell them what I'd made the meatballs out of.

My oldest, pickiest eater, actually complimented me on the meatballs! There were no screams later when I told him he'd eaten lamb.

The general feeling on this was that it needed more sauce. Two jars instead of one. There wasn't enough sauce for dipping the naan into. Aside from that, it seems to have made the list of things I am allowed to make in the future.

Lamb and cauliflower curry

1 jar President's Choice Tika Masala sauce
1/2 head of cauliflower, cut into florettes
1 onion, divided
1 pound lean ground lamb
1 egg
1/3-1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup water
salt and pepper


Chop 1/4 of the onion finely, leaving the rest in big chunks. Combine the finely diced onion with the ground lamb, adding also the egg and 1/3 cup of bread crumbs and a generous pinch of both salt and pepper. Mix gently, hands are best, until well binded. If too sticky, add more breadcrumbs.

Preheat a non-stick skillet and the olive oil over medium high heat. While the pan is heating, form meatballs of the lamb mixture, then brown in the oil, turning to be sure to get all sides. Add the onion chunks and the cauliflower, mixing to combine. Add the jar of sauce to the pan, then rinse the inside of the jar with some water and add that water to the meatballs and sauce, stirring gently to combine. Reduce the heat and simmer gently with a lid on for about 10-15 minutes.

Serve with rice and warm naan bread.

If I make this again, not only will I use a second jar of sauce, I will also add some chopped cilantro to the sauce at the last minute. And maybe some green onions.