Spicy Minced Meat Rice Balls

 Spicy Minced Meat  Rice Balls can be a meal or a treat. This is a Nigerian meal idea that is great as packed lunch. It was a long weekend in Nigeria and I took time out to create this new recipe which will feature quite a bit on my menu.

In between annual vacation one sometimes needs a break beyond the two day weekends.  The last Eid El Kabir public holiday in Nigeria is what I can best describe as a ‘ Jollof weekend’ …Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday! Four days holiday, waking up late, having a great breakfast without rushing through it, staying fully indoors, tiding those parts of the house I have been putting off, reading and of course cooking….. Hmm you will think I have just had a one week holiday as I have been able to squeeze in so many things into these 4 days.

My most satisfaction came from tiding up my son’ s room which I have converted into my box room and shoes room, as my son has since left home for university. The family at some point complain of how I have occupied every room in the house but my reason has always been that I need to air each room, so my keeping personal items in each room is my way of airing the rooms as I have to go in and out of these rooms during the week. I am not sure anyone believes me but who cares….

It is unbelievable the number of things I gave out to relations that visited over this holiday. My sister-in-law actually said she felt she had just walked out of a store. I felt so good giving out some shoes and other items and the clean air in the room is so satisfying. It is amazing how much we could actually give out to meet other people’s needs.  Another weekend is around the corner search through your wardrobe and trust me there are lots of items there that will bring smiles to other people’s face.

Over this weekend, I also tried out lots of recipes, here is one of them; Spicy Minced Meat Rice Balls. This is simply a treat that I have used common food ingredients to come up with….. Rice used for tuwon, minced meat, Suya pepper( Yaji ) , groundnuts, ginger, garlic. My little niece and nephew came by right after I prepared this and they where asking for second helpings and suggested to their mum to make it for them to take to school. Looks like this could be a lunch box idea also. Enjoy

Recipe for Spicy Minced Meat Rice Balls

Ingredients
1 cup Jasmine Rice (Rice used for Tuwon Shinkafa)
1 cup Minced Meat
1/2 cup  finely ground Groundnut( not as smooth as peanut butter)
1 1/2 teaspoons Suya Pepper( Yaji)
1/2 teaspoon Ginger powder
Dry Pepper to taste
1 cooking spoon Vegetable oil
2 lobes of Garlic( crushed and chopped)
Two table spoons Onion( finely chopped)
Seasoning to taste
Salt to taste
I Egg
 Bread crumbs to coat balls

Making the Minced Meat
1, Season the meat with dry pepper, seasoning, salt and ginger powder
2,Heat the oil, fry the onion and garlic till soft but not brown
3, Add the minced meat and Yaji and continue cooking for about 5 minutes stirring through to separate the meat so it comes out in tiny balls not big lumps.
4, After 5 minutes cover the pot or pan and cook for another 8 minutes .
5, Taste and check for seasonings , set meat aside when cooked

Making the Rice
1, Wash and boil the rice with a little salt till very soft
2, Mash into a paste, almost like a swallow. When I did mine I was in such a hurry that I did not mash it sufficiently . The ball will hold together better when the mash is smother

Making the Spicy Minced Meat Rice Balls

Kitchen tip:  this step has to be done quick whilst the rice is hot
1, Mix together the rice, minced meat and ground nut very well
2, Quickly mould the paste into balls. When the rice is cold it will not come together easily .
3, Beat the egg, and add a pinch of salt
4, Roll each ball gently in the egg, lift out and roll gently in bread crumbs
5, Allow the balls to rest for about 5 minutes before frying off
6,Heat Oil till very hot and fry the balls a few time till golden brown.
7, Drain off on kitchen tissue and serve with Chilli sauce or stew with some fried plantain
8, Enjoy the crunchiness of the balls on the outside and the savoury flavour of  meat and rice on the inside.