VEGAN Curried ‘meatless’ Meatballs

If you crave the chewy texture of meat, & lentil meatballs just didn’t make the cut, these VEGAN Curried ‘meatless’ Meatballs are the answer.

This post was sponsored by Better Than Bouillon as part of an Influencer Activation for Influence Central and all opinions expressed in my post are my own.

One of my favorite things that my mother would cook for us were chicken meatballs. She made them with mutton too sometimes, but ever since I lost taste for mutton at age 12, it almost exclusively became chicken. The entire house smelled of spices and she saved the oil used to deep fry the meatballs to flavor other dishes. Everything that this oil touched turned divine.

Since leaving home, I’ve missed those meatballs a lot, and even more so since becoming vegan, because it meant that I can’t have them even when I went back home.

Until now.

Soya Chunks (or Textured Vegetable Protein – TVP) have long been a part of the Indian diet – in a largely vegetarian country, simply swapping meat with these meat-like chunks made life a little bit easier when cooking for guests of varied diets. But they always lacked that distinctive flavor of meat, something that only a meat-eater can discern.

While I was happy to jump to this substitution in my new plant-based life, I still missed the meaty flavor in my life, and for a long time, refused to admit it.

But I think I’ve figured out a work around to my problem.

Enter Better than Bouillon – concentrated flavor pastes that either become broths/stocks when diluted in water, or add a punch of taste to a marinade, curry, roasts and anything else you want made extra special with little effort.

In addition to their line of meaty, premium, organic and low-sodium flavors, they have a line of vegetarian flavors, some of which mimic the taste of meat using just plant-based sources – Vegetable, Roasted Garlic, Organic Vegetable, Vegetarian No Beef Base, Vegetarian No Chicken Base. Can you hear the hallelujah chorus in your head just yet?

The way you use a Soya chunk (TVP) is you re-hydrate them, squeeze out the extra flavor (don’t skip this step) then add them to your recipe of choice. While they are head-on in terms of meaty texture, they are not so great in the taste department. And that is where Better than Bouillon comes in.

I used a broth made with Better than Bouillon Vegetarian ‘No Chicken’ base  and used it to hydrate the TVP. I also used the paste to flavor both the curried ‘meatless’ meatball mixture and the curry sauce that was spooned over, and was blown away with how much it tasted like my mom’s chicken meatballs!

Unlike Bouillon cubes, which besides not coming in plant-based meaty flavors, sometimes make more broth/stock than I care to use. And once opened, the cubes tend to dry out, and get all gritty, take forever to dissolve back. With Better than Bouillon, I have none of those issues, and I can use exactly what I need, even without having to hydrate it.

It will forever be a constant fixture in my pantry, and I cannot wait to discover more and more ways to incorporate it into my cooking, where flavor is paramount.

Scroll down to the end of the post for a chance to win Better than Bouillon products to try for yourself!

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VEGAN Curried 'meatless' Meatballs

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 45 minutes mins

Servings: 3

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

  

For rehydrating the Soya Chunks

• 1 cup Soya Chunk (TVP - link in post)
• 1 cup hot water
• 1 tsp Better than Bouillon Vegetarian 'No Chicken' base

For flavoring the meatball

• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 0.5 yellow onion, chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic, grated
• 1 " ginger, grated
• 1 green chilli, chopped
• 1 tsp Better than Bouillon Vegetarian 'No Chicken' base
• 0.5 tsp red chilli powder/paprika (optional)
• 0.25 tsp ground turmeric (optional)
• 0.125 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp curry powder
• Salt, to taste
• 2 -3 sprigs of mint leaves, finely chopped
• 5 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp Garlic and Herb breadcrumbs
• 1 tsp cornstarch/cornflour

Others

• Vegetable Oil, for deep-frying

For the curry sauce

• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 bay leaf
• 0.25 stick cinnamon
• 0.5 yellow onion
• 0.5 " ginger
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 3 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp Better than Bouillon Vegetarian 'No Chicken' base
• 0.5 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp curry powder
• Leftover broth from rehydrating the Soya chunks
• Salt, to taste

Method

 

Prep the Soya Chunks

1. Stir in the Better than Bouillon paste into the hot water to make a broth. Pour over the Soya chunks and let sit for 15 minutes or until they soak in the broth and turn soft and plump. Squeeze the broth out of the chunks (do not discard the broth) transfer to a blender jar.
2. Pulse the soya chunks in the blender until shredded (not too fine). Set aside.

Prep the meatballs

1. In a heavy-bottomed skillet, heat some oil and saute the chopped onion, ginger, garlic, green chilli until the onions are browned.
2. Add the Better than Bouillon paste, spices and season with salt to taste. Continue cooking until the raw smell of the spices dissipate and everything is fragrant. Remove from heat, stir in the chopped mint and set aside to cool slightly.
3. Add the shredded Soya chunks, flour, breadcrumbs and cornstarch to the skillet and stir everything together to combine.
4. Adding one teaspoon of broth at a time, combine until you can press a ball of the mixture in your palms and it forms a tight ball that doesn't collapse. Do not add more broth than necessary. If you do, add more flour to thicken and adjust seasoning.

Make the curry

1. In the same blender that you used to shred the soya chunks, combine the onion, ginger, garlic, Better than Bouillon paste and tomato paste. Blend until smooth.
2. In a small saucepan, heat a little vegetable oil, and add the bayleaf and cinnamon. Once fragrant, reduce heat, and add the blended paste (careful of splatters), spices, cover and cook until fragrant.
3. Add all of the leftover broth to this mixture, continue to cook until reduced to a saucy consistency. Season with salt, to taste. Remove from heat and set aside.

Deep-fry the meatballs

1. In a small saucepan/skillet, heat some oil for deep-frying.
2. Drop in one 'meatless' meatball and fry until golden brown. Do not move too much, it may fall apart. If it does, the mixture needs more flour to bind.
3. If the meatball held it's shape, continue frying the rest.
4. Serve the meatballs over a bowl of noodles/pasta, spooned with a generous helping of the curry sauce.