Old-fashioned Curry Banana Meatballs aka Kerriefrikkadelle

No-one really knows the origin of these rather exotically flavoured meatballs, but everybody loves them. That includes my fruit-loathing son, who’ll pack away an astonishing amount of kerriefrikkadelle given the opportunity.

I’ve fed them to foreigners too, expecting table rebellion, but plates were always polished and thirds asked for. Kerriefrikkadelle are delicious.

Truly and uniquely South African, curry banana meatballs combine the tangy sweet and sour, spicy, saucy curry elements we so love in our food. As sides I usually just serve plenty of hot white rice, a simple onion and tomato sambal and perhaps some good old Mrs Balls chutney. Cold kerriefrikkadelle make an awesome sandwich, too, layered between slices of thickly buttered white bread.

The word ‘meatball’ suggests something very mundane, which is why I love ‘frikkadelle’. Don’t they sound frisky and fun?

Frikkadelle – meatballs – are a staple on South African menus, especially when entertaining. A good frikkadel should give very resistance to the bite, crumbling easily apart in your mouth to reveal little morsels of tender, succulent and fragrantly spiced meat.

A bad frikkadel will make a lethal weapon as a bullet for a slingshot (who remembers ketties from our childhood?) and will put you off for life. Frikkadelle need tender loving care in the making: judicious spicing, a light forking to blend the meat and seasonings, and a gentle hand for rolling. No kneading and squeezing required or allowed at any time: that’ll get you hard and wizened little meat bullets.

On with the recipe. A kilo of mince feeds my family of four, but then that includes a big dude and a teenage dude for both eat for 3. I’d say you could feed 6 with this recipe if you added some vegetables and sides. Or bread and butter.

This recipe is adapted from South African culinary legend Peter Veldman’s iconic recipe book Kos vir die Eeu

Kerriefrikkadelle – Curry Banana Meatballs

Makes 24 frikkadelle roughly the size of ping-pong balls, or 12 large ones.

Be smart and start by mixing your sauce ingredients together, so you can just fling it into the pot with some water when needed.

Ingredients:

Frikkadelle/meatballs

1 large onion, minced very small or grated if your knife skills ain’t up to much

1 T (15 ml) sunflower oil

3 slices white bread, crusts removed, torn up and soaked in 1/4 cup (60 ml) milk for 20 minutes

1 egg, beaten

1 kg lean beef mince or a mix of ostrich and beef

3 T (45 ml) Mrs Ball’s chutney

2 T (30 ml) grape vinegar

2 t (10 ml) salt

ground white pepper to taste

1 T (15 ml) spice for mince

1/4 t (1 ml) grated fresh nutmeg

1 T (15 ml) Worcester sauce

Method:

1. Cook the finely chopped or grated onion in hot oil over medium heat until translucent and golden, but not brown, as this will make the onions bitter.
2. Once the bread has soaked up all the milk and turns mushy, place it in a sieve over a bowl and squeeze out all the milk into the bowl using the back of a dessert spoon. Add the bread pulp to the meat in a bowl.
3. Lightly fork the meat to break it up. Add all the ingredients and mix well using the fork. The seasonings and bread should be evenly dispersed through the meat. Don’t overwork the meat; this will turn your frikkadelle into meat bullets.
4. Using the cups of both hands, roll scoops of meat about the size of ping-pong balls into neat, round frikkadelle. They should not fall apart, but not be kneaded or squeezed into hard, compact balls either. You’ll get the hang of it by practising – you can always break up a miserable meatball and start all over again! Place the frikkadelle neatly in an baking dish deep enough to accommodate the topping of a layer of onions, sliced banana and the sauce. About 5 cm deep should do it. Cover with a cloth and keep in a cool place while you make the sauce. You can turn the oven on to 180 C at this stage.

Sauce:

The number of ingredients seem daunting, but rest assured the sauce is totally straighforward and easy-peasy to fling together. Basically you soften the onions in some hot oil, add the spices and seasonings, stir around the pot for 5 or 6 minutes, add the liquid and BAM! your sauce is 15 minutes away from done.

Ingredients:

1 T (15 ml) sunflower oil

1 T (15 ml) butter

2 large onions, peeled and sliced into thin rings

1 T (15 ml) crushed fresh garlic

1 T (15 ml) grated fresh ginger

1 t (5 ml) salt

1 heaping tablespoon mild curry powder (25 ml)

2 t (10 ml) turmeric powder

1/2 t (2.5 ml) ground cinnamon

1/4 t (1 ml) cayenne pepper (to taste)

6 T (75 ml) grape vinegar

4 T (60 ml) fine apricot jam

3 T (45 ml) chutney

2 T (30 ml) soft brown sugar

ground white pepper to taste

1 1/2 cup (375 ml) water

6 very ripe bananas, sliced thinly

Method:

1. Cook the onion rings in the hot oil over medium heat until translucent and golden. Do not let them brown, as this turns them bitter and you’ll have to start again.
2. Add the remaining ingredients up to but not including the vinegar. Stir briskly to blend and cook while stirring for another 5 or 6 minutes. Do not scorch the spices, rather turn the heat lower.
3. Add the vinegar, jam, sugar and water and stir well. Turn the heat up and cook at a brisk boil for 15 – 20 minutes until the onions are soft and the sauce has thickened slightly. I usually add 1 t (5 ml) Maizena (cornflour) stirred into a paste with 2 t (10 ml) water to the sauce, to help it thicken.
4. While the sauce is cooking, arrange the sliced bananas in an even layer over the meatballs. Pour over the sauce and bake in the oven at 180 C for 40 minutes, or until the top is nice and brown. Serve with plenty of hot white rice, onion and tomato sambal and some chutney on the side.