Herby Chicken Kofta Meatballs

These meatballs have a nice sweetness to them from the double cooking of the onion, allowing you to go to town with garlic in the yogurt sauce.

These meatballs are everything I’m looking for: filling but not too filling, flavorful but not crazy garlicky or spicy. Insanely easy, they cook quickly and can be eaten atop a salad or in a pita. They freeze really well, so double (triple? quadruple?) the recipe and sit pretty for a month. 

Adaptations: use ground turkey or pork in place of chicken, based on what you have/what looks good/what’s on sale

Meatballs adapted, very slightly, from Epicurious

Ingredients

Meatballs

1 medium yellow onions, coarsely chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
3 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
1/8 cup plus 1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
1 teaspoons ground cumin
3/4 teaspoons ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 cup parsley leaves with tender stems
1/2 cup mint leaves
1 pound ground chicken

Yogurt Sauce

3/4 cup plain yogurt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh herbs (use whatever you had; I used dill, but parsley or mint would be perfectly good)
Salt and pepper, to taste

Preparation

Prepare the meatballs: Preheat oven to 425°F. Pulse yellow onions and garlic in a food processor until very finely chopped.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Add chopped onion and garlic, season with 1/4 tsp. salt, and cook, stirring, until softened and lightly browned, 10–15 minutes. Add cumin, coriander, and red pepper and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 30–60 seconds. Scrape into a large bowl and let cool slightly.

Wipe out food processor and add parsley and mint. Pulse until finely chopped, then transfer to bowl with onion mixture. Add chicken and remaining 3/4 tsp. salt to bowl with onion mixture. Mix with your hands to combine, but do not overwork. Divide into 16 equal portions (about a scant 1/3 cup per kofta). Shape into 3 1/2x2" "footballs" with tapered ends.

Arrange patties on a rimmed baking sheet and roast, flipping halfway through, until chicken is cooked through and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center registers 165°F, about 8 minutes per side.

Make the yogurt sauce: Whisk all ingredients together in a small bowl. Season to taste.