This delicious curry draws much of its flavor from the dried fenugreek leaves. I can’t really describe the flavor of fenugreek, other than it is similar to dried parsley with a musty, somewhat earthy taste. Although it is available in whole seeds and powder, I prefer using the dried leaf form of this spice in curries. Widely used in Iranian, and Indian cuisine, it is a nice backdrop flavor that adds something special to the other spice profile of this dish. I order mine on the internet, but if you’re lucky enough to have an Indian or Middle Eastern grocery in your city, they will surely have it. You can make this recipe without it, but it won’t be quite as unique in flavor, more like a lot of other curries you’ve had before………good, just not AS good. 
I like to make meatballs in big batches and freeze the leftovers for quick, easy meals in the future. Although this recipe of meatballs makes thirty 1½ meatballs, I only cooked 9 tonight in my gravy and found that 3 (plus 2 large spoons of gravy) made a nice serving over some cooked cauliflower “rice”. My husband ate 4 meatballs. The two leftover (with a couple spoons of sauce) will make a nice lunch one day for someone.
MEATBALL INGREDIENTS: Makes 30 (but leftovers are even better!)
24 oz. (1½ lb.) lean ground pork
18 oz. chicken breast (mine was skin on and bone-in, use only 16 oz. meat after boning, skinning)
2 oz. onion, finely minced
1/3 c. cilantro leaves, chopped
½ jalapeno, seeded and minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 large eggs
½ sheet Joseph’s Lavash Flax & Oat Fiber flatbread (omit if still on Atkins Induction Phase)
1/8 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. Garam Masala Spice Blend
½ tsp. curry powder
¼ tsp. ground turmeric
½ tsp. ground cumin
¼ tsp. coarse black pepper
VARIATION: Use ground beef or lamb for a change in flavor!
CURRY/GRAVY INGREDIENTS:
2 c. homemade chicken broth
¼ c. heavy cream
½ c. tomato sauce (or 2 T. tomato paste)
¼ cilantro leaves, chopped
½-1 tsp. Garam Masala
1 tsp. curry powder
1/8 tsp. ground turmeric
1 T. crushed, dried fenugreek leaves (or 1 tsp. ground seed)
1/3 tsp. nigella seed (optional), also called Charnushka or Kalongi
1/8 tsp. coarse black pepper (or cayenne if you like curry spicy)
½ tsp. sea salt
¼ c. frozen peas (or frozen green beans to lower carbs)
3 Roma plum tomatoes, cut into chunks (added at very last of cooking)
Optional: 1/2 cup coconut milk for richer gravy (adds 1 more net carb than shown below)
DIRECTIONS: Mix all meatball spices in a bowl and set aside a moment. Wet the bread with water to soften. Squeeze out water and break/mush it up in a medium mixing bowl. Add meat(s) and all other meat mixture ingredients to bowl. Mix with a fork or your hands (like you do meatloaf) until all ingredients are uniformly blended into one mass of meat. Using your palms, form thirty 1½” meatballs placing them on a non-stick or parchment-lined sheet pan. I actually skillet browned the nine I was cooking for tonight’s meal. Pop into 350º oven for about 30 minutes or until lightly browning. Remove.
While the meatballs are cooking, if you skillet-browned tonight’s meatballs, in that very same skillet, add all listed gravy ingredients (except the tomatoes) and bring to a boil over high heat. Lower heat to a simmer and simmer for about 20 minutes. Add the tomatoes and meatballs back into the skillet at this juncture. Continue simmering about 10 more minutes to reduce liquid and blend flavors. The gravy will slightly thicken as it cooks down (keep simmering it too watery. It WILL thicken up). If you like your curry gravy thicker, add a light dusting of your favorite low-carb thickener and simmer 1-2 minutes to set up. Serve at once with green side, salad or if preferred, a prepared bed of cooked cauliflower rice.
TIP: Freeze the surplus meatballs for future Indian curry recipes. Just make up any of your favorite curry gravies and drop the still frozen meatballs, simmering all long enough to gently thaw them and compose you new dish! A quick week-night meal at the ready in about 30 minutes with pre-cooked meatballs!
NUTRITIONAL INFO: (meat will make 30 meatballs total). Using just 9 of them for this meal. 3= 1 serving. Each serving plus 2 large cooking spoons of the curry/gravy will contain:
349 cals, 21.47g fat, 9.93g carbs, 2.08g fiber, 7.85g NET CARBS, 26.55g protein, 670 mg sodium