Baked Chicken Balls With Spinach

Chicken balls baked with spinach and stir fried with aromatic herbs…

I got bored of cooking with chicken breasts, I cannot deny the fact that boneless chicken breast is healthy and rich in protein. So I still wanted to use chicken breasts but in a different way. I seldom had to think hard before about what to cook with chicken, but this time I had to ponder a bit to come up with something new and exciting. Some of the recipes that call for chicken and vegetables ran through my mind. I even stood still with the open refrigerator to pick the right veggie for this dish. And I picked spinach as it has been my favorite green which has a very subtle and delicate flavor.

I love cooking with spinach and I have already made a few dishes with spinach: tuna spinach cakes, chick pea-spinach sandwich, spinach soup and lately I even tried making spinach chutney. This time I combined ground chicken breasts and sauteed spinach together. Made it into balls and baked it. After baking it, stir fried it along with aromatic herbs and seasonings till it got browned. It does resemble to sausage balls, but this chicken spinach balls are rather healthy and is free of red meat. It’s baked, stir fried, has greens in it and is flavorful.

Baked Chicken balls with Spinach:

Ingredients:

• Ground chicken breast- 1 pound (or grind 4 chicken breasts in a blender)
• Chili powder- 1 tsp
• Salt- little

For sauteeing spinach:

• Oil- 1 tbsp
• Spinach- 1/2 bunch
• Fennel seeds- 1 tsp
• Onion, chopped small- 1
• Ginger-Garlic paste- 2 tsp
• Ground pepper- 1/4 tsp

For stir frying:

• Oil- 1 tbsp
• Ginger, chopped thin and long- 2 inch slice
• Garlic chopped, thin- 4 cloves
• Green onions, chopped- 3 stalks
• Ground pepper- 1/2 tsp
• Mint leaves, chopped- 1/4 cup
• Soy sauce- 2 tbsp

Instruction

• You could use ground chicken breasts bought from the store or grind washed chicken breasts- 4 no’s to smooth constituency without adding any water.
• Combine the ground chicken with chili powder and salt, add little salt as we will be using soy sauce while stir frying which has salt too.
• Heat a non-stick pan, add oil, when it turns hot add fennel seeds.
• Add onion and saute till translucent, add ginger-garlic paste, saute for a minute.
• Add spinach and ground pepper to it, let the spinach cook for a few minutes.
• After the spinach has cooked, add the spinach mixture to the ground chicken mixture, combine well.
• Make small balls out of it, keep aside.
• Pre heat oven to 350F.
• Place the chicken balls on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil and sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.
• Bake for 30 minutes.
• Remove from the oven.
• Heat a wok or skillet, add oil, add chopped ginger and garlic to it, stir fry for a second.
• Add green onions and stir fry for a second.
• Don’t fry the ginger-garlic and green onions till it turns brown.
• Now, add baked chicken balls and stir fry till it starts to turn golden brown in color.
• Sprinkle the chopped mint leaves over the chicken balls and stir fry it.
• Add ground pepper and pour soy sauce over the chicken balls.
• If you want it more spicy add more of the ground pepper.
• Cook for a minute and remove from the heat.
• Serve hot as an appetizer or you could even insert a tooth pick on the balls and serve as finger food.
• Mint leaves imparts a mesmerizing and refreshing fragrance to the chicken.

Tips:

• If you don’t have mint you could use cilantro, but I highly recommend mint leaves.

Baked Chicken Balls With Spinach

 

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Ingredients

• Ground chicken breast- 1 pound (or grind 4 chicken breasts in a blender)
• Chili powder- 1 tsp
• Salt- little

For sauteeing spinach

• Oil- 1 tbsp
• Spinach- ½ bunch
• Fennel seeds- 1 tsp
• Onion, chopped small- 1
• Ginger-Garlic paste- 2 tsp
• Ground pepper- ¼ tsp

For stir frying

• Oil- 1 tbsp
• Ginger, chopped thin and long- 2 inch slice
• Garlic chopped, thin- 4 cloves
• Green onions, chopped- 3 stalks
• Ground pepper- ½ tsp
• Mint leaves, chopped- ¼ cup
• Soy sauce- 2 tbsp

Instructions

1. You could use ground chicken breasts bought from the store or grind washed chicken breasts- 4 no's to smooth constituency without adding any water.
2. Combine the ground chicken with chili powder and salt, add little salt as we will be using soy sauce while stir frying which has salt too.
3. Heat a non-stick pan, add oil, when it turns hot add fennel seeds.
4. Add onion and saute till translucent, add ginger-garlic paste, saute for a minute.
5. Add spinach and ground pepper to it, let the spinach cook for a few minutes.
6. After the spinach has cooked, add the spinach mixture to the ground chicken mixture, combine well.
7. Make small balls out of it, keep aside.
8. Pre heat oven to 350F.
9. Place the chicken balls on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil and sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.
10. Bake for 30 minutes.
11. Remove from the oven.
12. Heat a wok or skillet, add oil, add chopped ginger and garlic to it, stir fry for a second.
13. Add green onions and stir fry for a second.
14. Don't fry the ginger-garlic and green onions till it turns brown.
15. Now, add baked chicken balls and stir fry till it starts to turn golden brown in color.
16. Sprinkle the chopped mint leaves over the chicken balls and stir fry it.
17. Add ground pepper and pour soy sauce over the chicken balls.
18. If you want it more spicy add more of the ground pepper.
19. Cook for a minute and remove from the heat.
20. Serve hot as an appetizer or you could even insert a tooth pick on the balls and serve as finger food.
21. Mint leaves imparts a mesmerizing and refreshing fragrance to the chicken.

Notes

•If you don't have mint you could use cilantro, but I highly recommend mint leaves.

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