On the heat. Hot

Ingredients

• 700 g lean lamb mince
• 4 tbsp roasted gram (pottukadalai), ground
• 4 tbsp fresh grated coconut
• 1 onion, chopped very fine
• 2 tbsp ginger–garlic paste
• 1 tbsp fennel seed, crushed
• 2 tsp chilli powder · 1 tsp turmeric
• 20 curry leaves, chopped
• 3 green chillies · coriander · mint
• 1 egg · salt · oil to deep-fry

Method

1. Put everything except the oil in a food processor and pulse to a coarse, sticky paste. Do not blend it smooth.
2. Chill 30 minutes.
3. Roll into balls the size of a walnut, wetting your hands as you go.
4. Deep-fry at 165 °C — moderate, not hot — for 6 to 7 minutes, turning, until deep brown all over. Too hot and the outside blackens before the centre sets.
5. Drain on a rack, not paper, so they stay crisp.
6. Lime and raw onion. Or drop them into a thin coconut gravy and simmer 10 minutes for kola urundai kuzhambu.

Cook's note. Fennel and curry leaf are the signature. They are what separate a kola urundai from every other meatball in this book.

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