Lamb Meatballs in Yogurt Sauce

Combine the lamb mince, salt and bharat in a bowl and mix well. Roll the mixture into small, bite-sized meatballs. 

Set up a bowl of cold water and a separate shallow dish with plain flour. Dip meatballs into the water, then roll through the flour to coat. Repeat this process four times — water then flour, four rounds — until meatballs has a good, even coating. Set aside on a plate while you bring a pot of water to the boil.

Drop the flour-coated meatballs into salted boiling water and cook until they float to the surface, which should only take a few minutes — this tells you they are cooked through. Remove them with a slotted spoon and set aside.

In a large saucepan, whisk together the yogurt, plain flour, cornflour and water until smooth and well combined. Place over medium heat and stir continuously until the sauce begins to gently simmer. Turn your heat to low, add the poached meatballs to the yogurt sauce and leave to cook together, partially covered for around 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has thickened and the meatballs have absorbed all those beautiful flavours.

In a small frying pan, melt the ghee over medium heat and fry the crushed garlic until fragrant and just golden. Pour the garlic ghee over the yogurt sauce and stir through gently. Finish off with chopped coriander, scatter with toasted pine nuts if using.

A Few Things You’ll Want to Know

Why do you dip the meatballs in water and flour multiple times?
That repeated dipping is what replaces the dough. In traditional shish barak, the dumpling wrapper holds the meat together and absorbs the yogurt sauce as it cooks. Here, the flour coating does exactly that job. Each round of water and flour builds up a layer that wraps around the meatball, holds it together in the boiling water, and soaks up all that gorgeous yogurt sauce as it simmers. Four rounds gives you enough of a coating to do the work — without making the meatball heavy or doughy.

Can I use beef mince instead of lamb?
You can, and it works well. Lamb gives you a slightly richer, more traditional flavour that pairs beautifully with the yogurt, but a good quality beef mince will still give you a delicious result. A mix of the two is also a great option if you have both on hand.

My yogurt sauce split — what happened?
This usually comes down to heat that is too high or not enough stirring at the start. Make sure you whisk the flour and cornflour through the yogurt really well before it goes on the heat, and keep stirring as it comes up to temperature. Once the meatballs are in, a gentle simmer is all you need — a hard boil can cause it to separate.

Is this the same as shish barak?
It is inspired by shish barak — our classic Lebanese dish of meat-filled dumplings cooked in yogurt — but without the dough. Instead of making dumplings from scratch, you are using simple flour-coated meatballs, which gives you all of those same comforting flavours in a fraction of the time. It is a really clever shortcut that I think my mum would completely approve of.

What does partially cover the pot mean?
It simply means you rest the lid on top but leave a small gap — tilt it slightly to one side so it’s not fully sealed. You want the pot mostly covered to keep the heat in, but with enough of an opening for the steam to escape. Not fully closed, not fully open — somewhere in between. This stops the yogurt sauce from boiling over while still letting it simmer properly.

Do I need to use ghee to fry the garlic?
Not at all — olive oil works just as well. Ghee gives you a slightly richer, nuttier finish which is beautiful if you have it, but a good olive oil will give you just as much flavour. Use whatever you have in your kitchen.

What do you use to dip the meatballs in the water?
In the photos you’ll see I used a round tin with a sieve base — I dipped the whole thing into a larger bowl of water, which made the process really easy. You don’t need that exact setup. Any large sieve or strainer works perfectly, or even a slotted spoon. The idea is just to get the meatballs in and out of the water cleanly without them breaking apart. Whatever you have in your kitchen that lets you lift them out without scooping will do the job.

Can I make this gluten free?
Yes, and it’s so easy. Simply swap the plain flour for a good gluten free plain flour — in both the coating and the yogurt sauce. The technique stays exactly the same and the result is just as good. It’s one of the things I love most about this recipe.

What if I don’t have bharat?
No bharat? No problem. Allspice is the closest substitute and works beautifully here. Use the same amount and you’ll get that same warm, fragrant flavour in the meatballs. Or download my bharat recipe here