Masala Spice Tea Meatballs

Want to try something unique and exotic? Try Masala Spice Tea Meatballs. Yes, cooking with tea. Its a great way to use tea. This is my first adventure and happened quite by accident. At my recent trip to the New Mexico Tea Company, I bought too much Masala Spice Mix Tea and with this abundance came a new culinary adventure. Though cooking and baking with tea has been around for sometime, for me it was new territory….and I am delighted that I ventured out.

First, let’s talk about the tea. You may have read my previous blog on Fall Tea Tastings where I explored the deliciousness of Masala Spice Mix Tea. Though not my first choice in a tea, its spicy flavor had me thinking about recipes other than just my usual hot tea beverage.

Masala Spice Tea

This spice mix is so rich in its flavor. It can be very strong but is delicious when steeped (simmered for 7 minutes) and then served with a heavy milk and honey. When I first tasted the tea, I could recognize several of the spices….but when I cooked with it, I tasted an even broader range of the spice. Here are the spices that are in a traditional Garam Masala Mix.

1. Cumin
2.  Coriander
3. Green and Black Cardamom,
4. Cinnamon
5. Nutmeg
6. Cloves
7. Bay leaves
8. Peppercorns
9. Fennel
10. Mace

How to Prepare the Tea

It was very easy to prepare the tea for mixing. In other recipes, you may not need to grind the tea – you could just mix into a rub or a marinade. For this recipe, I ground the tea to a nice fine powder and I used a coffee grinder for that. I had a mortar and pestle – but that was going to take way too much time and not achieve the nice powder. A small chopper will not do either. Devote a coffee grinder just for spices – it will be well worth it.

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Ingredients for the Meatballs

• Ground Turkey
• Pork Sausage
• Fresh Parsley
• Chopped Garlic
• Salt
• Bread Crumbs
• Ground Masala Spice Mix Tea
• Olive Oil
• Greek Yogurt
• Lemon
• Dill

Putting it together

As you can imagine, this is a really easy recipe. Mixing, cooking, and eating!

Measure out your ingredients and put them into a nice big mixing bowl. Then get those great natural tools in there – your hands! Mix away.

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Rolling these little treats was easy. Just use a small ice cream scoop and you will have them done in no time. They can be frozen uncooked – freeze in a single layer and then place in a bag or container. This recipe makes an easy 50 meatballs.

Cooking the Meatballs

I cooked these meatballs on my stove, using a large non-stick skillet. With a little olive oil in the pan, I cooked them until they were browned and then allowed them to drain and cool on a cooling rack. That easy for sure.

Serving Suggestions

I serve these meatballs with a Lemon Dill Yogurt sauce. Get a nice Greek Yogurt, one that is sturdy. Zest and juice your lemon and add this and the dill to your sauce. Mix thoroughly.

In serving these, you have several options. This is a very different spice profile than you would expect. Though spicy, the taste is very warm and not in the traditional sense of a Southwestern spice. In fact, I found that the spice intensified as the mixture sat. In tasting the raw spice, it rested on the back of my tongue and I could taste the fennel and mace. As well, the other spices emerged as I enjoyed these little bites. The clove and nutmeg come through. Important is to understand that the intensity gets stronger as the spices bloom in the mixture.

I would serve them as an appetizer, either on a platter or even in a single serving for an exotic afternoon tea. But you can also enjoy these treats in a nice flat bread or pita, topped with the sauce and maybe some feta cheese. These meatballs would also be delicious served on a bed of rice. They are very versatile.

So that’s my spice adventure. I would encourage you to give these a try – or even change it up and use lamb or beef. Amazing. It was fun and I will certainly be trying some different spice profiles again!