Home
Recipes
Main Dishes
Meatballs
Middle Eastern Cumin Meatballs

Middle Eastern Cumin Meatballs

Name: Middle Eastern Cumin Meatballs
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 1 ½ pounds lean ground beef; 1 egg; 2 tablespoons minced garlic; ¼ cup bread crumbs; ½ teaspoon cumin; ½ teaspoon salt and pepper to taste; 3 tablespoons vegetable oil; 1 ½ cups water; 3 tablespoons tomato paste; 2 tablespoons lemon juice; ¼ teaspoon garlic powder; ⅛ teaspoon salt and pepper to taste

Rating: 4.15 stars

26 Ratings
19 Reviews
4 Photos

These Middle Eastern meatballs with garlic and cumin are heavy on the garlic, so feel free to scale it down if you wish. We love it as is! The meatballs and sauce are perfect served over bulghur. Bulghur wheat can be found next to the rice in Middle Eastern markets and even some of the bigger grocery stores. Prepare it as you would rice.

By Ani

Gallery

Recipe Summary

prep:

15 mins

cook:

20 mins

total:

35 mins

Servings:

Yield:

4 servings

Nutrition Info

Directions

Step 1

Combine the ground beef, egg, garlic, bread crumbs, cumin, salt, and pepper in a large bowl until well mixed. Roll the mixture into egg-sized balls, and set aside.

Advertisement
Step 2

Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the meatballs; cook until firm, and browned on all sides, about 10 minutes. Remove meatballs from the skillet and pour out the fat.
Step 3

Bring the water to a boil in the same skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in the tomato paste, lemon juice, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium. Add the cooked meatballs, and simmer in the tomato sauce for 5 to 10 minutes until completely cooked.

Nutrition Facts

Per Serving:

483.5 calories; 36.5 g protein; 9.5 g carbohydrates; 165.1 mg cholesterol; 632.3 mg sodium. Full Nutrition

Reviews (19)

Most helpful positive review

KRISTY916

07/08/2007

Thank you very good! We did not make the tomato sauce. Instead we used a mild cucumber sauce as for Pitas and used these meatballs in pita pockets. They were very good. We'd also use them with a curry sauce as well. Read More

Helpful

(9)

Most helpful critical review

Jamie S

07/14/2015

A bit bland. Read More

Helpful

(1)

26 Ratings

5 star values: 9
4 star values: 12
3 star values: 5
2 star values: 0
1 star values: 0

Reviews: Most Helpful

Most Helpful Most Positive Least Positive Newest

KRISTY916

07/08/2007

Helpful

(9)

KRISTY916

07/08/2007

Helpful

(9)

Tamalloni

10/13/2009

This recipe is friggen delicious. It goes perfectly with this recipe for risotto also... Risotto with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Mozzarella. Awesome. Read More

Helpful

(8)

Nomnomnom

01/10/2011

Very tasty meatballs! Could use a little more cumin next time. The sauce was great. I used a box of Pomi chopped tomatoes as the base - tasted great with the lemon juice. Served with bulghur and fresh steamed spinach. Thanks for the recipe! It's a keeper for sure! Read More

Helpful

(6)

~TxCin~ILove2Ck

12/04/2009

Great garlicky flavor in these. I didn't have tomato paste so I just used beef stock for the water and some mexican tomato sauce (Del Fuerte brand) that I had opened in the fridge. The sauce all simmered away though during cooking and there was none to spoon over the meatballs or rice so next time I will double it. I did add a little flour/water slurry right at the beginning to help thicken the sauce up a little. Really good I enjoyed this quite a bit. I served this with Jeera (cumin) rice. Thanks for the great recipe I'm making this again. Read More

Helpful

(5)

jkimble24

09/07/2010

My Egyptian husband loved these and proclaimed them to be the best meatballs he ever ate. A few small changes. First I used Italian bread crumbs. For the sauce I did add onions more cumin and dried bay leaves. The sauce still could use some help but it was pretty good. Unfortunately the toddler did not like the meal. If he had I would have rated it higher. Read More

Helpful

(5)

AndreaDanielle

01/05/2011

Good flavor. My meatballs fell apart though. I've never had that problem before but I just served it as ground beef over rice and it tasted good. Read More

Helpful

(4)

ABC

08/25/2010

I loved this dish! it was very flavourful and unique... my whole family was very surprised and loved it and had alot to say about it. I added chopped onions to the tomato sauce and it only added to the flavour. It was very simple to make and I will definitly make it again. Read More

Helpful

(4)

analufranco

07/21/2010

Easy to make and delicious! Read More

Helpful

(4)

Whitney Price

07/30/2011

Substituted tempeh for ground beef and put all "meat"ball ingredients through the food processor. I found that I needed to bake the "meat"balls after browning because of the tempeh substitution and I made the balls about ping-pong ball size or slightly smaller. Baking at 350F for about 10 minutes toughened them up enough (they were quite crumbly even with the egg and bread crumbs but worth it for vegetarians to enjoy Middle Eastern "meat"balls). Good flavour--consider adding minced parsley to the balls. Read More

Helpful

(3)

Jamie S

07/14/2015

A bit bland. Read More

Helpful

(1)

More Reviews

Back to Middle Eastern Cumin Meatballs

All Reviews for Middle Eastern Cumin Meatballs

- of Reviews

Nutritional Information

Middle Eastern Cumin Meatballs

Servings Per Recipe: 4
Calories: 483.5

% Daily Value *

protein: 73 %

carbohydrates: 3 %

exchange other carbs:

dietary fiber: 4 %

sugars:

fat: 50 %

saturated fat: 51 %

cholesterol: 55 %

vitamin a iu: 5 %

niacin equivalents: 113 %

vitamin b6: 29 %

vitamin c: 13 %

folate: 7 %

calcium: 5 %

iron: 23 %

magnesium: 14 %

potassium: 17 %

sodium: 25 %

thiamin: 16 %

calories from fat:

percent of calories from carbs:

percent of calories from fat:

percent of calories from protein:

percent of calories from sat fat:

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

**Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available nutrient data.

(-)Information is not currently available for this nutrient. If you are following a medically restrictive diet, please consult your doctor or registered dietitian before preparing this recipe for personal consumption.