Moroccan Meatballs

Today I introduce a gem from Morocco. A recipe for Moroccan Meatballs or, in Arabic, Kefta Mkaouara, which means round-shaped Kofta. These meatballs are flavorful and juicy, smothered in well-seasoned tomato sauce, with poached eggs. People add olives and other vegetables in some recipes, but we will keep this Moroccan recipe Easy yet bursting with flavor.

Jump to:

• WHAT ARE MOROCCAN MEATBALLS IN TOMATO SAUCE?
• 🥘 INGREDIENTS YOU'LL NEED FOR MOROCCAN MEATBALLS
• 🔪 HOW TO MAKE MOROCCAN MEATBALLS
• 💭 COOKING TIPS
• 🍲 MORE DINNER RECIPES YOU'LL LOVE
• 🌡️ HOW TO STORE IT
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Comments

The Moroccan kitchen is known for its various tagine recipes and simplicity without compromising the flavor. The cooking time and the effort to cook a meal are usually minimal. In the authentic meatball recipe, you add the formed meatballs in the tomato sauce to cook. However, from my experience, shallow frying meatballs keep them juicy and tender from the inside and maintain a beautiful shape. If you love Moroccan dishes, try my Moroccan Couscous with lamb shank and my Moroccan Chicken Olive Stew.

WHAT ARE MOROCCAN MEATBALLS IN TOMATO SAUCE?

These lamb meatballs are seasoned with warm spices like paprika and cumin. Some add chopped parsley to them, others prefer coriander leaves, and both should be discarded in my sister's case.

Later the meatballs are added to a flavorful tomato sauce to cook. Most recipes add raw eggs with the meatballs and the sauce to poach them. Cover the dish until the meatballs and the eggs are cooked. Garnish the dish with chopped parsley or slices of olives, and then serve it with pita bread, cooked couscous, or plain rice. To keep it gluten-free, serve it with mashed potatoes.

🥘 INGREDIENTS YOU'LL NEED FOR MOROCCAN MEATBALLS

Everything you need for this recipe is most probably in your kitchen already. Let’s have a look!

Tomatoes – Fresh tomatoes bring out a unique flavor; you can finely chop them or grate them for this recipe.

Onion – I always use red onions because I love the taste it adds to my dishes, but you can go for yellow onion.

Garlic - Only two minced cloves of garlic we'll use here. 

Warm spices – Black pepper, cumin, and paprika complement this recipe.

Ground beef or lamb – I prefer lamb meat because it is tender and cooks faster than beef, but both taste great in the tomato sauce.

Olive oil – I firmly believe that frying onions in olive oil adds more flavor and a hint of sweetness to a dish, and Moroccans love olives and olive oil.

Parsley or Cilantro leaves - You can use both fresh herbs, but they go for parsley in Moroccan cooking.

🔪 HOW TO MAKE MOROCCAN MEATBALLS

This meatball recipe is straightforward; you will see how simple it is to follow the steps below.

For the meatballs

Step 1

In a bowl, mix all the ingredients. Form equal size balls from the mixture.

Step 2

Fry the balls in olive oil. It will take around 8 minutes to cook the meatballs. Keep aside.

For the tomato sauce

Step 1

In a pan, add olive oil and onion. Sauté onion until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for a few seconds.

Step 2

Add the tomatoes and cook on medium heat until the olive oil surfaces.

Step 3

Add the rest of the sauce ingredients, and cook for 2 minutes.

Step 4 

Pour half a cup of hot water and let it simmer for 5 minutes.

Step 5

Add the meatballs, with its juices, to the sauce. Let it cook for 3 minutes.

Step 6

Break the eggs carefully in the sauce between the meatballs. Cover the pan and let it cook on medium heat for 6 minutes.

Step 7

To garnish, you can sprinkle chopped parsley.

💭 COOKING TIPS

- It's best to have some fat in the ground meat you choose to use in this recipe.

- Use yellow or red onion.

- Do not over-fry the meatballs, or they will turn dry. Remember that the frying is just to seal the juices within the meatballs; the rest of the cooking will be in the sauce.

- This recipe is Paleo Diet-friendly. Remove the eggs and then freeze it and add it to your meal prep.

🍲 MORE DINNER RECIPES YOU'LL LOVE

🌡️ HOW TO STORE IT

When the dish is cool, place it in a plastic container and refrigerate for up to two days.

If you want to freeze the leftovers, remove the eggs and freeze the meatballs with the sauce for up to two months.

📖 Recipe