Kanda — Print Recipe — The Culinary Codex

Seasoned ground beef balls simmered in a spiced tomato and palm oil sauce with onions and garlic. These Congolese meatballs are tender, juicy, and perfect served over rice.

Ingredients

600g ground beef
1 onion, grated
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 egg
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp ground cumin
3 tomatoes, diced
1 large onion, sliced
2 tbsp palm oil
1 scotch bonnet pepper
1 cup water
Fresh parsley

Instructions

1 Combine ground beef with grated onion, half the garlic, egg, salt, pepper, and cumin. Mix well with your hands until the mixture is uniform and binds together.
2 Form the mixture into golf-ball-sized meatballs, rolling them firmly between your palms. You should get about sixteen to twenty meatballs.
3 Heat palm oil in a large skillet. Brown the meatballs in batches on all sides for about five minutes. Remove and set aside.
4 In the same pan, saute sliced onion for five minutes. Add remaining garlic, diced tomatoes, and scotch bonnet pepper. Cook ten minutes until a thick sauce forms.
5 Return meatballs to the sauce, add one cup of water, and simmer covered for twenty minutes until the meatballs are cooked through and the sauce is rich.
6 Garnish with fresh parsley and serve over steamed rice or with boiled plantains.

Did You Know?

Kanda meatballs are a favorite dish for Congolese children, who often help their mothers roll the meatballs as one of their first kitchen tasks.