Halal-conscious recipe
Moroccan lamb meatballs with Halal lamb
John Torode's Moroccan-style lamb meatballs: Halal lamb mince with toasted cumin and coriander, lemon and mint, fried golden and served on harissa butter couscous with yogurt.
Each method follows published technique for the dish, and every Halal substitution is checked against the ingredient pages we cite. Photographs come from our ingredient library rather than the finished dish.
Photo: Kim Scarborough · CC BY-SA 2.5
Why Halal checks matter here
The meatballs are 500 g of lamb mince, which is Halal only from a Halal-slaughtered animal, and the yogurt served with them needs a gelatin check.
These meatballs are lamb mince mixed with toasted, crushed cumin and coriander seeds, garlic breadcrumbs, lemon juice, egg and mint, then fried until golden. They sit on couscous soaked with butter and harissa, with a spoonful of yogurt and more harissa on the side. The source describes them as Moroccan-style, with the flavours of a tagine. The lamb needs to be Halal, and the yogurt should have no gelatin on its label.
It follows John Torode's Moroccan lamb meatballs for BBC Good Food, which serves four. The source also gives a homemade harissa; shop-bought works for the couscous and to serve.
Chill the shaped meatballs for at least 30 minutes before frying.
Halal-critical ingredients
- Lamb mince Lamb is Halal only from a Halal-slaughtered animal, and mince without a Halal mark doesn't say how the animal was slaughtered. Buy the mince from a Halal butcher or in a certified pack. See Lamb.
- Natural yogurt Plain yogurt is milk fermented with cultures, but gelatin turns up in set, low-fat and dessert yogurts. Choose a yogurt with no gelatin on the label. See Yogurt.
Safe substitutes
- Lamb mince of unknown slaughter → Halal lamb mince
Allergens
gluten (breadcrumbs, couscous), eggs, milk (butter, yogurt)
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 2 tsp cumin seeds
- 2 tbsp coriander seeds
- 50 g breadcrumbs
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 500 g Halal lamb mince
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 20 g pack mint, most leaves chopped
- 2–3 tbsp sunflower oil
Couscous and to serve
- 300 g couscous
- 50 g butter
- 2 tbsp harissa (shop-bought), plus extra to serve
- 400 ml boiling water
- 150 ml natural yogurt (no gelatine)
Method
- Toast the spices. Heat a heavy-based pan over a low heat, add the cumin and coriander seeds and toast for 2 to 3 minutes until fragrant. Crush with a pestle and mortar and set aside.
- Shape the meatballs. Mix the breadcrumbs with 2 tbsp water and the garlic. Add the lamb, lemon juice, crushed spices, egg and most of the chopped mint, season well and mix thoroughly. Shape into 16 balls and chill for a good 30 minutes.
- Fry. Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the meatballs for 6 to 7 minutes, turning now and then, until golden brown and cooked through. Keep warm.
- Make the couscous and serve. Put the couscous in a large heatproof bowl and rub in the butter and harissa. Pour over 400 ml boiling water, cover and leave for 10 minutes. Fluff up, season and stir through the rest of the mint, shredded. Serve the meatballs on the couscous with more harissa and the yogurt.
How this recipe was researched
Method adapted from BBC Good Food's 'Moroccan lamb meatballs' by John Torode, which describes them as Moroccan-style meatballs with the flavours of a tagine (serves 4: 2 tsp cumin seeds and 2 tbsp coriander seeds toasted 2 to 3 minutes in a dry heavy pan over a low heat and crushed; 50 g breadcrumbs mixed with 2 tbsp water and a crushed garlic clove; 500 g lamb mince, the juice of a lemon, the spices, a beaten egg and most of a 20 g pack of chopped mint mixed in and seasoned; shaped into 16 balls and chilled a good 30 minutes; fried 6 to 7 minutes in 2 to 3 tbsp sunflower oil, turning, until golden and cooked; 300 g couscous rubbed with 50 g butter and 2 tbsp harissa, covered with 400 ml boiling water for 10 minutes, fluffed, seasoned and mixed with the rest of the mint, shredded; served with more harissa and 150 ml natural yogurt). We specified Halal lamb mince and flagged the yogurt's label, and used shop-bought harissa; nothing else needed changing. Timings follow the published technique rather than a kitchen test.
Technique and ingredient sources
-
Moroccan lamb meatballs — BBC Good Food
Retrieved:
By John Torode, described as Moroccan-style. Serves 4, prep 35 minutes plus chilling, cook 20 minutes: lamb meatballs with toasted cumin and coriander, breadcrumbs, lemon, egg and mint, chilled 30 minutes and fried 6 to 7 minutes; couscous soaked 10 minutes with butter and harissa; yogurt to serve. We specified Halal lamb.
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Lamb analysis — isithalal.food
Retrieved:
What makes lamb Halal: the slaughter.