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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.

Moroccan · Main · Easy · 16 meatballs · 85 min

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.

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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.

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.

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

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.

Allergens

gluten (breadcrumbs, couscous), eggs, milk (butter, 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.

Photograph from our ingredient library: meatballs in gravy, not the finished dish from this recipe.