Chicken Masala Balls
This is one recipe I have been wanting to blog this past month. I first tasted these delicious chicken balls at a friend’s place, whose mother-in-law is a cook par excellence. My queries on its preparation made Chandralekha Aunty invite me into her kitchen to share this recipe along with another dish, an Andhra sweet delicacy which I will also blog about soon.
Boneless chicken pieces, onions, fresh coriander leaves, green and dry red chillis, ginger, garlic, cashewnuts and roasted spices are ground to smooth paste and shaped into bite sized balls and deep fried (can be grilled too). The grilled balls are absolutely perfect on their own and offer a healthy alternative but nothing to beat the crisp deep fried version..:)
Chicken masala balls have a hot and spicy aroma that fills the room while being cooked and a flavor that makes these party appetizers almost impossible to resist. I’ve made this recipe twice these past few days and I can tell you, it’s a keeper, guaranteed to add flavor to a festive day like Kanuma. Serve as a snack/appetizer or as a side dish with rice and curry.
Chicken Masala Balls Recipe
Recipe Source: Mrs. Chandralekha Sunkara
Prep & Cooking: 30-40 mts
Makes approx 30 balls
Cuisine: Andhra
.
1/2 kg boneless chicken pieces, cleaned and washed
1/4 kg onions finely sliced
8-10 fresh green chillis
5-6 dry red chillis (adjust according to your choice)
15-20 garlic flakes
3″ piece ginger chopped
small bunch coriander leaves, chopped
4 tbsps coriander seeds
1 1/2 tbsps cumin seeds
2″ cinnamon stick
3 green cardamoms
5-6 cloves
20 cashewnuts
salt to taste
oil for deep frying
1 Heat a tbsp of oil in cooking vessel. Add the cumin seeds, coriander seeds, cardamom, cloves, cinnamom, red chillis and cashewnuts and stir for a minute till a nice aroma emanates the whole kitchen. Be careful not to burn the spices. Cool.
2 First grind the roasted ingredients along with ginger, garlic and green chillis to a coarse paste. Next add the chopped raw onions, coriander leaves, chicken and salt and grind further to form a smooth paste like shown in the picture above.
2 Add a tbsp of oil to the ground mixture and mix thoroughly before shaping into small lemon sized balls.
3 Heat oil for deep frying. Once its piping hot, reduce flame to medium and place these balls in the oil and fry them to a crisp, golden brown color.
4Serve hot with tomato sauce or green chutney.
Note:
The green and red chillis can be adjusted according to your spice level. The chicken balls can also be grilled for a more healthy version.
By sailu • Jan 10th, 2007 • Category: All Recipes, Andhra Recipes, Appetizers & Starters, Indian Chicken Recipes, Non-Vegetarian Recipes, Savories, Snacks & Tiffins
Sailu such a mouthwatering looking dish.I am a little confused with its procedure,should the fried whole spices be ground to a coarse paste and the rest of the ingredients be ground to a smooth paste?do you have to mince the chicken too?
You dont have to mince the chicken separately. Grind all the spices first, followed by the rest of the ingredients, Sumitha. Spices and chicken will all form a smooth paste.
Delicious!!Great photo too.I am salivating here!Almost like chicken burger but spicy!:))
Happy Sankranti!
Who wants healthy when you can have deep fried goodness?
Wonderful recipe Sailu, I love lots of spices in anything and if that is chicken then nothing like it and that too deep fried,WOW. Picture itself look so colorful and tempting..
Thanks for sharing.
Nidhi.
A Wonderful recipe, Sailu…Many thanks to you and to Chandralekha Aunty for sharing this mouth watering recipe..!
wonderful recipe and wonderful photo
since i m a veggy i m going to substitute chicken with potato
i hope it will come out well
thanks for sharing the recipe
Thanks for sharing the wonderful recipe.
the chicken meatballs look delicious. Am definitely going to try this soon. Instead of deep frying, i’m going to try baking it. will let you know how it turns out.
Yum! I make kababs this way but I add a little oil while mixing it to bake it.Those balls looks so crisp now I feel I should try frying.
The chicken ‘vadas’ look awesome. I am just concerned that the chicken might not get cooked inside. How long did it take to fry them?
You need not worry about that, SL. It takes a good 7-9 mts to cook them, only ensure that your dont cook them over high flame through out. Just towards the end, increase the heat and cook them till crisp and brown.
I have been traveling so wasnt able to check any blogs. You have posted some realllllly good recipes Sailu
But before anything else I will try these chicken balls - do you think I can bake them? Many thanks to you and Chandralekha aunty for sharing this with us.
Sure you can bake them, Ashwini. Just ensure that you add some oil to the chicken mixture while mixing it thoroughly and brush some oil over the balls while baking them. I haven’t tried baking them. You must tell me how they turn out the baking way..:)
Thanks Sailu for answering my query,have to make them!They look too good !
I am drooling over the picture already. Can’t wait to try it. I can already see this will be a hit at the Superbowl party.
Yum yummmmm yummm yum yum
Thanks Sailu
Sailu,
Awesome website, came across your website today via browsing, when I found out from your site that you are from my very “own” Vishakapatnam, I was so thrilled. Keep up the yummy work and Makara sankranthi subhakanshalu.
Sridevi
absolutely fantastic! I love every single ingredient in your recipe! Sailu, you’re an excellent cook!
These sound incredible!!
hey sailu - cool website
way to go …
take care - gops
Hey sailaja,
I liked this so much, I am going to make it for some guests this weekend.
You know what, I tried in vain commenting from the main page but couldn’t, did I miss the comment option or do we have to comment from the individual recipe page only?
Sandeepa, there is a comment option form for each recipe and also “email” where there is another comment option form.
hi Sailu,
I loved the recipe you posted here.Iam totally impressed with your style of explaining the recipes.
I would definitely try out all the Sankranti specials you mentioned here. Thanks a lot for your wonderful recipes
Delicious post..
And Sailu,
Happy Sankranthi to you and your family..
[…] Although the ingredients are few and recipe sounds easy and simple, it does take some experience to prepare these melt-in-the-mouth temptations. It’s here that Chandralekha Aunty came to my rescue and has been very kind to share this recipe and Chicken Masala Balls recipe and here I am blogging this fragrant tender sweetmeat. […]
ooooh! excellent Treat for this weekend sailu…Thanks once gain for sharing this yummy snack:)
How to Make Pani Puri and Bhel Puri pls advise.
Hello Sailu,
I like your chicken masala balls. I have one doubt please tell me, first i need to grind cumin seeds, coriander seeds, cardamom, cloves, cinnamom, red chillis and cashewnuts after that to keep it one side and later need to grind ginger, garlic green chilles and chicken right? Can you tell me the detail process what i need to grind one by one because i want to try this dish for my husband’s potluck lunch at office.
Veena, you can grind all the ingredients at once. First add the whole spices and grind and then to that add the rest of the ingredients.
Hi Sailu,
Thank u so much 4 such a delicious appetizer….u just made me remember my mom….I tried doing it and it turned out so tasty. everybody liked them so much n said thxs 2 u instead of me..hmmmmmmmmmm
Hi Sailu
Your site looks wonderful and I’m looking forward to trying the receipes you posted.
For the chicken masala balls, can I use minced chicken instead of the boneless variety?
Yes, Gauri, you can use minced chicken. I haven’t tried preparing it with minced chicken though.
wow..i just finished frying them and already half of it is gone..my son loved it..Thanks for sharing..will post the pic. soon..
Sailu,
Do the onion not get fried first then? Seems like they get ground raw and get fried only once (when they are made into the final patties)
Am I right? Please reply. And I am loving your blog!!! Keep up the good work. More authentic non-vegetarian Andhra recipes please….I am a fanatic about those
Thank you, Neel. No, the onions don’t get fried, they are ground raw and are deep fried at the final patti stage.
THANKS THANKS THANKS!!!!!!
for such a wonderful dish never ever thought about it before . i am sure it will be a delicious dish.
Will try to make it this saturday for a party at home will let you know if i do make it.
bye
mahek
Quite a tempting recipe. I shd try this out for sure. Was wondering if it wd be a good idea to pressure cook the chicken first and then grind it with all the ingredients u mentioned !!!
Shn
Shn, I wouldn’t advise pressure cooking the chicken.
Hi Sailaja,
I stumbled upon your website through BongMom’s. Wow….what a great recipe, blog and presentation..Apart from food, there are a lotta things to learn from you, hopefully!!
I should keep visiting this site to update my skills in Indian cuisine…Thanks and Kudos to that Aunty too..!! This recipe goes into my To do list…should try it soon.
LOVE YOUR WEBSITE. MUST HAVE REALLY WORKED HARD TO GIVE EVERY DETAIL. ONE OF A KIND. LOVED THE SNAPS OF INGREDIENTS AND COOKING IN PROGRESS AND OF COURSE THE PHOTO OF FINAL RECIPE. GOOD JOB. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK.
Hai sailu,
thanks for posting chicken balls, the pic looks very tempting. i am gonna try this recipe. i have one doubt, after grinding all the ingredients do we have to just add the onion pieces to the paste or we have to grind the raw onions also. please clear my doubt sailu. again thanks a lot for posting wonderful recipes. keep on posting good recipes.
Padma, you have to grind the onions along with the rest of the ingredients.
Hi Sailu,
Just tried the chicken balls today…. It was excellent… Thanks for the recipe… Looking forward to more delicious recipes from you…
hi sailu,
my hubby really loves dishes made from chicken…..just tried these chicken balls….it was awesome…..he really enjoyed…and me too :)……thanks for the wonderful recipe……it rocked:)
rupa
Dear Sailu,
The chicken meat balls look delicious. I wanted to try but am little confused, only finely chopped onion to be added to the chicken paste or ground along with coarse and also green chillies needed to fry in the oil or just use them as it is. i would also like to thank chadralekha aunty for sharing the recipe.
Sudha, grind all the roasted ingredients with ginger, garlic and green chillis first (like a coarse paste). Next add the rest of the ingredients like chicken, coriander leaves, raw onions and salt to form a smooth paste. Hope this helps.
Thank you sailu for your prompt reply and tried the meat balls . it took even less time for preparation and ymmmmmmm in taste. thanks for sharing the excellent reciepe with us.
Dear Sailu garu,
Tried out your chicken masala balls recipie!! chala baga vachindi!! it was awesome. I took some pics, will send you.
My husband liked them very much.
Thanks for the wonderful recipe.
Cheers
Sravanthi.
Hi,
This is the 1st visit to ur site..really a good website for homemakers…shall surely try some of ur receipies.and Good Going to u too.
Cheers!
I cannot stop drooling. I am diet conscious.So I would like to try to bake it but as the onions are ground raw, wonder how it would turn out. Did you receive any commments from anyone who tried baking this. Thanks and appreciate your effort.
Cheers!
I just had these chicken masala balls and they are so good.A very different taste from the regular cutlets and it has a very tupical Indian taste to it,with all the spices.Very easy to make too.
I forgot to mention Sailu that instead of cashwenuts(which I didnt have with me)I used badam.Thanks for the recipe Sailu!It is indeed a keeper.
Wow
what a great recipe
Hi Sailu
Tried the chicken masala balls.I baked them….it was wonderful.Thanks for the lovely recipe.Great job.
Hi sailu,
ur site is very useful for many members like me.Its very delicious.thank u so muchhhhh
[…] Check out Sandeepa’s version of Chicken masala balls from Sailu’s. And also read how her daughter has already started to walk on mums footsteps and relying on the […]
ultimate website…yummy recipies, presented very beautifully…
way to go!
Your way of presentation and the measurements to the recipies are really superb!!!!!
Hi !
It seems delicious. I thinks these can be shallow fried like cutlets. Does onion also needs to be ground or just added chopped. Will it work. Please advice.