BUTTER CHICKEN MEATBALLS

WITH RUSTIC GARAM MASALA TOMATO SAUCE AND SLIVERED ALMONDS

Serves: 4 | Cook time: 40 min

There’s a reason our Butter Chicken Sausages have won so many awards over the years. THEY’RE INCREDIBLY DELICIOUS!!

Warm, aromatic, and utterly satisfying, this Butter Chicken Meatballs with Rustic Garam Masala Tomato Sauce recipe elevates our sausages into a show-stopping fusion dish.

Handmade from Meat at Billy’s award-winning butter chicken sausages, these meatballs are quick roasted until golden and juicy. Meanwhile, roasted tomatoes blend into a chunky, spice-kissed sauce with a stir of crème fraîche and a squeeze of fresh lime to brighten every bite.

Paired with fragrant basmati rice infused with ghee and cardamom and finished with fresh coriander, toasted slivered almonds, lime wedges, and optional chilli or yoghurt for contrast, this dish strikes the perfect balance: cozy, creamy, and layered with flavor. It’s the kind of comforting dinner that looks sophisticated but comes together with ease—ideal for both weeknight indulgence or impressing friends at the dinner table.

Note: The butter chicken sausage flavour itself is definitely not spicy in chilli terms and therefore is super kid friendly too.

INGREDIENTS
4 x butter chicken sausages
1 tbsp olive oil
2 large ripe tomatoes, quartered
2 tbsp ground garam masala
1 tbsp crème fraiche or double cream
2 tsp lime juice

Fragrant Basmati Rice
1 cup white or brown basmati rice
5 green cardamom pods, cracked
1 ½ cups water / 2 cups if using brown rice
1 tbsp ghee
½ tsp salt

To Serve
Optional: fresh coriander, slivered almonds, lime wedges, green chilli, yoghurt and mini cucumbers.

METHOD
Preheat the oven to 180°C fan forced.

Remove the skins from the butter chicken sausages and discard the skins. Roll the sausage meat into 12 large meatballs, approximately 3 meatballs per sausage.

In a small bowl, toss the tomatoes with the olive oil and garam masala.

Place the meatballs and the tomatoes in a large roasting dish in a single layer and bake in the oven for approximately 30-35 minutes or until the meatballs are cooked through and the tomatoes are soft.

When you’re meatballs go into the oven, make the fragrant rice.
Rinse the rice under cold running water until the water runs clear. Drain.

In a medium pot, bring the water, ghee, salt, cardamom and rinsed rice to the boil. Cover the pot with a tight fitting lid, then turn the heat down to a gentle simmer and cook for 15-20 minutes or until all the water is absorbed and the rice is tender, still with a little bite to it, not mushy. If the rice is still firm or chalky add a few tablespoons of water and continue to cook for a few more minutes.

Remove the saucepan from the heat and allow to sit covered for 5 minutes. Gently fluff the rice with a spoon.

Once the meatballs are cooked, remove the meatballs from the roasting dish and set aside. Using a fork, mash the roasted tomatoes to a rustic chunky sauce. Add in the crème fraiche and lime juice and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper if needed.

TO SERVE
Spoon the fragrant rice onto a serving platter and top with the butter chicken meatballs. Serve with the rustic tomato sauce, coriander, lime wedges and scatter with slivered almonds.