Last Updated on January 11, 2023 by Chef Mireille
I recently joined a Food Bloggers’ Recipe Swap Group. Every month we are assigned a fellow blogger and must recreate one of their recipes. This is actually not as easy as it sounds, as often two bloggers may have very different cooking styles. Perhaps the blogger uses a lot of processed or canned products which you don’t or they might be a Vegan and you’re not? However, I think it’s a fun exercise to take up the challenge once a month. This month I was assigned The Cheerful Kitchen and decided to try her Vegetarian Chickpea meatballs. Although she went with Italian seasonings, I brought some Indonesian flavors into mine. I hope you enjoy these Indonesian Chickpea “faux meatballs”.
Most of the specialty ingredients I used to make it Indonesian you will be able to find them at your local Asian supermarket. Indonesian sweet soy sauce, chili paste and shrimp powder really create a dynamic flavor profile. Although my version is no longer Vegetarian since I added a little shrimp powder, you can feel free to omit it and try this meal for #meatlessmondays.
Whether you keep them Vegetarian or not, by baking them instead of frying these “meatballs”, they definitely make a low fat, healthy meal. I turned them into a complete meal by serving them with green tea noodles simply tossed with a little sesame oil and garnished with black sesame seeds. They also would make a great party snack by just serving them with some sauce. You can try this Sosu Kaani, which would compliment them well. Eventhough it’s a Senegalese sauce, it would compliment these “meatballs” well.
This is part of the Bake-a-thon 2016
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Indonesian Chickpea “faux meatballs”
Indonesian Chickpea "faux meatballs"
Ingredients
- 2 15.5 oz. canned chickpeas rinsed and drained
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon kecap manis Indonesian sweet soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons Sambal Olek Indonesian chili paste
- 1 tablespoon shrimp powder
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped mint
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 F. Spray a baking dish with non stick spray.
- Put chickpeas and garlic in a food processor and process until it is a thick paste. It is alright if it is a little chunky.
- Transfer to a large bowl and add all of the other ingredients and mix well until thoroughly combined.
- Form into 17 meatballs, about the size of a small lime. Transfer to baking dish.
- Bake for 30 minutes. Turn meatballs over and bake for another 10 minutes.
This faux meatballs sounds prefect for me, and this baked Indonesian flavored chickpeas balls makes me drool.
Indonesian flavored flax meatballs looks amazing and would love to munch on them as a snack.
Nice twist on my recipe! These sound delicious.
Wow that look amazing!!
Wow, what an interesting meatballs with chickpeas. My family looks meatless meatballs and this recipe looks perfect to try for them.
I always look for meatless meatballs and this sounds perfect to try on.
Excellent choice for vegetarians…good one!
yes definitely a great option for any vegetarian meal