Spaghetti with Veggie (meat)balls

You will need:

For the Pesto spaghetti:

Spaghetti (I used gluten-free spaghetti)

a bunch of spinach leaves

a bumch of cilantro leaves

2 cloves of garlic

1-2 green chillies – optional

olive oil

4-5 walnuts

salt

For the veggie (meat) balls:

1 small beetroot (steamed and shredded),

1 cup of frozen veggie mix (carrots, peas, beans and corn)

1 tsp coriander powder

A pinch of garam masala

1 tsp of ground fresh ginger+green chilli (you can add more if you like spicy)

A bunch of finely chopped cilantro leaves

1 big potato – boiled, peeled, mashed and cooled

1 Onion – finely chopped

1 slice of bread – run through the food processor OR 1/2 cup of bread crumbs

1/4 cup cornstarch

Oil for shallow frying

Procedure:

Blitz the frozen veggies (thawed) in a food processor and mix with the shredded beetroot
To the veggie mixture add 1-2 potatoes – boiled peeled and mashed (add when potatoes are completely cooled down)
Next add a tsp of coriander powder, a pinch of garam masala and a tsp of ground fresh ginger+green chilli (you can add more if you like spicy) and a bunch of finely chopped cilantro leaves

In a pan heat a tbsp of oil and sauté one small onion finely chopped. I added extra ginger+chilli to this. Next add the veggie and potato mixture and sauté on medium flame till it comes together and starts becoming dry-ish
Remove into another bowl or plate and let cool completely – this is very important or the veggie balls will be too moist and won’t hold shape
To the cooked mixture add a slice of bread – crumbed in the food processor. Or you can add half a cup of bread crumbs

Shape bite-size balls with the veggie mix, roll in some corn starch and shallow fry. You can also use an indented pan (appe patra) to fry the balls.

while the balls cook, Grind together a handful of spinach leaves, a handful of cilantro, 2 cloves of garlic, 1 green chillies, 3-4 walnut halves and a tbsp of EVOO to make a paste, add little water as needed.

Cook spaghetti al dente – I have used gluten free spaghetti.
Heat a tbsp of oil in a pan and add the pesto sauce and sauté for just a few seconds till raw spinach and garlic smell reduces.

Toss in the spaghetti and remove on a plate and top with generous amounts of Parmesan cheese and then place the veggie balls on top.
Drizzle leftover pesto from the pan with extra olive oil on the dish and some extra Parmesan.

This recipe makes about 12 -14 meatballs
You can also use marinara sauce instead of the spinach cilantro pesto.
You can find the Mariana sauce recipe here
If you like extra spice, add more green chillies to the pesto or a dash of crushed red chili flakes on top.