boller i karry danish meatballs curry classic recipe english

Danish Curry Meatballs & Rice

Published on by Renee

Boller i karry, roughly translated to “meatballs in curry”, is a classic, traditional Danish dish loved by many, the young and the old, and especially by… ME!

I’m not sure why it has taken me almost 3 decades to figure out the wonderfulness of this classic Danish dish, but when my mother-in-law first made it when my husband and I first visited Denmark, I was hooked.

When she came to visit us last year, I made it a personal mission to learn how to make boller i karry from her, and this is the result. This recipe is the classic, the authentic, the traditional Danish recipe handed down generation to generation. And it’s incredible!

Though there are “modern” versions of boller i karry today (such as adding apples to the sauce); the following is the simplest, easiest and classic boller i karry recipe. Feel free to add whatever you’d like in the curry and as a side dish — it’s very versatile and goes with anything, although I personally like it on its own with rice.

Danish Curry Meatballs & Rice (Boller I karry)

Serves 2-3

Ingredients

  • 1.5 cups white rice

For the meatballs:

  • 1 white onion
  • 4 tablespoons of gluten-free flour
  • 400g of minced chicken (see note 1)
  • 1 large egg (or 2 small ones)
  • 500ml chicken stock
  • salt and pepper

For the curry sauce:

  • 2 tablespoons curry powder (see note 2)
  • 1 tablespoon turmeric (optional)
  • 75g butter
  • 250ml whole milk
  • 3 tablespoons gluten-free flour
  • chicken stock (the water where you cook your meatballs in)
  • salt and pepper

Method

1. Peel and finely chop the onion and place in a mixing bowl. Mix in the minced chicken, chopped onion, flour and egg(s) and stir until it’s smooth. Add a pinch of salt and pepper.

2. Use a spoon to help you form the meatballs. Scoop one tablespoon worth of the mixture and roll into balls with your hands. Make balls until all the mix is used. Set aside.

3. Heat the chicken stock on the stove to boiling point and place your meatballs in. They will take approximately 8 minutes to boil. When done, set aside.

4. To make the sauce, melt the butter in a saucepan on medium heat and add the curry powder, stirring and letting it cook for less than a minute. Add the flour and continue to stir together. Add some of the chicken stock  — a few tablespoons — from the pot where the meatballs are cooking, adding little by little into the saucepan to make it a little bit runny, while continuing to stir.

5. Add the milk to the sauce, as well as some salt and pepper and continue to stir. It should thicken up nicely, but make sure it doesn’t get too thick.

6. When your meatballs are done, put them into the sauce and continue to cook a little bit more for a few minutes, coating them in the curry sauce. Serve with rice.

Enjoy!

Note 1: the classic boller i karry recipe uses minced pork, but since we don’t eat pork, we substituted with minced chicken. It’s still delicious, and dare I say more so as chicken balls. However, you can simply replace the minced chicken with minced pork in this recipe if you prefer.

Note 2: Test to see how “potent” the curry powder you have is and adjust the amount in the recipe accordingly. Generally, this dish does not have a hint of spiciness at all, as children eat it as well, but feel free to make a spicy version.

This recipe has been adapted from Madsvin.com.

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P.S. Salsa Chicken & Rice and Thai Basil Chicken Rice.