One of my support group members, Joy, brought an appetizer—gluten-free Indian Chicken Curry Balls—to our holiday meeting. These little bites were attractive, very tasty, and very well received!
When I was trying to come up with an entry for Maggie’s (She Let The Eat Cake) theme of Foods That Heal for this month’s Go Ahead Honey, It’s Gluten Free event, I thought of Joy’s recipe. The ingredients (which I’m listing in order of weight, as is done on manufacturers’ labels) were chicken, almonds, coconut, cream cheese, chutney, mayonnaise, curry powder, and salt. While not all of those ingredients stand out as healing foods, some of them certainly do.
![Gluten-Free Indian Chicken Curry Balls. These tasty bites make a wonderful appetizer! I give you a vegan option (using chickpeas), too. [from GlutenFreeEasily.com]](https://glutenfreeeasily.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Indian-Curry-Balls.jpg "Gluten-Free Indian Chicken Curry Balls. These tasty bites make a wonderful appetizer! I give you a vegan option (using chickpeas), too. [from GlutenFreeEasily.com]")
I thought I’d share Joy’s recipe for these gluten-free Indian Chicken Curry Balls today with my slight adaptation and then a second version I made using chickpeas (garbanzo beans) and a few other adaptations I used to make these gluten-free Indian Curry Balls dairy free and vegan as well.
I took these Indian Curry Balls to work to share with my co-workers and then shared some with Mr. GFE for an appetizer later that evening; both versions got two thumbs up from all! I’d happily serve either or both for any holiday event or celebration of any type (maybe even Friday night qualifies, huh?). In fact, I’ve already added these Indian Curry Balls to my menu for our next biennial Valentines Day’s party!
Before we get to the recipes themselves, let’s explore their Foods that Heal components. We’ll talk about the healing ingredients in both versions of this recipe.
Chicken … in the first version, chicken is the star. It’s long been lauded for its healing powers in chicken soup; actual research shows the claims are true.
“Researchers also suspect that part of the healing power of chicken soup lies in the bird itself. Chicken contains a natural amino acid called cysteine, which is chemically very similar to a drug called acetylcysteine. Doctors use acetylcysteine to treat people with bronchitis and other respiratory infections.” Chicken also contains vitamins and nutrients such as niacin, selenium, and B that offer protection from cancer, Alzheimer, and cognitive decline, and ensure cardiovascular health.
Almonds … so many of us love them! They’re a high-fat food—monosaturated fats—that are really good for your health. Read all about the benefits of almonds here.
Curry Powder is comprised of many healing spices. Curry powder contains turmeric, which in turn contains curcumin.
It’s the curcumin that offers the most benefits. It’s a super nutrient and natural polyphenol. Note that there are curcumin supplements, but the optimum benefits come from ingesting curcumin through food.
But the most important thing to know is that adding a 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of curry powder to your favorite food “provides a layer of antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. All the various components of curry also provide antioxidants such as vitamins C and E, which are key nutrients in supporting the immune system.”
So the two versions of this recipe have you covered! A little side note … for a long time, I was resistant to Indian food. It was Diane’s (The Whole Gang) hosting an event for Go Ahead Honey a while back with the theme Scared Silly that had me come out of my hiding place and try curry.
I made a dish called Bombay Potatoes Meet Chickpeas Tomato Curry. Boy, how silly I was … now I’m a curry fan!
Did you know that you can use curry in sweet goods, too? Check out these Peanut Butter Cookies Scented with Curry over at Monica Bhide’s site! (Note that this cookie recipe is not gluten free, but could easily be adapted.)
Raw Coconut Flakes are made from coconut meat and contain a large amount of saturated fat, but these fats are medium chain fatty acids. Medium chain fatty acids are broken down much faster than long chain fatty acids, so they do not contribute to high cholesterol, as long chain fatty acids do. In fact, according to “The Philippine Journal of Cardiology,” the fat in coconut may possibly help to lower bad cholesterol levels and increase good cholesterol levels.
Chickpeas (Garbanzo Beans) … in the second version, my beloved chickpeas “rule.” Chickpeas provide an excellent source of molybdenum, a trace mineral that is needed to detoxify sulfites. “Sulfite-sensitive folks who are deficient in molybdenum may experience symptoms such as headaches, a racing heartbeat, or confusion.”
Molybdenum also has a role in dental health. Chickpeas are a very good source of folic acid, fiber, manganese, protein, iron, copper, zinc, and magnesium. Because of the fiber they provide, chickpeas can also help lower cholesterol and improve blood sugar levels.
Gluten-Free Indian Chicken Curry Balls Recipe (with Vegan Option)
Gluten-Free Indian Chicken Curry Balls
Gluten-Free Indian Chicken Curry Balls. These tasty bites make a wonderful appetizer! They're not only delicious; they make such a lovely presentation.
Ingredients
- 4 ounces cream cheese, slightly softened
- 1 ½ tsp jam (your choice of flavors) and 1 ½ tsp gluten-free Worcestershire sauce (or substitute 1 tbsp chopped chutney), or amounts to taste, in place of both the jam and the Worcestershire sauce)
- 2 tbsp mayonnaise (soy-free Vegenaise works well for a soy-free option)
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 cup chicken (or turkey), cooked and chopped
- 1 tsp curry powder (or more, to taste)
- 1 cup slivered almonds
- ½ cup shredded unsweetened coconut
Instructions
- Add softened cream cheese and mayonnaise to a large bowl.
- Beat together using a wooden spoon.
- Add chicken. Add slivered almonds (crumbling some with the wooden spoon as you stir). Add jam and Worcestershire (or chutney in place of both), salt, and curry powder.
- Shape into walnut-size balls.
- Roll balls in coconut. Chill.
Notes
Adapted from my friend Joy's recipe.
These tasty bites make a wonderful appetizer! They're not only delicious; they make such a lovely presentation. Use whatever jam, jelly, preserves you have on hand. I had two tiny gift jars of jam. (You know … the ones that only contain about 1 to 1 ½ ounces.) I used the Red Raspberry & Pomegranate flavor in the Chicken Curry Balls and the Raspberry Peach Champagne Jam in the Chickpea Curry Balls. Use unsweetened coconut, sweetened coconut, or a combination of unsweetened and sweetened coconut to coat the balls. I grated my coconut flakes more finely in my mini-chopper so they would adhere better. Chickpeas are not as firm as chicken so more “structure” may be needed; adjust the amount of almond flour as needed. I used more curry powder in the vegan version as the chickpeas were not as flavorful as the chicken I had baked in coconut oil with a sprinkling of salt and pepper. Because chickpeas are less firm than chicken, the vegan version requires more chilling time. In appearance, both versions look identical unless you use more curry powder in one over the other and then the version with more curry powder will have a darker yellow color because of the turmeric in the curry powder.Gluten-Free Indian Chickpea Curry Balls (Vegan)
Ingredients
Instructions
Notes
Ina Gawne says
Shirley – these recipes sound wonderful! Anything with curry in it has me right away! Now I am craving curry…think I might make curry for dinner!
Shirley says
Hey Ina–Thank you! Hope you enjoyed your curry! 🙂
Shirley
Diane-thewholegang says
My vegetarian son is going to love these! Very cool.
Shirley says
Hey Diane–I hope he will! Thanks! 🙂
Shirley
Cindy says
Does one have to be careful about gluten in curry powders?
Shirley says
Cindy–One should be careful about gluten in everything except whole, real foods. Off the top of my head, I don’t know a curry powder made in the U.S. that does contain gluten BUT that’s not to say that one doesn’t exist. According to the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act (FALCPA), in the U.S., wheat must be shown on the ingredients label of any product that contains it. I do not know of any concerns regarding curry powder containing barley (also shown as malt) or rye. Spice and herb companies that have cross contamination concerns will usually disclose that and refuse to state that their products are gluten free. Some brands of curry powder are known to be gluten free, however, like McCormick, Penzey’s, and Spice Islands. I use Spice Islands because my local grocery store carries it. Hope that helps!
Shirley
Cindy says
Thank you, so much, for clearing that up. The recipe looks wonderful!
Shirley says
Sure, Cindy, and thanks! 🙂
Shirley
gfveg says
these curried chickpeas balls make me want to have a party!!
Shirley says
gfveg–You should have a party! These are definitely party food. 🙂
Shirley
Alta says
OOh, how creative! I’ll have to figure out a dairy-free, chickpea-free version! 🙂
Shirley says
Alta–In your case, I think you could do a “mix and match” type thing … using chicken instead of chickpeas in the second version. 😉
Shirley
Carol says
Are we voting? If so I vote for your version although both sound fab! Love the addition of jam and worchestershire if you don’t have chutney on hand – very clever!
Shirley says
Hi Carol–Thanks for the vote, dear! I’ve never liked chutney, but I like this substitution mix–thanks! 🙂
xo,
Shirley
InTolerant Chef says
Very nice indeed! We have regular curry nights with friends where we all bring a different type of curry along. Last week we had Sri Lankan seafood, chicken and mango, Thai green chicken, beef rendang, Malaysian laksa, cashew chicken, curry puffs, roti, and more!
Next time i’d like to take these yummy bites as well, they would be a welcome addition indeed!
Shirley says
InTolerant Chef–Oh my goodness! All that food sounds incredible! If these Indian Curry Balls make a “good showing” against that kind of stiff competition, please let me know. 😉
Thanks!
Shirley
cheryl says
That looks yummy. I love how warming Indian spices are.
Shirley says
Hey Chery–Thank you! Warming is a good description of Indian spices. It seems easy to control the results of the curry powder in this recipe. 🙂
Shirley
[email protected] says
Shirley, I LOVE your vegan version! Way to convert that! 🙂
Shirley says
Hey Desi–Thank you, dear. I hope it works out well for all. 🙂
Shirley
Maggie says
Okay I LOVE the idea of these balls Shirley. I’m glad you got past that curry powder thing 🙂 I can’t wait to try your chick pea version. Thank you so much for sharing this with GAHIGF this month. I’m working on the post right now, and wow! The entries are amazing.
Shirley says
Maggie–I think I’m still taking baby steps with curry powder, but I’m getting there. 😉 The GAHIGF roundup IS AMAZING as you said! You did a fabulous job on summarizing, dear! 🙂
xo,
Shirley
Beth @ Tasty Yummies says
Wow – I want those vegan ones RIGHT NOW. I am totally salivating. YUM! Indian flavors are some of my absolute favorite. I really need more of it in my life. I think I need to start with these. Thanks for sharing!
Shirley says
Hi Beth–Welcome to gfe! 🙂 Hope you enjoy these when you make them. I’m fairly new to Indian flavors, but I’m smitten with these Indian curry balls. 😉
Shirley
Kim Moyer says
I cannot find the tag to post to my recipes. I am not good with the computer stuff, but followed your website help but could not find a way to do the tag. I was working with Joy’s curry balls.
Shirley says
Hi Kim–Are you talking about saving the recipe to ZipList? Click on Recipe Box at the top of the page and you should be able to add tags from there. Hope that helps!
Shirley