"Hedgehogs" is an excellent dish for a family feast. After the first spoon, both adults and children will love it. They are very reminiscent of prickly animals, since when cooking the pictures stick out in different directions, like the thorns of a hedgehog. With children, you can beat a dish on a plate by making a muzzle and eyes from sour cream.
The shape of the products resembles meatballs, usually made with a ball, but this does not have much significance, since in the form of cutlets they turn out wonderful. The only difference from meatballs with rice is the fact that rice is placed raw in minced meat, and not boiled until half cooked.
Hedgehog recipes can be different, depending on the place of their preparation and the selected meat. This dish remains tasty after boiling in a pan, cooking in the oven or microwave. And what aromatic they turn out in the slow cooker! You can make “Hedgehogs” with a prescription for those who follow a diet.
In the article, we will consider how to cook this delicious dish according to different recipes. Let's start with the traditional, which is familiar to everyone from childhood. Even novice hostesses will cope with cooking, since the recipe for "Hedgehogs" does not contain any difficulties or special wisdom.
Preparation of Compound Ingredients
We advise you to make any stuffing yourself, because a meat grinder is an item in every home, and independently minced meat is much tastier. You will be sure that this is really meat, and not ground veins, illiquid slices or a large amount of fat, from which the "Hedgehogs" can crumble into pieces during cooking, but we do not need it at all.
Choose lean meat. You can use beef, veal, pork, poultry, if you are on a diet. When you grind meat according to the recipe "Hedgehogs", then twist immediately one medium-sized onion, cut into 4 parts.
Some onions are separately stewed before being minced, however this is not necessary. Then washed raw rice is added, and everything is kneaded by hand with the addition of salt and black pepper. Some eggs do not add, but if you put it in the minced meat, it’s better to hold all the components together.
You need to take much more meat than rice. For example, if you cook "Hedgehogs" according to the recipe from minced meat, then the meat should be 600-700 grams, and rice is taken only 100.
Recipe
Hands form rounded balls and spread on a preheated pan with a bottom covered with a layer of vegetable oil. "Hedgehogs" are fried on both sides and laid out in a casserole in layers. If they are few, then you can use a saucepan or deep frying pan. Some cooks dip the balls in flour before frying, however this is an optional step in the preparation of the dish.
Then the prepared balls are poured with water and put on fire, after boiling the gas is reduced, and the dish is boiled until rice is ready. Sometimes either a spoonful of tomato or a glass of tomato juice is added, from which "Hedgehogs" get a sweet and sour taste. There are recipes according to which instead of water, a special filling is made for meat balls. Consider several options and such cooking.
Gravy Tomato Sauce
The following components are involved in the preparation of the “Hedgehogs” recipe with rice with gravy:
- small strips of one large carrot fried in a pan with the addition of vegetable oil;
- A glass of tomato juice;
- a teaspoon of tomato;
- a tablespoon with a slide of sour cream;
- a tablespoon of white flour;
- spices to taste.
All the ingredients are placed in a separate deep bowl and thoroughly mixed. Then a glass of water is added, and still thoroughly stirred so that there are no lumps from flour. You can fill in both raw and fried balls. The dish is cooked right in the fill until cooked.
Gravy without sour cream
After frying the balls, they are laid out on a deep bowl in anticipation of further action. At this time, you need to cook everything for the gravy. Sliced ​​onion and grated carrot are passaged in vegetable oil. When the vegetables have the necessary consistency, namely, the onion will turn a golden hue, add a spoonful of tomato to the pan and stew for another minute.
You can add squeezed garlic. Then everything is filled with water and stewed for a couple of minutes. Then the balls are laid out in gravy and cooked on low heat for 10 minutes. You can also put raw products in gravy, then the cooking time will be longer until the “Hedgehogs” according to the recipe with gravy are completely ready. The dish is served hot. If you still want to additionally use some kind of sauce, then in the finished dish on a plate you can put a spoonful of sour cream or mayonnaise (optional).
Oven hedgehog recipe
To prepare this type of "Hedgehogs" we take the following products:
- 100 grams of long-grain washed rice. You can pour boiling water over it before kneading in the minced meat so that it insists for a while.
- 300 grams of any minced meat (according to personal preference).
- One clove of garlic and one medium onion are ground together with meat into minced meat.
- Tomato paste - 1 table. the spoon.
- 2 tablespoons of sour cream.
- Salt and various seasonings can be added to both minced meat and sauce to taste.
Cooking
Dipping your hands in water, we make dense balls and stack them in rows either on a baking sheet or in a pan without handles. The egg is not added in this case. Pre-lubricate the bottom of the container with vegetable oil. For pouring, mix sour cream, tomato paste and add water. You can add salt and spices to the liquid, a bay leaf if desired. All balls are filled either completely or by 2/3, so that the upper parts are a little browned from the heat of the oven.
“Hedgehogs” according to the recipe from minced meat with gravy, made in the oven, are aromatic and very tender. They are prepared at a temperature of 200 degrees for 30 or 40 minutes. When the container is put in the oven, the top is covered with foil. And a few minutes before turning off the gas, you need to remove it so that the balls are already baked without it.
Sour cream balls
To prepare such "Hedgehogs" you need to select the following components:
- minced meat in an amount of 400 grams;
- one piece of medium carrot and onion;
- half a glass of washed rice;
- one egg for better bonding of minced meat;
- vegetable oil for frying in a pan of meat balls;
- butter for cooking vegetable frying.
Grind lean meat in a meat grinder, add washed rice. Carrots and onions are finely chopped and passer previously in a pan with the addition of butter. All vegetables are transferred to a bowl of minced meat and rice. Then the mixture must be salt and beat one chicken egg there. Hands carefully knead everything and form beautiful round balls, which are fried on both sides in vegetable oil. Then they are laid out in a deep container in anticipation of the gravy.
Cooking sauce
To make sour cream sauce, you need to mix the following ingredients in a deep bowl:
- filtered water - one and a half 250-gram glasses;
- 3 tablespoons of sour cream without a hill;
- one tbsp. l wheat flour;
- spices such as salt and black pepper, at will.
All ingredients are kneaded so that there are no lumps from adding flour. Then mix the balls into the prepared container. Put everything on fire and cook after boiling over low heat for up to 20 minutes. Ready “Hedgehogs” turn out to be very tender, each piece simply melts after getting into the mouth.
Chicken hedgehogs in a slow cooker
Stuffing for such a dish is prepared mixed. 130 grams of ground chicken fillet is combined with 250 grams of ground beef or veal. Also useful is one head of onion, a clove of garlic, a piece of white bread, a third of a glass of water. Rice is preferably used basmati - 5 tablespoons. Spices are added to taste - salt and black pepper.
This dish is prepared in order to be eaten immediately. This is due to one peculiar moment in the recipe. The fact is that rice in this embodiment does not mix with minced meat. Grains are pre-washed and dried on a paper towel. Then pour in a bowl. Stuffing is being prepared at this time. Different types of meat add uniqueness to the taste of the dish. Also, in a meat grinder, you need to throw onions, garlic and grind a piece of white bread. Only it must first be soaked in water and hand squeeze out the excess liquid. Then add salt and seasonings to taste and forcemeat thoroughly knead.
Each prepared ball is rolled in basmati from all sides. Rice should stick well to the meat. Then the balls are laid out in a special dish with holes for steaming and put in a slow cooker. Hedgehogs are prepared according to the recipe (photo in the article) for half an hour. You need to eat right away, because after cooling, the basmati dries and becomes hard.
Cook with pleasure according to our recipes! Enjoy your meal!