Dutch Bitterballen recipe

Do you know that the Netherlands has occupied and ruled Indonesia in the past? During that time a lot of  Dutch influence almost everything including Indonesian food. And the other way around,  Indonesian taste also affected some Dutch foods - even up to this day. Several examples of classic Indonesian food which affected by Netherlands taste are: Kaastengels, Kroketten, Poffertjes, klaperrtaart, Spekkoek, Ontbijtkoek, Bruine soep, bifstuk, Fracadel (now popular as "perkedel" in Indonesia), Oliebollen, etc. Bitterballen which I make now and some other more. Those food are everybody's favorite till now.

Some I already posted here, and I try to make some other too.. ..I believe you will love them.

Bitterballen is small round-- meatball look-alike, coated with bread crumb and deep-fried in hot oil. Better serve it warm with mustard sauce or mix mayonnaise and tomato ketchup/ chilly.

Yield: 15 ~ 20 balls

Ingredients I:
 2 tablespoons margarine
 1 medium onion, finely chopped
 3 cloves garlic, smash and finely chopped
 1 green onion (whole part), finely chopped
 ± 150 g minced beef
 ¾ cup all purpose flour
 1 cup milk
 1 ~ 2 tsp salt or to taste
 ½ ~ 1 tsp pepper powder
 ½ teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
 ½ cup grated cheddar cheese


Ingredients II:
 small size 2 eggs, beaten
 Bread crumb (medium coarse)/ panko
 Cooking oil for deep fry

How to make:
1) Heat margarine, saute onions and garlic until fragrant and transparent. Mix in minced meat, stir-fry until it changes in color. seasoning with salt,pepper and nutmeg. Stir in flour, mix all for few minutes.


2) Pour whole milk and stir until thick. Put chopped green onion, mix for few minutes. Combine cheese, stir until cheeses slightly melted, then turn off the heat.


3) Take small amount of that dough and shape round bigger than marbles. Dip into beaten egg, coated with bread crumb. Dip again into beaten egg and coated with bread crumb again. Do same procedure to remaining dough.

4) Heat oil to deep fry. Fry bitterballen only few minutes in hot oil just until golden brown. Remove and drain the remaining oil
Note: To give good result of this bitterballen without break/ cracking, use very hot and enough oil to make deep fry.


Serve warm or at room temperature with a mixture of mayonnaise and tomato/ chilly sauce  or dip it in mustard sauce.