Labneh balls with podi & oregano mix | Glutenfreewhisk

 I never thought I will be able to pull this recipe off. I mean I always make blunders with the simplest of the recipes, but I made this amazing recipe and yes, it is so satisfying. The idea of using thick hung crud coated with masala of choice is simply marvelous. For my labneh ball recipe I am using two masalas. One is my homemade moringa podi masala and the other is oregano spice mix from domino's. And I loved both these combination of Labneh balls.

The original recipes that I have checked on the social media says to hang the curd with salt for 2 days. But I hung my curd for just 24 hours and without salt and my labneh balls were well formed and great. The reason I didn't add any salt was my masala choice had salt in it and I don't like too salty food. The domino's oregano mix is salty and flavorful enough and my moringa podi was perfectly salty with other spices to my liking and I didn't feel the need to add more salt.

If you want to make your own podi masala at home, then check out my recipe for the same. But this time I have fixed myself a super delicious and healthier batch of podi by adding fresh moringa leaves. So, all you have to do is clean, wash and dry roast moringa leaves in a pan with curry leaves and blend it with rest of the ingredients as mentioned in the recipe. This moringa podi masala is just delicious.

There are a lot of traditional spice mix and variations that are used to coat these labneh balls but as an Indian I am choosing to coat them with podi and oregano mix. I don't eat pizzas, but my family does and like everyone we have those oregano mix that you get from dominos. We store these sachets in the refrigerator and use them in a number of things. So, I decided to use a few sachets to coat these labneh balls. They are salty, flavorful and spicy enough that there is no need to add anything else.

Ideally, you eat these labneh balls with a slice of toast, but I don't have any gluten-free bread made so I am serving it with tiny, crispy jowar roti and this is the best way to have labneh balls if you don't have your choice of bread at home and you are in no mood for baking a fresh loaf. If you want to learn how to make jowar roti without breaking them, you can check my recipe for soft jowar roti with carrots. But for this I have kneaded a tight dough to get crispy small round mini roti. Roast them with ghee on a hot pan from both the side and serve these with labneh balls for a gluten-free version quick toast version.

Traditionally the labneh balls have a za'atar mix coating or sumac powder. This za'atar mix is a combination of herbs with sesame seeds. The herbs used are oregano, thyme or mint. This middle eastern labneh balls recipe with za'atar mix are soaked in extra virgin olive oil and can last up to 2-3 months at room temperature. Sumac powder is a tangy, acidic powder made with sumac berries found in the Mediterranean and middle eastern regions. It's like pickling. A certain mix of ingredients with natural preservatives and oil increases the shelf life of the food. I have no experience of keeping these labneh balls at room temperature so I don't know for how long these labneh balls will last. But I have stored them in the refrigerator, and mine were fresh even after 3 weeks. 

You can easily get both sumac and za'atar powder in the market and online now. You can order them from these brands also. Doyen za'atar seasoning and urban platter sumac powder. There are many pther options to choose from.

INGREDIENTS - 

1 cup curd, hang it overnight

Olive oil

Moringa podi masala

Oregano mix

To serve

A toast or mini crispy jowar roti

METHOD - 

1. Take the thick curd and hang it for overnight in a muslin cloth with weight on top so that all the water is released and you get a nice firm curd.

2. Now apply some oil in your hands, scoop out small portion of curd and roll them using your greased palms. Make them small in size like a table tennis ball.

3. Roll these in moringa podi masala and oregano mix alternatively and dip them in a glass jar filled with olive oil.

4. Make sure the labneh balls are immersed completely.

5. Refrigerate them so that they have a longer shelf live. Enjoy them in your breakfast with your toast.

6. I am serving them with mini jowar crispy roti and they are indulgent.

Note - You can add salt to your curd and then hang it. Also, use any spice mix of choice to coat the labneh balls. Use a glass container and not a plastic one. Use olive oil or any neutral oil of choice.

If you are looking for transparent glass jar with lid, then check these 400 ml sitovi air tight pack of 6 glass jars that will be perfect to store your labneh balls in.

Check the full recipe on YouTube (Gluten_free_whisk) - Labneh balls with podi and oregano mix recipe.

Labneh balls with podi & oregano mix | Glutenfreewhisk