Garam Masala Beef Keftas

Garam Masala Beef Keftas excerpted from Good Food, Good Mood: 100 Nourishing Recipes to Support Mind and Body Wellness by Tamara Green and Sarah Grossman. Photography by Daniel Alexander Skwarna.

Good Food, Good Mood: 100 Nourishing Recipes to Support Mind and Body Wellness by Tamara Green and Sarah Grossman.

Can what you eat actually affect your mood? The short answer is YES. Discover how to eat to reduce stress, boost energy, help focus, instill calm, and improve sleep. In Good Food, Good Mood, you’ll learn that by eating better you can feel better too.

There are many pieces to the mental wellness puzzle, and in their second cookbook, certified nutritionists Tamara Green and Sarah Grossman focus on one element that you can control: food. By taking you through the latest science, in clear, digestible bites, they provide key takeaways that you can implement into your daily life to help you support your mood through food. Inside, you’ll discover how to:

Understand the Basics: Learn how to make better food choices that will support your mental health—without completely cutting out sweets or grasping for other “quick-fix” solutions.
Empower Yourself: At a glance, each recipe identifies the mood and nutrient benefits you may experience with that specific dish, including balancing blood sugar, providing protein, delivering healthy fats, supplying fiber, and more.
Take Action: Apply this knowledge to your daily meal planning with over 100 recipes spanning Breakfasts, Snacks, Mains, Sides, Desserts, and Drinks.
Eat for Your Mood: Depending on your needs, snack on Easy Seedy Flax Crackers to help balance blood sugar and enhance focus; enjoy Ribboned Carrot Slaw with Miso Sesame Vinaigrette to help ease anxiety by supporting gut health; and feast on Crispy Turmeric Chicken Thighs for a protein-rich meal to create feel-good neurotransmitters.

With mental health at the forefront of so many people’s minds, exploring the relationship between brain and gut health has never been more important. With Good Food, Good Mood as your guide, you’ll gain the confidence and knowledge needed to make the best choices for your mental well-being—and overall health—today and long into the future.

Good Food, Good Mood: 100 Nourishing Recipes to Support Mind and Body Wellness by Tamara Green and Sarah Grossman is available at Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk and Indigo.ca.

PREP TIME: 15 Minutes COOK TIME: 30 Minutes SERVES: 4

+ Blood Sugar Balancer

+ Protein-Powered

We are obsessed with these keftas, and so are our clients. They have a wonderfully complex flavor while being very, very easy to prepare. The garam masala makes this dish, so do not skip this ingredient. The crunchy walnuts and sweetyettart currants pair really well with the beef. These keftas are high in protein, especially the amino acid tryptophan, which can help you feel relaxed and calm. Enjoy these with a salad, such as our Cucumber Salad Three Ways (page 161), or with roasted veggies, such as our Blistered Broccoli with Beet Tahini Drizzle (page 169).

1 egg

¼ cup roughly chopped raw walnuts

3 Tbsp roughly chopped currants or raisins

1 lb ground beef

¼ cup finely chopped fresh parsley

1 tsp garam masala

½ tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp ground cumin

½ tsp sea salt Pinch of pepper

¼ cup plain Greek yogurt or dairy-free yogurt, for garnish (optional)

2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley, for garnish (optional)

2 Tbsp pomegranate seeds, for garnish (optional)

TAHINI LEMON SAUCE

3 Tbsp tahini

1½ Tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice

2 Tbsp cold water Pinch of sea salt

Preheat the oven to 375°F or a grill to 350°F–400°F. If using the oven, line a baking sheet with parchment paper. If grilling and using 4–6 wooden skewers, soak the skewers in water for at least 15 minutes so they don’t burn on the grill. (Alternatively, you can use metal skewers.)
In a large bowl, whisk the egg. Add the walnuts, currants, beef, parsley, garam masala, cinnamon, cumin, salt, and pepper. Mix together until combined. It’s easiest if you use your hands to do this.
Roasting Method: Form 3 Tbsp of the mixture into a football-shaped kefta. Place on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining mixture. Bake for 20 minutes, then flip and bake for 10 minutes more, until an inserted meat thermometer reads 160°F and the keftas are browned.
Grilling Method: Shape the meat around the skewers into any shape you want—long logs or football-like shapes. Place the skewers on the grill and every few minutes flip using tongs. Cook for about 10–15 minutes, until browned or until a meat thermometer inserted into the center of a kefta reads 160°F.
Prepare the sauce by combining the tahini, lemon juice, cold water, and salt in a bowl. Whisk until smooth and runny.
To serve, drizzle with the yogurt and sprinkle with the parsley and pomegranate seeds, if you like. Drizzle the tahini sauce overtop. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Excerpted from Good Food, Good Mood by Tamara Green and Sarah Grossman. Copyright © 2023 Tamara Green and Sarah Grossman. Photographs by Daniel Alexander Skwarna. Published by Appetite by Random House®, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.