Balti Tempeh Balls With Curried Butter Beans

Balti Tempeh Balls With Curried Butter Beans

We've been making these on repeat lately and honestly they've blown us away every single time. Crispy, spiced tempeh balls packed with that deep, smoky balti flavour sit on top of creamy curried butter beans. It's the kind of dinner that feels really special but comes together without too much faff. The broccoli sneaks into the balls and adds this brilliant texture you'd never guess was there, and the butter beans soak up all that sauce and turn silky and rich. Seriously, if you're looking for a plant-based dinner that'll impress even the most sceptical person at the table, this is the one.

Serves 2

Before You Start

  • Large baking tray lined with parchment (if baking tempeh balls)
  • Food processor
  • Frying pan or saucepan

Ingredients

  • 1 pack The Spice Tailor Classic Balti Curry kit
  • 200g tempeh
  • 1 × 700g jar butter beans
  • 1 small head broccoli
  • 10g nutritional yeast
  • 6 tbsp breadcrumbs
  • Fresh coriander
  • Plant-based yoghurt or cream
  • Nigella Seeds
  • Pickled red onions
  • Plant-based naan

Method

1

Prepare ingredients

  • Crumble the tempeh into smaller pieces
  • Set aside 2 tbsp of butter beans from the jar
  • Roughly chop the broccoli stem and chop the head into small florets
2

Make the tempeh ball mixture

  • Blitz the tempeh, broccoli stem, reserved beans, nutritional yeast and The Spice Tailor Balti base paste together in a food processor (or crumble and finely mash the two together until well combined)
  • Add 5 tbsp of breadcrumbs and mix well
  • Season with a pinch of salt and pepper
  • Using your hands, form the mixture into bite-sized balls (you should get about 6–8 balls)
  • Bake the tempeh balls on a baking tray for 15–20 minutes, turning halfway, until golden and slightly crisp
  • Alternatively, heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat
  • Pan-fry the balls for around 7-8 minutes turning to brown all over and ensuring they’re hot throughout
3

Make the curried butter beans

  • While the tempeh balls cook, heat a frying pan or saucepan over medium heat
  • Add the butter beans along with their liquid, The Spice Tailor Balti main sauce and the whole spices and the broccoli florets
  • Stir well and let the curry simmer for about 5 minutes, allowing the beans to heat through and the sauce to thicken
  • Season to perfection with salt and pepper if needed
  • Remove any large whole spices if you encounter them before serving
4

Serve

  • Spoon the curried butter beans into shallow bowls
  • Place the crispy tempeh balls on top of the beans
  • Garnish with plant-based yoghurt, fresh coriander leaves, nigella seeds and pickled onions if desired and serve with plant-based naan bread

Tips & Variations

  • Make them crispier: We find that pressing the balls together really firmly and chilling them in the fridge for 20 minutes before cooking helps them hold their shape and go golden and crispy on the outside rather than soft all the way through.
  • Swap the protein: Ian loves making these with a mix of tempeh and cooked lentils when he wants a slightly softer texture inside. Just swap half the tempeh for green lentils and blitz as normal.
  • Bulk it out: If you want to stretch this into a bigger meal, serve it over fluffy basmati rice or with warm naan on the side. Henry always adds a big handful of fresh coriander on top right at the end and it makes the whole thing feel restaurant-level.

Why This Works

The trick here is using The Spice Tailor Balti base paste in the tempeh ball mixture itself, not just the sauce, so every single bite is packed with flavour from the inside out. Blitzing the broccoli stem into the mix is something we started doing to cut down on waste and it genuinely makes the balls hold together better and adds a lovely subtle earthiness. Trust us on this one, don't skip that step.