extra crispy lamb meatball knafeh bites with sweet and sour

Meatballs:

1. Combine all meatball ingredients thoroughly in a bowl.
2. Blitz knafeh dough in a food processor until broken down into small pieces - do not turn into powder!
3. Mix melted butter or oil into the broken knafeh dough - just enough to slightly moisten the dough.
4. Form minced meat mixture into bowls (roughly between a tsp and tbsp in size) using palms of your hands.
5. Roll each ball into beaten egg mix, and then cover with knafeh dough mix, ensuring the entire ball is coated.
6. Lay out all the coated balls on a lined baking tray ready for frying.
7. Pour oil up to around 2/3 of a deep pan and heat for frying - should be hot enough for a ball to sizzle immediately but not brown straight away.
8. Deep fry meatballs on medium heat for around 5 minutes - balls should be a deep golden brown. Cut into one to ensure meat is fully cooked - i.e. no pink at all!

Date Dip

1. Simmer all ingredients on a low heat until the dates begin to fall apart.
2. Once dates have decomposed as much as possible, strain the mix. Don't throw away the pulp, great for smoothies etc.
3. Simmer the liquid residue on a very low heat until it thickens.