Niki Cloob

As far as I can tell, this means Niki Club. It could also be spelled klub, klubb, kloob, etc. This is based off of my Norwegian Cloob recipe that still has me angry from all the deception. I still love the name, though, so I decided to make my own, legitimately gluten free, version. 

Ingredients:
6 Potatoes, Mashed
2 Potatoes, Grated
1 Egg, Beaten
Garbanzo Bean Flour (for rolling the dumplings in, though sorghum flour would work)
1 lb. Ground Meat (we used turkey, but sausage would be quite tasty)
Olive Oil for Frying

Directions:

• Mash and grate potatoes as the ingredients list states
• Mix mashed and grated potatoes together, then add beaten egg and mix
• Brown meat
• Heat olive oil in a pan. When you drip a drop of water in oil, it should make popping and spitting sounds. 
• Flatten out some of the potato mix in your palm (you don't want too much otherwise the grated raw potato won't cook [VE]) and add the meat to the center. Fold your hand up to make a cup. The potato should almost encompass the meat.
• Add more potato to the top to create a seal to keep the meat in. See image below. 
• Roll the potato ball in your hand to smooth it out and then roll it in the Garbanzo bean flour. 
• I would recommend making up a few of these dumplings before sticking them in oil. 
• Let it cook until it is a nice brown color, then turn the dumpling. 
• Repeat until the dumpling is cooked. 
• Place cooked dumpling on a paper towel to absorb excess oil. 

---

This was after I scooped up all the grated potato that went everywhere. 

The ground turkey. It smelled like pork and apples, which was very strange. I decided I'm not particularly fond of ground turkey. 

A potato cup filled with meat. At this point, if you cup your hand more, the potato will almost cover the meat. Then add more potato to cover the top. Remember, you only want a thin layer. 

This is about the color you want to achieve on the potato. Remember to keep turning the dumpling when one side is done. Also, the olive oil may smoke. If that happens, get it a nicotine patch and a quit smoking hotline number. Just kidding. Turn the heat down and wait longer for the dumpling to cook.

Garbanzo bean flour. I had to put more on the place a couple times. 

This here is the mashed potato/grated potato mix. If you want to season it, now is the best time. 

After rolling the potato balls in your hand, roll them in the garbanzo bean flour and stick them in the oil. 

I keep thinking this looks like a scotch egg. This is what the inside looks like. Eat on it's own or with some sort of delicious sauce. 

Notes:
You can use any flour for this I would imagine, but I really like the taste of garbanzo bean flour. 

If you use a different kind of meat, be sure to drain the excess grease off of it. 

If you want a delicious sauce to use with this, I love Salt Lick Sauce. The Salt Lick is a barbecue place in Austin, Texas and as someone who doesn't like bbq sauce, I love this stuff. If you don't live in Texas, don't fret. It's available on Amazon too. 

I chose not to season our dumplings because TC is trying to cut back on his salt intake. Besides, it's always easier to season after the fact than it is to fix something that has been seasoned wrong. 

I'll be honest, I have no idea how many potatoes I actually mashed. I made mashed potatoes before I made these, so instead of making a bunch of mashed potatoes, I saved some and used them for this. 

Review:
Well, this was delicious. I would 100% make this again. It was a really good option for both TC and I. I would use something else as meat next time. Bacon would be delicious, but some bison meat, ground venison, even lean ground beef would be tasty. I would give this a 4 because of the lack of seasoning. It could be an excellent stand alone food if seasoned properly. I didn't get a rating from TC on this one yet. I'll ask him tomorrow. So the total score will have to wait. Oh! the suspense!