Some dishes don’t win you over with extravagance — they touch your heart because they taste like home. One such dish is Boller i Karry, Denmark’s beloved classic of tender meatballs bathed in a creamy curry sauce and served over a soft bed of rice. It’s pure, nostalgic comfort — the kind that warms you from the inside out
Mention Boller i Karry to anyone in Denmark, and you’ll likely see a fond smile. It recalls childhood lunches in school cafeterias, cosy weekday family dinners, and the familiar aroma of curry filling the house before mealtime. It’s a dish made to please both children and adults — gentle in spice, rich in flavour, and full of heart
The Story Behind the Curry – A Danish Take on Spice around the World
You may find it hard to believe that you will read the word curry in a typical Danish recipe, but Boller i Karry has been selling like hot cakes in Denmark for generations. The dish started to rise in prominence during the mid-20th century when Denmark, like most nations, started experimenting with exotic spices. Curry powder found its way into the local supermarkets, and the homemakers began mixing it in sauce to stir some heat and effervescence into their daily meals
This creamy and mild curry recipe is how this tender meat dish had its creation, by creating the mouthwatering Danish interest in delicate meatballs and mixing it with the silky yellow sauce lightly flavoured and tinged with a glowing warmth and aroma of the curry spice. It is not hot and pungent. It is warm, comforting and child-friendly, but at the same time has enough bite to remain entertaining.
Ingredients
For the Meatballs:
- Grab around 500g ground pork (or either a mix of pork and veal)
- 1 small onion, finely grated
- 1 egg
- ½ cup milk
- ½ cup breadcrumbs (or oats, if preferred)
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- 1 tsp mild curry powder (optional, for added flavor)
For the Curry Sauce:
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1½ tbsp mild curry powder
- 2 cups cooking water (from boiling the meatballs)
- ½ cup milk or cream
- Salt & pepper to taste
- No pork? Ground chicken or turkey may be used as a lighter version.
- Dairy free: replace butter with plant based milk and oil. Want still more heat? Add a pinch of chili powder to the curry sauce
Instructions
Step 1: Put the ground meat in great bowl, add grated onion, a beaten egg, a little milk, one-third cup bread crumbs, sprinkling of salt, a little fresh ground pepper, and a spoonful of curry powder (optional). Leave to stand for about 10 to 15 minutes, this will turn the mixture hard
Step 2 : Pour a large pot of salted water to a gentle boil. With wet hands or a spoon form small meatballs. Drop them down in the hot water slowly. Boil about 8 to 10 minutes or till they float and they are firm. Lift away with a slotted spoon and put aside the cooking-water
Step 3: Take a saucepan and add the butter and let it to melt further then add flour and curry and make a roux, boil a minute or two, stirring all the time
Step 4: Slowly add approximately 2-cups of the cooked water of the meat balls. Stir until it becomes smooth. Put in milk or cream, and simmer them until thickened. Salt and pepper
Step 5 : Place back the meatballs in the curry sauce and allow to warm up again 5-10 minutes to allow flavors to blend
Serving Tips
- Serve on top of fluffy, hot, white rice jasmine or basmati is very pretty
- Throw in a side of steamed peas, cucumber salad or even apple slices to give a hint of freshness
- Spice with chopped parsley, or a teaspoon of cream in a curl
- Children eat it with a dollop of ketchup (I have seen some do)
- Make extra sauce — it’s too good not to soak every grain of rice
Boller i Karry is a perfect weekday dinner or a comforting weekend meal when you want something warm without spending all day cooking
Precaautions and Friendly Kitchen Notes
Don’t boil the meatballs too hard — gentle simmering keeps them tender
- Curry powder varies — taste first and adjust if needed
- Whisk the sauce continuously while adding liquid to avoid lumps
- Letting the meat mixture rest makes the meatballs easier to shape
- If you’re reheating, do it slowly over low heat to keep the sauce smooth
More About Boller i Karry
Boller i Karry doesn’t need fancy plating. It doesn’t beg for attention.Yet, what it does is just that it enwraps you in a blanket of warmth, one spoonful of the sauce, another forkful of rice, another bite of soft meatball at a time so that by the end of a meal your coat feels warmly rather than lightly on your body and your heart has a cozy glow
It is a food that tells a secret of love it could be what your grandmother prepared, a meal your mother gave you on a rainy Tuesday night because you had a bad time at school. And in a manner it is equally comforting now
Cook it with people that you love, keep it basic pleasure, and have it say to you that the most delicious dinners do not need to be followed as the complicated ones but the ones that are loving.
