Improvised herbs meatballs

Meatballs are fascinating. Imagine what kind of people it take to invent them. Probably some thrifty cooks and food fanatics, but certainly not people that care less about what they eat. I suspect some such people are born with a cooking gene in them. A friend of mine is certainly among the meatball inventors. I've never met her, but I know her through her pickles! That left an impression, and a powerful one. When she started publishing her recipes, I was over-joyous. She has unlocked a door into Persian cooking, I mean real home cooking, which you don't get unless an Iranian invites you home and sets a table before you. It's a world of saffron, rose water, spices and herbs; and a world of luxury refined by age. 
Her Persian meatballs was incredibly inviting. Here is the recipe I improvised from hers. It goes very well with saffron rice. With my heavy use of herbs, the herbs characterize the flavor of the meatballs. It's a matter of personal preference what herbs are best. Since I use so much herbs, I need an egg to glue up everything.


Recipe: Improvised herbs meatballs for 2-3


Ingredients:
- 12 oz ground beef (80% lean)
- 1/2 cup bread crumb
- 1/2 cup dry herbs
- onion 1 small finely chopped, 1 small sliced
- 1 egg
- 1/4 teaspoon cumin
- 2-3 tablespoon (TB) tomato sauce
- 2 TB catchup
- 1 TB Worchestershore sauce
- salt to taste
- oil, 2 TB for meat mixture, 2 TB for frying sauce
- 2 cups water


Procedures


1. Mix herbs, bread crumb, cumin, salt thoroughly in a bowl. Add ground beef and finely chopped onion. Mix well. Add catchup, Worchestershore sauce and 1 egg (for gluing). Knead the mixture into a smooth paste. Add 2 TB oil if mixture is too dry. Roll into 1.5" diameter meatballs. The meatballs may be baked as such or set aside to be boiled. (Baked meatballs are more sturdy and juicy; while boiled ones make a great soup.)


2a. For boiling: In a sauce pan, fry 1 sliced onion in 2 TB oil until golden. Add tomato paste and water. Stir into a sauce. When sauce is boiling, add meatballs carefully into pan. Do not stir or move. Make sure meatballs are immersed fully in sauce. Turn down the heat to med-low or low. Let simmer for at least 30 minutes.


2b. For baking: Place them on a flat pan and bake at 375 for 30 minutes or until sizzling. Cook the sauce separately using browned onion and tomato paste.