Minced hedgehogs with rice as in kindergarten

Rice is thoroughly washed and boiled in salted water for ten minutes. After bringing the cereal to half-readiness, fold it into a colander, rinse it again and leave it for a short time so that the glass has excess moisture. Place the minced meat in a bowl. By the way, the most delicate "hedgehogs" are obtained from a mixture of minced chicken and pork in a one-to-one ratio. Although, of course, any high-quality minced meat is suitable for the preparation of such meatballs according to personal preferences. Add cooled semi-cooked rice, egg, salt and black pepper to taste to the minced meat in a bowl. Knead the minced meat with your hands until smooth. Beat it lightly against the bottom of the bowl to make it more viscous. We form balls with a diameter of four to five centimeters from the prepared meat mass. We roll them tightly in our hands so that the surface is smooth. Then we roll the prepared balls in flour.

Heat vegetable oil in a frying pan until hot. Put the formed meatballs in hot oil and fry them on all sides at a medium-high stove temperature.

In a separate container, mix the tomato paste and a glass of water. Add salt to taste and mix. Pour the tomato liquid into the pan to the fried meatballs, stir gently and bring the sauce to a boil. After boiling, lower the temperature to the minimum, close the pan with a lid and simmer the "hedgehogs" for ten minutes.

Mix separately sour cream, flour and the remaining half a glass of water. Stir actively with a whisk so that no lumps remain. Pour the sour cream-flour liquid into a frying pan with tomato sauce in a thin stream, stirring at the same time.

We taste the resulting gravy and, if necessary, add more salt and spices. Close the pan with a lid again and continue simmering at low temperature for another ten minutes.

Let the ready-made "hedgehogs" brew in the gravy under the lid for ten to fifteen minutes. The dish will have time to cool down a little and become richer in taste. When serving, you can sprinkle portions with chopped herbs.