Fry the chopped onion in a large pot on med-high heat in about 5 tablespoons of ghee, mixing occasionally to keep the onion from burning.
Once fried (it’ll take about 10 minutes), remove pot from heat, move onions to one side of the pot, and tilt the pot to drain the excess oil. You can get rid of this excess oil, leaving the onions in the pot.
In a large mixing bowl, add the beef, grated onion, ½ teaspoon turmeric, 2 teaspoons salt, 1 teaspoons pepper, ½ teaspoon dried savory, 1 teaspoon dried mint, and the chopped herb mixture (cilantro, parsley, and green onion), the yellow split pea and rice mixture (add enough to equal half of the amount of beef, and no more), and 1 raw egg.
Use a fork to first whisk the egg a bit before using your hands to mix everything together. You need to really mix everything well, working the mixture with your hands for a few minutes until it starts to stick to your hands. This helps the meatball keep its shape during the cooking process.
Make compact baseball-sized meatballs and place 2 dates/plums in the middle of each. This should make about 5 meatballs.
Add 3 cups of water to the large pot containing the fried onion.
Mix in tomato paste, ½ teaspoon turmeric, 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon pepper, 1 teaspoon dried mint, and ½ teaspoon dried savory.
Carefully add in the meatballs. The broth should come up about ⅓ of the way up the meatballs.
Cover the pot and cook on med-low heat until cooked through (about 30 minutes) and don’t open the cover until the 30 minutes point in order to keep in the heat and prevent evaporation.
Then remove the cover and add in tomatoes, potatoes, and remainder of dried plums.
Add more water to come up to ¾ the height of the meatballs.
Simmer for about 20-25 minutes on medium/med-low (or until potatoes are soft) before serving.
The broth is traditionally served first, like a soup. It’s topped with torn, fresh mint and torn, warm bread. Then the meatballs are served with the potato, tomato, and egg, and eaten with bread and perhaps even some fresh herbs. Enjoy!