Take a large walnut-sized amount of mince mixture, place between the palms of your hands and roll into oval shape.
In a wide-based pot, heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Place the soutzoukakia in a layer at the bottom of pot and brown gently on both sides, for about 6 minutes. Cook in batches if they don’t all fit into the pot. Once browned, take them out of pot and set aside while you make the sauce.
In the same pot, add another 3 tablespoons of olive oil and the diced onion. Cook gently on medium heat until the onion softens. Add the cans of crushed tomato, water, bay leaves, cinnamon quill, spices and salt and bring to a simmer.
Add the soutzoukakia into the sauce and cook for 30 minutes on LOW-MED heat until the sauce has thickened and meatballs have cooked through.
