Recipe: Kheema - Indian Ground Beef with Peas

"Visit is coming tomorrow morning!" Mom rushes to pick up clutter, wipe the counters, sweep the kitchen floor, freshen up the bathrooms, ... 6 o' clock arrives and 4 hungry, tired people are scrambling to get things done, so I pick up the cast iron skillet and cook up a *really* easy and oh-so-delectable supper! ;) And no, I'm not bragging! The family told me to say that. :D 

If you like the curried taste of butter chicken, you will LOVE this beef dish. Unfortunately, we didn't have ground beef, so instead I used ground turkey (even chicken would work), and it made the dish soft and tender!

Serves 4-6 people (recipe altered from FoodNetwork.com)

Ingredients...

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, finely diced

6 cloves garlic, minced

4 teaspoons ground coriander

2 teaspoons paprika

1 teaspoon garam masala, cumin, and ginger

3 teaspoons cayenne (optional)

2 pounds ground beef or turkey

2-3 medium tomatoes, chopped

Salt and pepper

1 cup frozen peas

4 teaspoons malt vinegar or apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro, plus a few extra leaves for garnish (or 1-2 tablespoons cilantro paste)

4 chapatis or pitas (or rice)

Directions...

In a large skillet, warm the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook until golden. Add the garlic and ginger, and saute for another minute. Stir in the coriander, paprika, garam masala, cumin and cayenne, if using and cook for 1 minute.

Add the beef, breaking up lumps with a spoon, and saute until the meat is no longer pink. Add the tomatoes, 1-2 cups of water and season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle in the peas. Stir well and simmer, partially covered, about 10 minutes.

Stir in the vinegar and chopped cilantro. Garnish with torn cilantro leaves and serve with warm chapatis, pita bread, or rice.

Now don't be afraid of the amount of spices in this! If you set yourself next to your spice rack with a bowl and teaspoon, it will go very quickly! Just don't inhale the cayenne pepper... ;) Next time I will include a picture of my finale dish, but the peas in this one turned out a pale, brownish green because I was desperately waiting for the brown rice to cook and thus made the meat mixture cook a little too long. But the taste was SO good! I cannot wait for leftovers. :)

Bon appétit!

In all sisterly love,