Krishnamurthy Keema

This is a recipe I learned from a friend in college who married into an Indian family. I realized I hadn't made it since Alexander and Dominic were quite small, and I was looking for a quick and easy meal to make with ground beef for a church dinner that Jerome could eat. I had to serve the cilantro on the side, and I substituted a homemade garam masala from Betty Crocker's Indian Home Cooking (do not be fooled by the Betty Crocker label, it was written by Raghavan Iyer, who is an amazing Indian chef), which didn't include coriander, and added a teaspoon of turmeric and 2 teaspoons of Aleppo pepper flakes to make up for what might be found in a hot curry blend.

olive oil
4 medium onions, finely diced
2 cinnamon sticks, broken
16 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons hot curry powder
4 tomatoes or a 28 ounce can crushed or diced tomatoes
1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt, divided
1 cup of water (or water from half of the can rinsed out from the tomatoes)
juice of 2 lemons
4 pounds ground beef
1 bunch cilantro, finely minced

Over medium heat, in a high sided skillet, fry broken cinnamon sticks and onion in olive oil until onions are translucent. Add garlic and cook for about a minute, then add the curry powder and tomatoes. Stir to combine

Put everything in the blender with 1/2 tablespoon of salt. Blend, until the cinnamon sticks are completely pulverized.

Brown the ground beef in the same skillet over medium high heat. Season with the remaining tablespoon of salt. Add the puréed sauce to the pan, and then blend the water and lemon juice in the blender to retrieve all the bits from the side and pour into the meat. Add cilantro (if you are using it in the dish, and not on the side, like I did), and simmer, covered, until well heated and cooked through.

Serve over white rice with yogurt and vegetables and pickled lemons or limes.

This is another recipe from my college friend. It is very tasty with rice and yogurt, but goes especially well with the Keema.

olive oil
2 tablespoons mustard seeds
1 medium onion, finely minced
2 pounds frozen or fresh, french cut green beans
6 cloves garlic, sliced
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons Aleppo pepper
1 teaspoon kosher salt

Heat the mustard seens and minced onion in olive oil over medium high, covered. When you hear the seeds popping, turn to medium heat and add green beans. Add a tablespoon or two of water if fresh.

Stir in the garlic, cumin, Aleppo pepper, and salt. Cover until cooked through. Serve with the Keema above, or as a side dish to another meal.

This is a great seasoning to keep on hand. I have included two sets of measurements, one for a smaller jar, and one for a larger one.

2 1/4 teaspoons/2 tablespoons paprika
2 1/4 teaspoons/2 tablespoons garlic granules
2 1/4 teaspoons/2 tablespoons onion granules
2 1/4 teaspoons/2 tablespoons black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons/2 teaspoons thyme
1 1/2 teaspoons/2 teaspoons cayenne
1 1/2 teaspoons/2 teaspoons basil
1 1/2 teaspoons/2 teaspoons oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons/2 teaspoons salt

Pour into a jar and shake to mix well.

Labels: Homemaking, Recipes, Tales from the Kitchen

// posted by Ranee @ Arabian Knits @ 12:59 PM