Sunday, October 24, 2010

Mince Meat Masala

Mince meat is one ingredient that does not get the recognition it deserves. This recipe is inspired by the several meat curries I have made in my kitchen. Usually, when I “create” a new recipe, which happens mostly on the spur, I quickly play the flavors in my head. Then I measure, merge and marry ingredients to bring something new to the table. Today it was this Mince Meat Masala and adding a couple of wedged hard-boiled eggs as a garnish was an absolutely new idea, something never tried in the culinary world before!

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This Mince Meat Masala or Keema Masala is something in-between a curry and a sauté, which makes it quite versatile. You can eat it either with rice or roti, paratha or naan, or maybe sneak it in a good to go wrap. We chose fluffy phulkas today.

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Ingredients for Mince Meat Masala are:

500 grams mince meat (you can use beef, lamb or goat meat, I used extra lean beef today)
1 large red onion, coarsely ground (use the pulse mode of the blender)
2 tablespoons ginger-garlic paste
2 medium size, ripe tomatoes, finely chopped
5-6 green chilies finely chopped
2 hard boiled eggs, cut into wedges
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 tablespoon coriander powder
1 heaped teaspoon red chili powder
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon garam masala powder (I dry grind together green and black cardamoms, cloves, and cinnamon)
1 teaspoon fennel / mota mouri / saunf powder
1 teaspoon dry mint leaves (I dry them when in season and store in glass jars)
1 teaspoon Kasoori Methi leaves, crushed
1 tablespoon vegetable or Canola oil + 1 tablespoon ghee
Salt

Heat the oil and ghee in a pan together. Add the bay leaves and cumin seeds, sauté for a 5-6 seconds. Add the onion paste and fry on low-medium heat.

(Tip: If you want a nice color to your meat, add a pinch of sugar to the hot oil, let it smoke and then add the onions. This will caramelize the onions, which in turn will give a great color to your meat curry.)

Once the onions start turning pink, add the chopped green chilies. Continue cooking on medium heat till the onions turn brown in color. Add the mince meat. Fry the meat till all of it turns brown and you can no more see the raw, red color.

IMG_2287IMG_2288 With your spatula, make a little well at the center of the pan and add the ginger-garlic paste. Let it sizzle for a couple of minutes, give it a good mix with the meat.

Now add the chopped tomatoes, all the dry spices, mint and kasoori methi leaves and salt. Mix, cover and cook for 7-8 minutes on low heat.

IMG_2289 At this point, the meat will release a lot of moisture, make sure you turn the heat on and dry up all the extra moisture, but not parching the mince meat up. But if you have, add half a cup of water and let it cook into the meat.

IMG_2290 With the back of your spatula, press the pieces of tomato to mash them well with the meat. Check the seasoning. The fennel will give the meat an exotic, fragrant taste. Don’t miss adding it.

IMG_2293Transfer the Mince Meat Masala in a serving bowl and decorate with the boiled eggs. Serve hot with the suggested accompaniment.

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Sending a bowl of this Mince Meat Masala to Patty’s Weekend Wrap Up Party. Hope everyone there enjoys it.

15 comments:

GB said...

Love your new bowls! and the keema looks yumm-o! :)

notyet100 said...

serving bowls are so cute,spread looks delicious

Coral said...

Tempting.......
I love kheema masala nice blog!


http://foodeterian.blogspot.com/

device independent mobility said...

I already tempted urging my mom to dprepare this..

Priya Suresh said...

Mouthwatering,fingerlicking and irresistible minced meat masala, yumm!

My Kitchen Antics said...

That kheema looks so darn good i m feeling incredibly hungry now. Next time im trying out this recipe for sure

Anonymous said...

The bowls are so so gorgeous.. As usual.. You must have a collection.. :-)

That kheema.. looks yumm!! yumm!!

Home Cooked Oriya Food said...

lovely dish and agree those bowls are awesome...

Sanctified Spaces said...

Looks like u had a yum lunch.

Anonymous said...

The boiled eggs sure look really tempting.I love your bowls and what fluffy and soft phulkas...perfect meal.
Regarding okra recipe..wud love to knw your version too sometime :)

Anonymous said...

Hi lovely dish ! and a nice blog

Sanghamitra Bhattacherjee(Mukherjee) said...

These bowls are too gorgeous!...lovely dish :)...ami kintu eta banai...tobe puro sorsher tel diye...ebar tomar moto kore banabo ekbar..

Anonymous said...

Namaste Auntiji, I like yr blog, read veryday a lot. I wil make dis reicipe very quikly.

billyloner said...

Very delicious, though I skipped the eggs, much nicer than the last mince I made.

You could also try cracking a couple of eggs onto the top five minutes before serving, put the lid back on, when the eggs are cooked you are ready to serve...

Cee Pee Spices said...

Looking very delicious dish. I like it very much, I have tried this curry once by using meat masala from Cee Pee Spices and got a great taste and enjoyed a lot.