Last night I anounced on my personal page in Facebook is in the works. Now it is time to let the cat out of the bag. This recipe came out of nowhere from the top of my head and ok Mr. Riaz thinks it is the bomb.
Now my family says I make the best keema ever. When I was in Pakistan 20 years ago, I made keema one night for dinner. The weather was so stiffling hot it wasn’t funny and this too is an easy dish and it has more ingredients in it because there is methi in this one.
Methi is fenugreek it is the leaves I used and the seeds are also used too in Pakistani, Indian and Arabic cuisines. However the seeds are not used in this dish because it is the leaves only. Fenugreek is also very medicinal and it helps expell excess mucous from the body and great for people like me that has weak lungs due to being asthmatic.
Ok enough said I am going to show you how to make this dish. The types of keema that can be used here are beef, lamb, chicken, turkey and veal. Keema means mince in Urdu language. Everything you see here in this recipe can be found at any Indian and Pakistani grocery stores. The halal meat store I go to to get my meat is Farm City and it is on Devon ave. here in Chicago.
I added 1 cookingspoon of olive oil to the pot. I prefer olive oil because it is very healthy compaired to most oils. I sliced one onion in to half moon slices and added 1 pinch of pink salt to speed up the caramelzation. I prefer the pink salt compaird to the white table salt. I added 2 cloves of garlic and 1 slice of ginger that has been washed, peeled and chopped. I added 1 pinch each of turmeric, red chili powder and Garam Masala and stirred. I added one whole round red chili and crumbled it and mixed it in with the rest of the masala (spices). I added 1 green chili that I sliced in to small pieces. It is ok to use serranos, jalapeno’s, finger hots or even Thai chilies as long as they are green.
I added 1 tomato. Roma tomatoes are my favorite to use just for the record in case if someone asks which ones I prefer. They are small and they work splendedly. I cook them until they are mushy. Cut them up in small pices and turn the heat on low and add 1/4 cup of water to help get a nice curry.
This would at least take about 10 minutes. Just keep stirring until you do not see any pieces left. It would be just a nice mush.
Add 3 cubes of frozen methi (fenugreek) leaves if you are using frozen, 5 big pinches of dried methi if you are using dried, they are in a box called kasoori methi and the brand name is Shan. If you are using fresh methi leaves use 4 big pinches if you are using fresh.
Stir and go and wash your keema (mince) because they do not wash it before they grind it. Place it on a big sive and just rince it in cold water. Shake it and let it drain for a minute and add it to the masala in the pot and while on low keep stirring it and making sure it is brown. While the keema (mince) is cooking take 4 tbs of plain desi yogurt and add it to a bowl then add 1 tsp of cornstarch and stir vigeriously.
Add 2 tsp of water and stir some more until it is smooth and add this to the keema (mince) and stir to combine. This is the way you cook with yogurt so it doesn’t curdle while cooking. I got this tip from an Indian food blog and tried it out and it works and I have been doing this ever since.
I tasted it once it was done and I said ok it needs something else and decided on 1 tbs of either lemon or lime juice.
You can serve this with naan or chapati. Please let me know how you like this recipe. I also left a video message in my Instagram on which recipe should I tackle.
As a reminder I will not post anything that has haram (forbidden) things in it or anything with white sugar.
Any suggestions like I have some ideas on what to do as far as revamping the way Pakistan eats as far as the area when it comes to methai (sweets). Thank you.
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