I really enjoy making and eating dishes like this. If you remember my achari chicken then you are going to like this dish as well. Achari keema is mince also known as ground meat seasoned with pickling spices. It is the exact same spice that I use for making homemade achar (pickles). Whole spices are used with the exception of amchur and star anise which are ground in a mortar and pestle.
This can be made in either a wok or a cast iron skillet. This gets turned on to high heat. I added 1 each of small pieces of star anise and amchur. This gets ground in to a powder and set aside. I added 1/4 cup of corn oil. Olive oil, safflower oil, sunflower oil, canola oil and peanut oil can be used too as well.
I added 1 drop of mustard oil with 3 curry leaves, 1 pinch each of hing and all of the whole spices that I used such as mustard seeds, kaloonji, fennugreek seeds, fennel seeds, cumin seeds, black cumin seeds, dill seeds, caraway seeds, ajwan, pink salt, tamarind, red chili powder, turmeric, turbinado sugar, 1 whole round red chili, the contents from my mortar and pestle. Stir then add 1 onion or shallot cut in to half moon slices, 1 green chili deseeded and chopped, 2 cloves of garlic and 1 small pieces of ginger chopped.
Before you add onions, green chili ginger and garlic: make sure that you caramelize your onions. You can add these after and add 1 tomato chopped and cook it until it is mushy. Add 1 tsp of either white or apple cider vinegar.
In a sieve add 1 lb or 1 kg of mince. The mince can be of chicken, beef, lamb, turkey, goat and veal. Rince this and shake off the excess water and cook until it is no longer pink. Vegitarians can add 1 bag of Morningstar Farms veggie crumbles instead. This gets cooked for 15 minutes on low heat.
In a bowl 1/4 cup of plain desi yogurt which gets whipped until it is smooth, 1 pinch of cornstarch added, stirred and 1/4 cup of water to make it a little thin. Add this to the ground meat mix cooking in either the wok or cast iron skillet.
Cook until the curry started to thicken up and the oil starting to float to the top.
Enjoy with chapati or naan.
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