I was in my undecided phase again about what I wanted to make for dinner. I asked Mr. Riaz what he wanted. He said aloo qeema (potatoes with mince). I said ok to myself that I am going to tackle another Ethiopian dish. To my amazement he likes Ethiopian food because the flavors are very similar to Indian and Pakistani dishes.
This can be a vegan dish meaning just only potatoes or you can add mince to go with it too as well. For this I use just the loose mince. Before starting I would make berebre, niter kibbeh and mekelesha.
I didn’t peel the potatoes but you can if you want to. It is totally up to you. I quartered and added enough water so they covered the potatoes and boiled them for 20 minutes or until tender. Drain and do not mash they still should hold their shape.
Add 1/4 cup of olive oil to the same pot you boiled the potatoes in. Add 1 onion or shallot cut in to half moon slices, caramelize them then add the berebre, niter kibbeh and mekelesha. Stir and add 1 bullion cube, 3 dashes of maggi or knorr aroma, 1 green chili, 4 cups of water and stir then add mince if you are using or just plain potatoes if you want to make a total vegan dish. If you are doing non veg then add 1 kg or 1 lb of mince. I used beef and turkey, lamb, goat, veal, or chicken can also be used as well.
Add 1 tbs of tomato paste, 4 cups of water after you brown the meat then add the potatoes back if you are doing non veg. If you want veg or vegan then don’t add mince just add potatoes back to the pot. In a bowl add 2 big pinches of cornstarch and 1/4 cup of water to make a slurry. This will thicken the sauce. From here it is done and ready to be enjoyed with injera.
benazir's blog 