Keema (Indian Spiced Beef)

Well, we've entered the time of year when my blog posts get much fewer and far between.  Winter always gets me down and I can't get motivated to do anything.  Blah!  I have been trying new recipes every week, but am not able to photograph most of them since it's gets dark long before dinnertime.  I do have a huge backlog of recipes I have photographed, just waiting to be posted, so today I decided to cross one off the list.

This is a recipe I discovered last fall.  We have a good friend who recently moved near to us and we invited him over for lunch around his birthday since he was so far away from his family and friends.  We asked him what he would like for his birthday meal and he mentioned that he liked Indian food.  I had very little experience making Indian food, but I remembered that I wanted to try this recipe and it seemed pretty easy.  I thought it would be a good "starter" Indian dish.  I got the recipe from Emily Bites.

Keema

Ingredients:

2 tsp canola oil

1 small onion, diced

2 lbs. lean ground beef

2 garlic cloves, grated

1 (15 oz.) can diced tomatoes, drained and chopped

1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated

2 tbsp Garam Masala 

½ tsp red pepper flakes

Salt, to taste

2 cups frozen peas

Directions:

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook for 3-4 minutes until softened and golden. Add the ground beef and cook, breaking up the beef with a wooden spoon until brown and cooked through. Drain off grease.  Add the garlic, tomatoes, ginger, Garam Masala, and red pepper flakes and stir to combine. Cook, stirring regularly, for 3-5 minutes until tomatoes are softened and flavors are combined. Taste for seasoning, adding salt and more Garam Masala if desired.  Add the peas and reduce the heat to medium. Cook for an additional 4-5 minutes until the peas are softened without being mushy.   

Serve with naan or rice.

Makes 6-8 servings.

This dish is awesome because it is so flavorful and a little "exotic", but is really no more difficult to make than sloppy joes.  You are basically just browning ground beef and adding seasonings.  I use Penzey's Garam Masala, of course, but it can also be found in the regular grocery store.  You can also use powdered garlic and ginger instead of fresh and fresh tomatoes instead of canned if you want.  It's a very versatile dish.  

So if you have been intimidated by trying to make Indian food at home, start with this dish.  It's pretty much fool-proof.  And it's a real crowd pleaser.

Hopefully I can get over my winter blahs enough next week to share another recipe or two!