Kheema

[Toby]

On the lime thread, Suvir mentioned Bora Kheema, a Moslem-style ground lamb dish. It sounded very intriguing and I had some ground lamb, but Suvir wasn't logged on to ask for more directions, and I couldn't find a recipe. He had mentioned that it was cooked simply with cinnamon, cumin seed, coriander seed and red chile powder and finished with fresh lime juice. Left to my own devices, here's what I did -- First, I pan roasted the above spices plus something called penja pepper (pearl of cameroon) -- a white peppercorn, black cardamom seeds and some dried small red chiles and then ground them up. I chopped up some onion and sauteed it in a little oil until it was browning. Then I added some chopped up skinny (but bigger than Thai and not serrano) green chile peppers, garlic and ginger and sauteed that for a few minutes. I then stirred in the ground lamb, broke it up, and stirred it until it was just starting to brown, added some salt and 1/2 cup water and some of the ground up spices until it smelled right. Turned heat to very low, covered the pan, and cooked for a little over an hour until the meat was fairly dry. Turned off heat and squeezed in some lime juice. Ate with rice and some spinach. It was very enjoyable -- pretty hot from the fresh and dried peppers, but the cinnamon, cumin, peppercorns and coriander (I'd just bought some very fragrant Moroccan coriander seeds) seemed to balance the pepper heat with a darker, very aromatic taste.

I'd appreciate it, Suvir or anyone else, if you'd post the authentic recipe so I could try that the next time, as well as other recipes for kheema. I find kheema truly addictive, I just want to go on eating it.

Another question (this may have been addressed on another thread) is how long

will dried spices stay fresh? What's the best way to store them? I buy the smallest packaged quantities possible (don't have a good source for bulk spices), but my kitchen is very hot and airless, and I always find I'm throwing spices out because they lose their fragrance.

[Suvir Saran]

Keema

2 pounds minced beef or mutton

2 large tomatoes, chopped finely

5 garlic cloves, ground into paste

2 inches fresh ginger root, grated

2 teaspoon red chili powder

1 inch cinnamon stick

4 cardamom pods

2 jalapenos, slit lenghtwise

3 tablespoons canola

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoon coriander leaves, fresh

1 teaspoon garam masala

1. Marinade the minced meat in the ginger and garlic. Set aside for 30 minutes.

2. Heat the canola and fry the cardamom, cinnamon, jalapeno and red chili in it for a couple of minutes.

3. Add the meat and fry for 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and fry for 8 minutes or until the sauce looks glazed.

4. Add the garam masala and salt and coriander leaves and cook another minute. Serve hot.

[Suvir Saran]

Toby,

Your recipe for the Bora Keema sounds just right.

Where do you usually eat your favorite Keema? What do you eat it with?

How did you get into eating Keema? What do you like about it?

Do you prefer lamb/goat or chicken keema?

[Toby]

I know almost nothing about kheemas. I used to cook a simple keema, much like the recipe you've given (for which, thank you) when I was a poor student. It's very satisfying food and stretches a long way. I just ate the one I cooked the other day with some sauteed spinach and I made patna rice that I served with some very thinly sliced onions that I'd really browned in a little oil before I cooked the rice.

I've always made keema with lamb, but if I'd made my recipe with ground chicken, would I have had to make the spice mix lighter flavored? I don't mean less spices, but the ones I used had a sort of dark fragrance to them that went with the lamb. Oh, I left it out of my first post -- I also used seeds from black cardamom in the garam masala. Maybe that and the cinnamon gave it what I'm calling a dark flavor, which I think would have been too heavy for chicken.

Is there a thread on different garam masalas? I'm interested in getting the proportions rights, and how different mixes and proportions will go with different foods.

Also, what kind of red chile powder do you use? I used some dried whole very tiny red Thai peppers and ground them up; usually I use ground African bird pepper that's very hot.

[Suvir Saran]

Toby,

You did all the right things. In fact cardamom is a important ingredient of garam masala.

Chicken and Lamb keema are made in Indian homes. Lamb is more traditional, but chicken keema is enjoyed by many as well.

Spinach, cauliflower, potatoes and peas are all great additions to a keema.

Maybe we need to start a new thread on garam masala. Would y ou want to do that?

And while you are at it... you can start a thread on Patna rice ... It sounds wonderful.

Speaking of Keema.. It is also successful with ground turkey. Maybe you should try that.

[oliva]

Just wanted to add that while cooking keema, I also throw in a bay leaf or two, a pinch of haldi also kills any smell the meat may have. My favourite way of cooking keema is to add lots of finely chopped mint in the end and mix it together till it wilts. In this recipe I do not add any tomatoes though.

[Toby]

What is haldi?

[Suvir Saran]

Haldi is turmeric and bay leaves are essential. Thanks Oliva....

[spicegirl]

Does anyone have a good recipe for Khare Masale Kaa Keema?

Sorry, I am not new to the site, have been lurking for a long time... decided to get registered after I read the bashing that a journalist recieved from other members and the owner on a topic on the media section.

Sorry if I am posting too many questions too soon.

[Hasmi]

Survir,

For those of us that live in the UK etc.

One of the reasons I come on this topic in the forum is because of your receipes and guidance.

So please do not class it as giving in but as a wonderful chance to educate those not quite so sure of what they are doing.

Keema is my husband's favourite dish.

I for one shall try out your receipes at the earliest possible time.

After I can definitely say the way to my man's heart is through his STOMACH.

So thankyou Survir.

Hasmi

[Suvir Saran]

You are very kind Hasmi. You made my week.. Maybe even the Month. How generous you are.

I will PM you a recipe or two for Keema. Maybe your husband can enjoy them. Please send me notes on how the recipe worked for you. These are two recipes from my cook book that is due next fall.

What Keema recipe do you use? Or have you not made it yet?

What are your other favorite dishes? Maybe you can start a thread about them? It would be interesting for all of us as well.

[homechef]

I like to make a kheema cutlet, and kheema served with a plain egg or onion omelet (cooked in ghee rather than butter) is a decadence from my childhood.

Kheema cutlet - Fry a chopped onion, then add spices and 1 lb of kheema and cook till just done. Mix in about 1/2 pound of mashed potato (I use a ricer). Make lemon sized balls, coat with egg and semolina (either rava or the more common wheat semolina in the US) or cornmeal and pan fry for a few minutes to get a nice crisp crust. I vary the spices - last night I used garlic, cinnamon, cayenne, turmeric, cumin, coriander, ginger, sage, thyme, and mixed in some chopped raisins.

Kheema and omelet - Use a dry kheema recipe, preferably with green chillies and cilantro among the spices. Make a thin omelet in copious amounts of ghee, and serve the two together with thick toast, preferably made on a grill (like a bruschetta). To eat, pile omelet on the toast and kheema on the omelet. Best if eaten on a cold morning at a hillstation outside of Mumbai...

[howler]

homechef - you must be parsi.

those parsi kheema cutlets wrapped in generously thick golden crusts of mashed potatoes, eaten with tomato sauce or now chilli garlic sauce ...........arrrgh pure heaven.

and i haven't even been to mahableshwar for years.

[pinku]

I cook kheema (chicken) the similar way as Suvir described. but I add garam masala powder instead of ground fresh spices.

But I really miss the mutton kheema that we get in india .. the chicken kheema does not give the same taste.

can someone share a recipe for kheema pie?

[BBhasin]

my favorite keema versions

1. with peas.

2. with a hard boiled egg, that has been deep fried and pricked with a fork and then simmered in the keema at the end for a few minutes.

3. Sali keema - with a little sugar and vinegar in the keema and topped with lots of golden crisp deep fried straw potatoes.

[maggiethecat]

those parsi kheema cutlets wrapped in generously thick golden crusts of mashed potatoes, eaten with  tomato sauce or now chilli garlic sauce ...........arrrgh pure heaven.

These sound amazing. They will be added to this week's dinner rotation for sure.

And thanks all for the variations. I regularly add the peas, but the fried hard bolied egg and matchstick potato variations sound incredibly good too.

[mongo_jones]

this is how i usually make my keema curries:

i use 1-1.5 lb ground turkey in deference to my high cholesterol

first i saute some cinnamon, cardamom pods and cloves and a bay leaf or two

then i add and saute chopped onions, adding ginger-garlic paste after a couple of minutes

then i add 3/4 tspn haldi, 1 tspn red chilli powder, 1/2 tspn zeera powder, salt and black pepper

then diced tomatoes

saute all this down till oil begins to separate

[as an alternate, when lazy i do the following: take all ingredients listed above after the whole garam masala and puree them together in a blender--saute the paste in the garam masala spiced oil till oil separates--this is actually my mother's (who is an excellent cook) short-cut so i don't want any grief :-) --this method yields a sauce of a very different consistency but it is really worth trying. ]

regardless of which way i get to the oil separation stage i then add the keema and saute it till oil separates again--add diced potatoes, 1/2 cup frozen peas, 1/2 cup frozen corn, i cup water, bring to a boil and then lower heat and simmer till the water evaporates and potatoes get done. then i add a tspn of powdered garam masala and return everything to a boil for a minute. garnish with lots of chopped dhania and chopped green chillies (with the seeds), and optionally also some chopped raw onion.

i like eating keema with rice but much prefer it with chapatis or parathas (along with some sweet mango achar and a nice bengali style moog dal, and maybe some alu dum as well).

sometimes i'll give it a twist and add some vinegar and sugar at the point after i add the tomatoes and they've decomposed. sometimes i'll add tamarind and sugar. all in all it usually comes out very nicely.

[mongo_jones]

i should add that the short-cut method i mentioned above works really well with meat kofta curries--you form and fry the koftas first and then add them to the pureed mixture after oil separation. then add some water and the rest and simmer till done.

[BBhasin]

And thanks all for the variations.  I regularly add the peas, but the fried hard bolied egg and matchstick potato variations sound incredibly good too.

Add another variation that I just remembered

With cauliflower florets. This is a slightly drier version where you add small cauliflower florets at the end, mix well and cook only till al dente. sprinkle a little extra garam masalla and fresh chopped corriander/cilantro. We punjabis love this version with chapati or parathas.

[Suvir Saran]

BBhasin, I add some kasoori methi if I am adding finely cut cauliflower. It also goes very well with this version. Learned from the Punjabi side of my family.

[Vikram]

Nobody has mentioned using star anise as a flavouring but I've started doing it, following one of the recipes in Monica Bharadwaj's 'The Indian Kitchen' book. For those who haven't seen it, the book goes ingredient by ingredient, and gives a few recipes for each one, and the kheema recipe is under the entry for star anise.

I think it works very well, in fact I'm going to make it my basic kheema recipe. I've tried other versions, including a very good, but time consuming one involving green masala (coriander and mint leaves made into a paste) and another one with coconut milk which is delicious, but a bit too high on the calories, I think.

This is very simple and good. So with a top of the hat to Ms.Bharadwaj, please buy her excellent book, here it is:

For about half a kilo of lamb mince:

Melt a teaspoon of sugar in a large deep pan and let it start caramelising.

As soon as its brown, add some oil and when that's hot, throw in 4-5 star anise (if they're whole it makes them easier to fish out at the end) and a teaspoonful of black peppercorns.

Stir for a moment, then add a couple of chopped up onions and stir until they are brown.

Add some ginger-garlic paste (yeah, yeah, do the real thing if you have time, if not Dabur's Hommade pastes rock. This of course is me and certainly NOT Ms.Bharadwaj speaking). Stir a bit more.

Add some tomato puree. Stir until the oil starts separating (this is the standard instruction given by Indian cooks, and I have never quite understood what it means. Stir a bit, I guess).

Add the kheema and stir it around, till its all a bit fried.

Add the peas, if you want them. I dump them in straight frozen and it doesn't seem to make any difference. A 200 gm packet to half a kilo of kheema is about fine.

Add one heaped teaspoon turmeric, one heaped teaspoon chilli powder (please, not Kashmiri), one heaped teaspoon garam masala and I've started adding some cumin powder as well. Add salt and stir it all.

Add some water and lower the heat and cover the kheema tightly till its cooked or you get bored.

Turn the heat off and stir in a bunch of coriander leaves, chopped up. I would recommend digging through it to take out the star anise since when you're eating, no matter how carefully you look for them, they always get into your mouth in a somewhat unpleasant way.

[Suvir Saran]

I've tried other versions, including a very good, but time consuming one involving green masala (coriander and mint leaves made into a paste) and another one with coconut milk which is delicious, but a bit too high on the calories, I think.

Vikram, interesting you mention this one, I have it in two versions in my cookbook that is now in production.

The recipes are delightful and to the surprise of family and friends from India, easy to prepare, at least in an American kitchen and also very light on fat.

Mint and cilantro just are wonderful as keema additions. I do not enjoy lamb much, but was really happy eating mint and cilantro keema (Hara Keema) as we would call it in the North.

The recipe I have is from Eastern UP.

I have Monica Bhardwajs book that you mention. Must try this keema. Thanks for mentioning this particular recipe.

[Suvir Saran]

For about half a kilo of lamb mince:

Melt a teaspoon of sugar in a large deep pan and let it start caramelising.

As soon as its brown, add some oil and when that's hot, throw in 4-5 star anise (if they're whole it makes them easier to fish out at the end) and a teaspoonful of black peppercorns.

Stir for a moment, then add a couple of chopped up onions and stir until they are brown.

Add some ginger-garlic paste (yeah, yeah, do the real thing if you have time, if not Dabur's Hommade pastes rock. This of course is me and certainly NOT Ms.Bharadwaj speaking). Stir a bit more.

Add some tomato puree. Stir until the oil starts separating (this is the standard instruction given by Indian cooks, and I have never quite understood what it means. Stir a bit, I guess).

Add the kheema and stir it around, till its all a bit fried.

Add the peas, if you want them. I dump them in straight frozen and it doesn't seem to make any difference. A 200 gm packet to half a kilo of kheema is about fine.

Add one heaped teaspoon turmeric, one heaped teaspoon chilli powder (please, not Kashmiri), one heaped teaspoon garam masala and I've started adding some cumin powder as well. Add salt and stir it all.

Add some water and lower the heat and cover the kheema tightly till its cooked or you get bored.

Turn the heat off and stir in a bunch of coriander leaves, chopped up. I would recommend digging through it to take out the star anise since when you're eating, no matter how carefully you look for them, they always get into your mouth in a somewhat unpleasant way.

Even as I commend Ms. Bhardwaj for her book and this recipe you share, I also would thank you for wonderful instruction. Some of the instructions certainly seem yours and they sound wonderful.

"Add some water and lower the heat and cover the kheema tightly till its cooked or you get bored."

[mongo_jones]

Stir until the oil starts separating (this is the standard instruction given by Indian cooks, and I have never quite understood what it means. Stir a bit, I guess).

my mother's recipes all say "fry until water dries up and oil starts coming out". this is a little more descriptive than "oil separation" but in any case i only figured it out while learning how to make good pasta sauce--for some tomato sauces it is crucial to stop cooking as soon as the oil separates.

my mother's recipes are all wonderfully vague--it used to cause a great deal of consternation for me in my early days as a cook but now i find that my own recipes are equally vague. i tend to make up the proportions when i write them down for others (i never measure anything when i make curries--if i drop in too much of something by mistake i just adjust other things). and timing things is vastly over-rated too--the best guide is not a clock but your nose.

[homechef]

homechef - you must be parsi.

not parsi (i wish... just for the dhansak)