Indian Masala Kheema (Dry Spicy Minced Meat)

By lorik

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons vegetable or canola or sunflower cooking oil
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 2 medium finely chopped onions
• 1 tablespoon garlic paste
• 1 tablespoon ginger paste
• 2 tablespoons coriander
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1 tablespoon garam masala
• Salt to taste
• 1 pound (1/2 kg) ground beef (you can use any ground meat you prefer for this recipe)
• 2 medium finely chopped tomatoes
• Juice of 1/2 lime or lemon
• Chopped coriander leaves for garnish

Details

Servings 4
Adapted from thespruce.com

Preparation

Step 1

Heat the vegetable/ canola/ sunflower cooking oil in a wok or deep pan on medium heat.

Add the cumin seeds and fry for 1 minute or until the seeds stop spluttering.
Add the onions and sauté till they turn a pale golden color.

Add the garlic and ginger pastes and fry for 1 minute to get rid of the "raw" fragrance from them.

Add the coriander, cumin, garam masala and salt to taste and sauté, stirring almost continuously, until the oil begins to separate from the masala (the spice and onion mixture). When this happens, you know the spices are cooked to perfection.

Add the minced meat to this spice-onion mixture and sauté until browned. Stir often to prevent burning. This should take about 5 to 7 minutes.
Add the tomatoes, stir and cook till they are soft.

Turn the fire off, add the lime or lemon juice and stir to mix well.
Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve with chapatis (Indian flatbread) or parathas (pan-fried Indian flatbread) or plain boiled, fragrant basmati rice.

Tip: Add more substance to your masala kheema by adding in 1 cup of fresh or frozen green peas or 2 to 3 potatoes (washed and cut into 1/2-inch (1.5 cm) cubes or both, just after the meat is browned.