Keema Aloo

When it comes to food cravings, Indian is probably at the top of my list, dead tie with Mexican food. I have yet to master my favorites, aside from my Indian Chicken. But tonight, I tried Keema Aloo (pictured to the right of the rice in the bowl)and was informed by Brownie that he likes it even MORE than my chicken! I'll get to the recipe, I promise.  But I do want to include the sides we used since...those I did not make myself, but they completed our meal so...

While at the grocery store, wondering what my hungry self wanted for dinner...I came across my favorite cans of Indian Delhi Saag. Pita bread dipped in this is heavenly. I know, canned!? Well, until I find a recipe that comes close to this...yes, these cans.

Same goes for my favorite Amy's soup! *gasp* in a can. I know I'm awesome with soups, but I just can't compete. I'll keep trying. Until then...these two Yummies will continue to accompany my Indian cooking adventures. It also makes things quicker in the kitchen!








So back to my Keema Aloo. I confess that most of the ingredients I used, we had on hand. Also - I use approximations. If you want more potatoes after eyeballing it - put in more. Make it your own!   Other alterations I made, I will note.

Ingredients:

• Olive Oil
• 1 1/2 cups chopped onion
• 1 lb lean ground beef
• Minced garlic (at least 4 cloves fresh minced, 2 Tablespoons minced from a jar)
• 2 Tablespoons ground ginger
• 1 Serrano chili pepper, finely chopped (I used a small pepper out of the garden - not sure which one but it wasn’t terribly spicy)
• 2 Heaping Teaspoons dried cilantro (or 2 teaspoons fresh, chopped)
• 1 Tablespoon ground coriander (all I had were seeds,so I wrapped them in kitchen gauze and tied them with cooking string to make a little bundle)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt (add more if you like while cooking and tasting)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 Tablespoons curry powder
• 1 14 oz can diced roasted tomatoes
• 1/2 can green pigeon peas (or 1 cup frozen peas, 1 cup chopped green beans...whatever your heart desires or whatever you have on hand)
• 1 1/2 cups peeled, diced potatoes

Directions:

• Chop onion, peel potatoes and chop - set aside on a plate
• Measure garlic, ginger, serrano chile, and cilantro and set aside in a small bowl - 1st set of spices
• Measure coriander, salt, cumin, cayenne pepper, and curry and set aside in a small bowl - 2nd set of spices
• Heat olive oil (I used probably 1/2 cup) and add chopped onion over medium-high heat until softened - 5 minutes or so (if you like your onion sweeter, cook them until they're browned - if any stick to the bottom, put a little water in the pan and stir to loosen the pieces)
• Add ground beef and 1st set of spices to pan and cook until beef is brown
• Reduce heat to medium-low and stir in 2nd set of spices - let cook for 5 minutes and let the flavors mingle
• Stir in tomatoes and potatoes, cover pot and let it simmer until the potatoes are soft (10 -15 minutes)
• Turn heat off and let stand for 5 minutes before serving

As you can see, I like my Indian food to mingle over rice and I plate it as such. But this would be a meal on its own over rice!

As always, if you try this out, we'd love to see your version and hear about what you tried!