It has been a few weeks since I returned from visiting my daughters in Australia. Yet, I am still answering questions about my trip. The most common being, " So, how was Australia??" ( Huh?) What am I supposed to say? How do I sum up everything in a line!?!! I usually end up just saying " Wonderful! "And really, I hope, that says it all.
Seriously though, I was charmed by Australia. But, what I treasure most about my trip was spending quality time with my kids, and yes, cooking for them. My younger daughter had a nice home cooked meal waiting when we got in from the airport but after that the kitchen was handed over to me. " All yours" she announced!! And I took it over literally. I turned everything inside out as I rearranged and took stock. First off, I prepared the dry spice powders I normally use in my cooking..roasting and grinding cumin, black pepper, red chilly and whole spices. Then I made a list of other ingredients which I would need and once we were all stocked up the food fest began.
The recipe I am sharing here, Kheema Masala, is one that I made for my daughters in Australia. As the name states, it is a curry prepared from mince meat, using traditional Indian spices. It is a quick and easy recipe with no prior prep work or marination required.
Ingredients:
1/2 kg kheema ( mincemeat)
2 big onions or 1 cup, chopped finely
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
1 tbsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp red chilly powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
Salt to taste
1 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp black pepper powder
1 tsp garam masala powder ( whole spice powder)
4 tbsp oil
Fresh coriander leaves to garnish
Method: Chop onions and tomatoes finely.
In a heavy bottom pan heat oil and add chopped onions. Saute for couple of minutes until the onions soften and then add ginger garlic paste and kheema. Stir over low flame until the water released from kheema dries up and kheema is very lightly browned. Now add the tomatoes and the spice powders...coriander powder, red chilly powder, cumin powder, black pepper powder, whole spice powder and salt. Continue to stir over low flame until oil separates. Add 1 1/2 cups of warm water, cover and let it cook for 15 to 25 minutes or transfer to a pressure cooker at this stage. Lower flame after first whistle and let it stay on slow flame for 10 minutes. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve.
Always check seasonings before serving. Sometimes the true taste will show up only at the final stages. Kheema can soak up water so if required add more warm water and simmer a little before serving. The amount of water added depends on the consistency you want to keep, so add accordingly. If the tomatoes are not very sour then use a tbsp or two of tomato paste in addition to tomatoes.
