Lamb Keema

Lamb Keema. — Photos: JANITHA SUKUMARAN

In Urdu, keema means minced meat and it’s a dish popular in northern India and Pakistan. It’s usually enjoyed with flatbreads like chapati, naan, bhatura or puri.

While you can use various types of minced meats for keema, mutton or lamb is the most common. If you prefer a chunkier texture, avoid using pre-minced meat so that you can control the size of the pieces. Green peas are usually added to keema, but I usually leave these out since I’m not a fan.

I follow my amma’s (grandmother) recipe for this dish. I often cook extra to use in curry puffs, or as a topping for homemade pizzas (minus the potatoes). If you’re planning to use it for multiple purposes, it’s best to ensure the dish is cooked until dry to remove the excess moisture, so that it can keep longer. — Contributed by JANITHA SUKUMARAN / sjanitha.wixsite.com/injipuliandstuff.

Lamb Keema is best eaten with chapati or other Indian breads.

Ingredients

1kg minced mutton

2 small potatoes, peeled and parboiled until cooked but still firm

1 small sweet potato, prepared like the potatoes (optional)

2 big onions (medium-sized), finely chopped

1.5 thumb-sized piece of ginger, finely chopped

6-8 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

2 tbsp meat curry powder

2 tbsp chili powder

1 tsp garam masala

1 tsp thick soy sauce

1/2 tsp white cooking vinegar

1/2 cup water

Salt and sugar to taste

Handful of chopped coriander (omit if using the keema for curry puffs or pizza)

Lamb Keema is also great as pizza topping.

Method:

1 Cut the potatoes and sweet potato into small cubes and set aside.

2 In hot oil, sauté the ginger, garlic and then add the onions and fry everything until fragrant.

3 Add the spice powders and cook for 2-3 minutes on medium heat to remove the rawness. If necessary, add a little water to prevent burning.

4 Add the minced meat and mix well with the cooked ingredients over medium heat. After about 5 minutes, add the potatoes and pour in 1/2 cup of water.

5 Season with salt and sugar, then add the soy sauce and vinegar. Continue cooking on medium heat without covering, stirring occasionally to prevent burning.

6 Cook until the mixture is quite dry and turn off the fire. Serve together with naan or chapati, or even rice.