August 21, 2009

Kheema Mutter/Ground Beef with Green Peas...


Every two three days there is a house showing a.k.a."pennukanal" and my cooking is a mad rush now or there is no cooking on those days coz I don't want to mess up my super clean kitchen and clean again. The market is not the right time to sell a house but it's the best time to buy so whenever we take a price cut, we get consoled that wherever we buy, there is a price cut there too. So the loss-gain factor is moot in our case.

Whereas I used to make a variety of food earlier, now its down to the least common denominator. One main item, whatever works with minimal splatter, minimal cleanup, minimal pots to clean. I think of most of our Malabar dishes and they are so labor intensive that they get relegated to the sidelines in the current situation. With Ramzan approaching though, I will have to think of easier items to make.


Sometimes our family dinners get dictated by my kids demands. Growing up here, they are more attuned to the western recipes and prefer that to most of the recipes I long for. When I tell my little one about some of the recipes I showcase here in this blog, I get a look as though I am from another country... well, that I am..:) So can't blame them. Given a choice, they would convert my house to a trattoria or a steakhouse.

I bet my folks are sitting and laughing now remembering how picky I was and how my mom used to ask "enthu kazhikannulla vishappanu?" meaning "what are you hungry for?' instead of just telling me what is there to eat. So now I am onto spoiling the next generation.:)

Most of the time though, all our food is common and gets eaten without any issue. Our food is spicy and our traditional curries are rich with onions and chilies, all pieces to be fished out and kept aside. Trying to woo a kid's appetite is the toughest thing to write about in a blog.

What works once may or may not work the next time so I really wing it each day and hope that some of what they eat stays in their memory and one day they will ask for it by name. Or maybe all that remains will be relegated to "butter chicken, erachi curry, dal, yellow curry(pulissery), fish fry, naan and biryani.

Added to that tiny list of preferences is Kheema Mutter, a ground beef preparation with fresh peas. I sometimes add tiny cut up bell peppers to but that changes the taste, so mostly stick with the recipe. This was a fav in my mom's house too but I think my preparation varies a bit now.

You will Need:
Lean Organic Ground Beef-1 lb
Oil-2 tbsp
Red onion- 1-2 medium size, thinly sliced
Fresh tiny green Thai, cayenne or Serrano chile peppers -2 or 3
Garlic-4 large cloves,paste
Ginger- 1 inch, paste
Lemon juice-1 tablespoon
Tomato-1 or 2 diced finely

Whole Spices:
Cinnamon stick-1 small one inch piece
Dried bay leaves-1
Cardamom-1
Clove-2


Spices:
Red Chili Powder- 1 1/2 tsp( use more or less as per taste or mix with half paprika/kashmiri chili powder to even out the color and taste)
Coriander Powder-1 1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds,roasted and powdered-1/2 tsp
Turmeric-1/2 tsp
Salt to taste
Frozen or fresh peas-1 cup
Cilantro- 2 Tsp chopped finely

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium high heat. Add the cinnamon sticks, clove and cardamom and bay leaves and saute until they sizzle. Then add the onion and stir fry until transparent and slightly golden, 5-10 minutes. Add the ginger, garlic, chili peppers,and stir well till the raw smell of the garlic is gone. Add the ground beef to the pan and break up the pieces with a wooden spatula. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the beef is browned. Add the spices...coriander, ground cumin, red chili powder, salt and turmeric and stir to coat the meat evenly. Saute for a couple of minutes and then add the tomatoes and mix well on high heat. Sprinkle in the lemon juice and keep stir frying for 5 minutes till all the meat is brown and the spices are cooked. Stir in 1/2 cup of water and add the peas. Transfer the meat to a pressure cooker and cook it for just 2-3 minutes after the first whistle. Alternately, you could cover the pan on low heat and let the meat simmer for 20 minutes. If the peas are cooked, you could add them in the last 5 minutes. Garnish with a whole lot of chopped cilantro.

24 comments:

Parita said...

Looks quite spicy! i too was a fussy food eater, had so many reservations :)

Pavithra Elangovan said...

Loooks so yummy and the color and spices of the dish making me drool

Anonymous said...

Hi

Your delicious recipe is covered by FOODIE BLOGROLL making it only partially readable is there any way of getting rid of this obstacle. Thanks
Neville
Toronto

Faiza Ali said...

Looks so yummy and spicy. I love t eat kheema mutter with naans. Yum Yum...

sra said...

Nice post, Mallugirl! Loved the pun "I get a look as though I am from another country... well, that I am..:)" I like kheema (lamb) with peas but eat kheem v rarely

Vani said...

We listed our house last week. Totally understand your kitchen woes. Last week since we were fresh on the market, we had a few showings every day. And weekdays, folks came in as late as 7pm. This week has been slower and so I have been cooking just like u said - less splat, less aroma( oh, some stuff lingers well into next day, even tho we don't realize sometimes) and quick cleanup.
Good luck with your house! Happy Ramadan!

Anonymous said...

So,'pennukanal' continues ? Dear,can understand and now i know how you can keep away from labour demanding malabar dishes..In a way kids are giving you an opportunity to leisure..lol..But whats up for Ramadan ? Thought you will come up with something..mm
Hey recently all your ingredient portion is been overlapped with foodie blogroll widget..Plz check dear..Thanks for the recipe..Happy Ramadan to you and family.

mathew said...

slurp..i am sure to love to this one!! i think if you offer this to possible suitors for your house..its taken!!;-D

mathew said...

happy ramzan to you and family!:)

mona said...

Kheema Mutter looks spicy and delicious.
Ramadan Mubarak to you and your family!

lubnakarim06 said...

Oh wow...spicy and yummy recipe...looks appetizing...

lubnakarim06 said...

Ramadan Mubarak to you and your family dear...

Yasmeen said...

Spicy and very appetizing kheema,I love adding bell peppers too.
Have a blessed Ramadan :D

Hb said...

First things first..happy ramzan!
Kheema is one thing which makes me like mutton little more than chicken. Haven't had in long time, yumm!

Bong Mom said...

You are so true about the kid's eating habits. My daughter likes Indian food but not the homely bengali kind I do. She likes more of the restaurant fare and while we speak of how restaurant foods are boring and typical in our blogs, there goes S lapping up Naan and Butter Paneer like there is no tomorrow :(

Will mail you soon. can't you take the housee off the market and then go back again later ?

Mandira said...

Buying and selling are no mean tasks shaheen, good luck with the process. The keema matar looks fantastic. I am bookmarking it to make it over the weekend.

Pravs said...

Happy onam to you too ! Love this preparation. just need some roti now :)

Bharathy said...

Yummy Curry!..V is so against me having beef, lately..and I am drooling here...
Happy Ramzann to you and family...
Onashamsakal too :)..

BTW, I opened your site using google chrome and the post content shows in green letters..bold and green...like the title...

indianadoc said...

Thanks for the wishes dear...Wish you and your family a hearty Onam & Ramzan ...Lost touch with the blogosphere of late...I'm packing bags for a month long holiday off to be with my mom in UAE...Hope to try all my favourite Iftaar dishes this time!! I'm flying only to eat!!! :) Happy blogging!!

Chitra said...

Looks nice..First time here.U have a nice blog ..Do visit mine at ur free time :)

Sanghi said...

This is a simply superb delights..! Spicy yummmy!

Anonymous said...

Looks good. I'm gonna try this out today. Please do include your kids' favorite western/Indian recipes too, whenever possible.

Thanks
Rg.

Anonymous said...

Shaheen, I tried this recipe last week (with less chilli powder). It was very very very delicious. We loved it. It was good right out of the stove when it was done but it was even way more tastier after 2-3 hrs. Is it supposed to be made like curry, I mean with gravy? I didn't have any gravy but it was not too dry either. It was perfect for us. My rating for this recipe is 5 star.

Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Rg.

Unknown said...

I am new to cooking and have been worried about how I will manage after moving to the US. I stumbled in to your site by accident and what a good day it has been for me. Thank you so much. I have tried out a few recipes from your site and even my japanese fiance has enjoyed the food though i have tried to tone down the chillies. I myself found them delicious! Thank you so much! In the process of cooking Kheema mutter and it has come out very well if I may say so myself!!