Keema Fry (multiple ways)

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 45-50 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour - 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings: 5-6

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs ground beef or lamb mince (85/15)

• 2-3 red onions finely chopped

• 1 heaped tablespoon ginger paste

• 1 heaped tablespoon garlic paste

• 2-3 green chillies finely chopped

• 1 long piece cinnamon

• 4 brown cardamoms 

• 4 green cardamoms 

• 4-6 cloves 

• 2 bay leaves

• 1 cup tomato purée

• 2 tablespoons tomato paste

• Salt to taste

• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder 

• 1 teaspoon garam masala powder 

• 1 teaspoonful degi mirch or any red chilli powder

• Oil for cooking

Instructions:

1. Heat oil in a heavy cast iron skillet and lightly fry the crushed cardamoms, cloves and cinnamon. Remove, cool and grind coarsely.

2. In the same oil, fry the onions until golden brown. Add red chili powder and a tablespoon of hot water. 

3. Add the ground beef and fry until nicely browned. 

4. Now add the bay leaf, crushed spices, salt & turmeric. 

5. Add ground ginger & garlic paste and cook until the rawness goes away. 

6. Add the tomato purée and paste and cook on low heat until ghee separates. 

Variations :

1.  Eggplant Keema : roast an eggplant over direct flame until charred and cooked. Cool. Peel and scoop the flesh out. Roast a couple of tomatoes and green chillies under a hot grill until charred. Peel the tomatoes & roughly crush. Add everything towards the end of cooking time. 

2. Keema Mattar : add cooked peas towards the end of cooking.

3. Eggs & Keema : boil eggs and decorate on the keema along with some fried green chillies or otherwise break a couple of eggs on the cooked keema and place under a hot grill until cooked.

4. Keema Paranthas :  Use the leftover keema to make keema paranthas or  stuffed keema naans. 

5. Keema Pao : Serve with Pao (bread) and chopped condiments as keema pao.