The Big Sweet Tooth: Aloo Kheema ~ Minced Meat Potato Curry

Yesterday my parents went back home after a short stay. The stay was about 26 days but how fast those days flew! More than me, the kids are awfully moody. I realized that my children are no longer small and they have their set of emotions, when I saw Azza wimping when D left her hand to move towards the passport control. Rasha has had her share of her grandparents but Azza has missed their company when she needed it the most. It was difficult trying to pacify her but in the next 15 minutes, she had given herself up to destiny and got back to normal. I guess there we have a lesson to learn from children - to give it up when it is time, to learn to move forward without what was there in the past. Sometimes I feel I have learned it, sometimes I feel I haven't. Well, don't we love to hang on to a little portion of our past, just for the feel of it? Whatever said and done, I can't wait to see them again in person. We may be skyping on and off, but that doesn't give the effect of seeing or having them in person. Life is like that, we have to learn to move on... :)

Off to today's recipe... it is always good to combine vegetables with meat, so that at least the vegetables would go into the tummy. I have always had aloo kheema at restaurants but never made them at home since I don't have a potato savvy people at home. Once, I had run out of ideas and with hardly anything in the pantry apart from a pack of chicken mince and a little bunch of potatoes, I was suddenly reminded of this dish. I browsed through several recipes and came up with mine. I must say that this one is a lipsmacking combination and tastes just awesome especially with some naans or tandoor rotis. This curry would taste good with plain rice as well. What I particularly like in this is the mild taste of ghee... just love it!

Aloo Kheema ~ Minced Meat Potato Curry

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 tbsp oil

1 tsp cumin seeds

2 onions minced

1 tsp ginger paste

1 tsp garlic paste

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1/2 tsp red chili powder

1/2 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder

1 tsp coriander powder

2 tomatoes, chopped

2 tbsp tomato paste

1/2 tsp ghee

400 gm chicken mince

2 tbsp yogurt

4 small potatoes, boiled and chopped

A generous pinch kasuri methi

1/2 tsp garam masala

Salt to taste

Coriander leaves for garnish

Method:

Heat oil in a saucepan, splutter the cumin seeds. Add the onion and saute till soft. Add the ginger and garlic pastes and cook till the raw smell is gone, around 3 minutes. Add in the powders and saute till it gets cooked. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste and ghee and mix well. Close the lid and cook till the tomatoes are mashed.

Add in the chicken mince and cook for 10 minutes or till cooked. Add in some water if the mixture is too dry. Add the yogurt and potatoes and cook for a further 5 minutes. Finally sprinkle in the kasuri methi and garam masala, adjust the salt and mix well.

Serve warm garnished with coriander leaves, with naan or chapathis!