KEEMA MATAR: MINCED GOAT WITH PEAS

Its raining,and grey and I desperately need some color back in my life. The lone tree in our front yard,has shot out some red blooms after months of being barren. This subtle touch of color in the otherwise cold Midwestern days, has increased the craving for everything colorful. That's what Spring does to your heart. I had been ranting enough to a few of my girl friends through out the day. But then enough is enough. While ranting is sometimes good for the heart, I needed to get doing something creative. And for a food blogger whats more creative than hitting the kitchen and making something delish,which also screams of color on a plate.

I decided to cook up some KEEMA MATAR(MINCE GOAT WITH PEAS) with an extra dash of spice. You cannot go wrong with classics can you?! Goat Meat  which had been hand minced with extra blobs of fat thrown in.  Fat is taste when you are cooking certain red proteins. The irregular hand mincing packs in way more taste than the ones which are minced by machines. We still have a few old school butcheries around town, which still continue to hand mince your choice of meat for you, for a few extra dollars. 

The sweet green peas are a nice contrast to the rich brown gravy. I will also often add chopped potatoes to this concoction,but I had run out of starch. It starts off as a normal curry base,which is made of  grated onion,ginger garlic and tomatoes slow cooked to caramelize. But I decided to switch up matters a bit. The gloomy weather surely asked for a punch on the plate. I went ahead and dry roasted whole cumin, red chillies and coriander seeds in a pan. Once they had cooled I rough ground them in a coffee grinder. I wanted the masala to have some texture to it. Rather than going the whole Garam Masala way, I skipped it in favor of just  whole green cardamoms,which i had just broken open by hand. The result was one delicious plate. You could have it one its own.I served up mine with some steamed basmati rice. Even the toddler had finished off her plate. I don't know about what the weather will be tomorrow, but my heart is surely colorful after such a tasty plate. 

KEEMA MATAR: 

Ingredients: 

Goat Keema: 1 lb 

Red Onion: 1 large

Garlic: 7 to 8 large pods

Ginger: 1 inch

Dried Red Chilies: 2 to 3 (according to heat preferences)

Salt: to taste. 

Coriander seed: 2 tsp

Cumin seed: 2 tsp

Green Cardamom: 6 to 7

Canola Oil

Green Peas: 1 1/2 cup

Tomato paste: 1 tbsp

Sugar: 1 tsp

Procedure: 

Grind onion,ginger and garlic or grate them finely. 

Grind the dry spices  in a  coffee grinder. 

In a non stick pan, add canola oil and let it heat. Add in the sugar and let it caramelise.

Add in the green cardamoms and the grated onion ginger garlic paste. Fry the paste till it starts to change color. 

Add in the ground dry spices and the tomato paste. Mix well, and cook uncovered till you can see oil at the sides. 

Next comes in the goat meat. Use a wooden slotted spoon, to integrate the meat well in to cooked masala mixture. Let it brown for a few minutes. Season with salt and cover and cook till the meat is almost done. 

At this point add in the green peas and cook uncovered. Do not add water. Steam is generated when you cover and cook. If you feel there is excess moisture , then dry it by cooking uncovered.

Do a taste test and serve with steamed Basmati rice. 

Bon Appetit !!!