Beef Keema Aloo

I grew up eating South Asian food, but I often find making it myself to be a daunting task given the number of ingredients, toasting spices, and on and on. I appreciate the results, but often don't want to be responsible for them myself. That being the case, this simplified recipe for beef keema aloo (with some adaptations of my own) has become a favorite weeknight meal as it doesn't require a lot of extra steps or time to throw together. My apologies to any South Asian readers out there, I know this recipe is probably far from what it should be. It's a nice shortcut to a delicious weekday dinner, however, and I hope you enjoy it as much as my family does!

Beef Keema Aloo

(5 servings)

Ingredients

1 tablespoon of olive oil

1 medium-large onion (chopped)

5 cloves of garlic (minced/crushed)

1 tablespoon of grated ginger

2 teaspoons of cumin

1 teaspoon of garam masala

1 teaspoon of Kashmiri mirch or chili powder 

1/2 teaspoon of turmeric

Black pepper (to taste)

Dried cilantro (to taste)

Salt (to taste)

500g / 1lb of ground beef

1 1/2 cups of cubed potato

2 medium-large tomatoes (diced)

2 tablespoons of plain yogurt*

1/4 cup of water

1 cup of frozen peas (thawed if possible)

Sriracha (to taste)

*Greek yogurt is usually what I have on hand, but to each their own!

Directions

1) Heat the oil in a large pan over medium-high heat and sauté the onion until soft and beginning to brown.

2) Stir in the garlic, ginger, and remaining seasonings and spices and cook for a minute or two (until fragrant) before incorporating the beef and cooking it until it's brown and crumbly (about 10 to 15 minutes).

3) Add the potato, tomatoes, yogurt, and water, reduced the heat to medium-low, and simmer until the potato is close to your desired tenderness. (I generally give this 5 minutes since the brand I buy has very small potato cubes.)

4) Turn the heat up to medium, add the peas and sriracha, and cook another 10 minutes (covered if your keema aloo is beginning to dry out) until the peas are done. Serve as is, over rice, and/or with your favorite flatbread (we love paratha or naan over here!) and enjoy!