Ground beef with peas

Ground beef with peas, a high protein dish with the goodness of beef, soft yummy green peas and warming spices, most tender melt in the mouth kind of food for those cold nights.

Best side dish to make easily on a weeknight when you have store bought flat bread to go with it.

Ground beef with green peas is from the Mughlai Cuisine and called as Qeema matar or Keema mattar

Things to keep in mind while making ground beef with peas:

Buy leanest minced beef as once the fat starts oozing out from the meat it will be hard to drain off excess  without compromising on spice flavors draining with it even if we drain most fat in the beginning of making the dish. 

How to rescue the ground beef off of excess fat?

If the dish looks too oily even after draining most fat add a little roasted gram flour - 1-2 tbsp only it will absorb the excess fat and impart a nutty aroma to the dish. Make sure to cook the beef after adding gram flour. (Remember if the flavor has raw taste it will destroy the dish so dry roast the gram flour in a separate pan on low flame until the aroma turns nutty and sand colored if u wait for browning it will taste burnt.

Ingredients:

Minced meat -1 lb (Buy least fat one)

Peas - 1 cup ( frozen)

Red onion - 2 chopped

Tomato - 2 diced

Bay leaf - 1

Mustard oil (preferably) or any cooking oil - 2 to 3 tsp

Chili powder  - 1 tsp (use as per tolerance)

Coriander powder -  1 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/3 tsp

Salt to taste

To grind:

Cardamom -3, Cloves- 5,  Cinnamon - A small piece

Black pepper corn- 1 tsp,Fennel seeds- 1 1/2 tsp,Cumin seeds- 1 tsp

Garlic - 4-5,Ginger - 1 inch piece,Green chili - 1 or 2 (as per tolerance)

Coriander leaves - 1 handful ( reserve some to garnish in the end)

Method:

1. Grind all the ingredients together coarsely given under to grind.
2. Heat mustard oil and add the bay leaf when it browns reduce heat to lowest add the chopped onion when it turns pink add chilli powder, coriander powder, turmeric pd, salt. Saute until the raw smell goes. ***( entire taste of the dish depends on this so do not brown too much) ***
3. Add the minced/ ground beef. Make sure the meat is well separated and not clumped for even cooking. Allow it cook half way through.** if there is too much fat melting on side discard some of it ***Now add the coarsely ground paste. Mix well.
4.  Add the diced tomatoes. Cook until the dish is almost done and dried up. Now add the frozen peas. Do not mix too much and mash the peas. Cover and cook on low flame so peas do not change color.
5. Cook until peas is done. Before serving sprinkle more coriander leaves.

Serve minced beef with peas along with raita, any flat bread such as naan, tortillas, Indian chappathi or plain rice and other curries of ur choice.

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Hope you would love this Indian flavored ground beef with peas and give it a try.

Meena