A hearty entrée from Karachi

 Edited BY

G P Kennedy

Qeema Matar by Tassy

 It's food week, so I am very happy to share a recipe of one of my go-to comfort foods. It is hearty, wholesome, and hugely satisfying. Not surprisingly, one of my favorite foods to cook while we live in uncertain times.

 

 The dish is called Qeema Matar in Urdu, roughly translated to mince with peas. It is a rich and aromatic dish that is cooked with a lot of spices. The dish originated at the time the Mughal dynasty of Turkic and Mongol origin ruled the vast Indian subcontinent from the 16th to mid 18th century. On average we have Qeema Matar at least once a week, usually with a "chapatti", flat bread made with unleavened wheat flour.

 

 It is pretty much a staple dish for us and also for a vast majority of Pakistanis. The dish is so popular that it is often prepared even as a festive dish on special occasions or at weddings. When I first learnt how to cook, this was probably one of the first recipes I wanted to master.

 

 I have had it since I was a child hence there is nothing really quite so satisfying, as it has so many memories attached to it. It was cooked by my mother, my grandmother, and her mother and the recipe I have has not evolved much over the generations. Although it is made in almost every household here, each region and each family has their own unique way of cooking this mince.

 

 Now, however, I have made it a little more versatile and added a fusion touch to it!  So sometimes, instead of having the Qeema with Chapati, I boil some spaghetti or linguine and make my version of a Pakistani Spaghetti Bolognese! Other times I may choose to put the Qeema between sliced bread and make it into a sandwich. And sometimes instead of a toasted cheese melt, we even make toasted sandwiches with the lamb or beef mince mixture inside for yet another interesting twist!

 The peas can be substituted with small, diced potatoes, green bell peppers and sometimes even fenugreek leaves. It can be made richer by substituting oil with butter or ghee (clarified butter). I hope you get to try it out and enjoy the taste for yourselves.


QEEMA MATAR - MINCE WITH PEAS AND CORIANDER
Ingredients
- 500 g beef or lamb mince
- 1 cup of vegetable oil
- 3 small onions finely sliced
- 2 teaspoons of freshly ground ginger
- 2 teaspoons of freshly ground garlic
- 1 teaspoon red chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- 2 tablespoons tomato puree
- ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 250g of shelled and boiled green peas
- 1 bunch of freshly chopped coriander leaves.

Method
1) Fry the sliced onions in oil until they are browned and glazed. Add the ginger, garlic, salt and spices and sauté it a bit more. Make sure that the mixture does not burn.
2) Add the minced meat to this mixture and fry until lightly brown. Add the tomato puree and ½ a cup of boiling water. Let the mince cook completely until all the water in the pan has evaporated. Feel free to add more water if needed if you need to cook it further.
3) Once the mince has cooked, add the peas. If you have used frozen peas make sure that you cook long enough for the peas to heat through.
4) Just before serving, add a generous serving of freshly chopped coriander leaves and heat it through. Save a little bit of coriander for the garnish on top.
5) Serve with chapatti or naan. You can also have it with white rice.