Kheema with Fried Onions and Peas

My husband has been on a kick with cooking.  He finds it really relaxing - now he understands why I do it.  So I have been letting him enter my domain once a week or so to try some new Indian recipes.  My pregnant nose is still really sensitive to new Indian spices we have added to our repertoire - needless to say, I have not been trying these recipes myself.  Letting the spices heat in the oil to become fragrant have really kept me out of the kitchen.

This recipe turned out more like chili consistency but not very spicy.

Kheema with Fried Onions and Peas

from An Invitation To Indian Cooking by Madhur Jaffrey

Ingredients

1 medium-sized onion, peeled and cut into very thin rings
4 tbsp vegetable oil
2 bay leaves
1 cinnamon stick, 3 inches long
6 whole cloves
2 medium-sized onions, finely chopped
fresh ginger, 1 inch long and 1 inch wide, finely chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp ground coriander
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground turmeric
2 tbsp plain yogurt
2 tbsp tomato sauce
2 lbs ground chuck or ground lamb
1/4 tsp ground mace
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cayenne
1/2 cup water
1 cup of frozen peas

Steps

1.  Halve onion rings and separate.
2.  Heat oil in a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat.  Fry halved onion rings for about 5 minutes until they are dark brown by not burned.  Remove with a slotted spoon and spread on paper towels.
3.  Put bay leaves, cinnamon, and cloves in the hot oil.  When the leaves darken and cinnamon starts to unfurl, add the finely chopped onions, ginger, and garlic.  Fry, stirring for 10 - 12 minutes until onions darken to a medium brown edges.
4.  Lower heat, and add coriander, cumin, and turmeric.  Fry for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
5.  Add yogurt and stir for another minute. Then add tomato sauce and stir for another 2 -3 minutes.
6.  Put heat to medium, add meat and fry for 7 to 8 minutes.
7.  Add mace, nutmeg, salt, cayenne, and water.  Stir, bring to a boil, cover and let simmer for 50 minutes.
8.  After the 50 minutes are up, stir in the peas, cover, and cook for another 5 to 10 minutes.
9.  Finally, add onion half rings and remove cinnamon.  Serve.

The Final Product

First, I reiterate that the spice was not overly hot.  But there was enough for me to feel it.  Second, I sort of messed up while getting all of the ingredients the hubby needed.  I only picked up one pound of ground lamb (yes, I know shocking!  More shocking that the grocery store had ground lamb).  So we mixed 1 pound of ground lamb with 1 pound of ground beef.  I made for an interesting texture.  Still a yummy meal.  We paired with Naan bread and rice.