Minced lamb pilaf recipe / Kheema pulao recipe
For once I wanted to follow a recipe without altering it. I looked up recipes for minced lamb with middle eastern flavours. Oddly enough, one from Waitrose was the first to show. But then, I chucked the idea of following the recipe and made my own spice mix for the lamb to cook in. There’s not much heat in it because I used only one big red chilli. Once the dish is done though, the whole house smells wonderful!
Ingredients:
Minced lamb – 500 gm
Basmati rice – 1 cup (150 – 160 gm)
Onions – 1 large sliced
Tomato – 2 chopped
Cinnamon – 2 one inch pieces
Garlic – 4 big cloves chopped
Ginger – 1 inch piece grated
Chilli powder – 1 tsp
Ghee/oil – 2 tbsp
Salt to taste
Ingredients for the ground spice mix:
Cinnamon – 2 one inch pieces
Cloves – 1 tsp
Cumin – 2 tsp
Coriander – 1/2 tsp
Pepper corns – 1 tsp
Dried red chilli – 1 large or 2 medium (I used Kashmiri ones)
Method:
Wash and soak the rice. Keep it aside.
Heat ghee in a large pan and tip the cinnamon pieces in.
Add sliced onion and cook till lightly browned.
Toss the ginger and garlic in and saute.
Now the tomatoes go in.
Let this cook for 5-7 mins.
In the meanwhile, dry roast all the ingredients for the spice mix and blitz them in a blender till you get a coarse powder.
Tip the spice mix into the onions and tomatoes, and cook for another 5 mins.
Let the minced lamb go in.
Add the chilli powder at this point. Mix well and cook for 15 mins on medium flame. Add a splash of water if it’s too dry.
Drain the rice and add it to the lamb mixture. Add 2 cups of water and salt.
Let it come to a boil on high heat and then lower the heat to let it cook for 40 mins.
Garnish options: Fried onions, chopped coriander, cranberries, cashew nuts (I used all of them).
