The Rookie Chef

Nadiya Ziafat explores the dishes she loves and enlists help from cookery writers and chefs in getting them just right

In this episode, chef and author Maunika Gowardhan shares her recipe for one of her favourite Indian street foods.

MAUNIKA’S TOP TIPS

Use lamb mince with a good amount of fat in it.

The finished keema should be saucy but thick, with not too much liquid. It should still have enough gravy so you can use the pav ( bread) to scoop it up. Pav has to be slightly buttery. My mother would use the same pan as the keema to fry the buns. Serve pickled red onions and lime on the side to cut through the delicious fatty flavours.

Keema pav

SERVES 4 PREP 20 mins COOK 1 hr EASY

4 garlic cloves

1cm piece ginger

700g lamb mince (10-20% fat)

2 tbsp vegetable oil

5-7 curry leaves

2 medium onions, finely chopped 2 medium tomatoes, finely chopped 3 green chillies, finely chopped 1 tbsp coriander leaves, finely

chopped, plus extra to serve 1 heaped tsp Kashmiri chilli powder

(or mild chilli powder)

½ tsp ground turmeric

180ml coconut milk

1 tsp dark brown soft sugar

2 tbsp red or white wine vinegar 1 tbsp lemon juice

For the spice powder

3 green cardamom pods

1 blade of mace

2cm cinnamon stick

½ star anise

3 cloves

4-5 black peppercorns

To serve

4 soft white rolls, split, toasted and

buttered red onion, finely sliced

1 lime or lemon, cut into wedges

1 Put all the spice powder ingredients into a spice or coffee grinder and blitz to a fine powder. Blitz the garlic and ginger to a fine paste using a food processor, then tip into a bowl with the lamb mince and stir well to combine. Set aside.

2 Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed frying pan over a medium heat. Add the curry leaves and let them sizzle for a couple of minutes.

Tip in the onions and fry for 5-7 mins until softened and light brown. Add the tomatoes and fry over a medium heat, until they can be mashed slightly with the back of a spoon (about 5 mins). Stir in the chillies, coriander, chilli powder and turmeric, frying for a couple of minutes.

3 Add the marinated lamb and keep stirring over a medium heat, breaking down the mince to make sure there are no lumps. Cook for 5 mins, then add 150ml water. Bring to the boil, then simmer on a low heat with the lid half-covering the pan. Cook the lamb for 20 mins or until it’s almost absorbed all the water.

4 Mix in the coconut milk and powdered spice mix, and simmer for 5-7 mins. Add the sugar, vinegar and seasoning, and stir well. Cook for another 5 mins, then turn the heat off and garnish with the extra coriander and lemon juice. Serve warm with the toasted, buttered rolls, red onion and lime wedges.

GOOD TO KNOW iron • 1 of 5 a day

PER SERVING 643 kcals • fat 40g • saturates 21g • carbs 32g • sugars 8g • fibre 4g • protein 38g • salt 1g