Thursday, February 2, 2012

Last Night's Dinner: Indian-Spiced Ground Beef


I was feeling really lazy yesterday. Not quite lazy enough to buy a box of Hamburger Helper at the IGA (I don't even know if the IGA sells Hamburger Helper; I'll have to check on that), but almost. So I decided to cook some ground beef with Indian spices. I had planned on buying those garlic naan breads at the IGA, but the breads were sold out. That would have been too easy, I guess! I had no choice but to go home and make some pita bread dough to go with my beef. So I didn't feel like such a slacker in the end. Here is the recipe:

Indian-Spiced Ground Beef with Peas

Serves 4

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
One 1-inch piece ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1 teaspoon garam masala
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 pound lean ground beef
Salt
One 15-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
1/2 cup frozen peas
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1/4 cup cilantro leaves, washed and dried

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Add garlic and ginger and cook an additional minute. Stir in garam masala, cumin, and cayenne, and cook, stirring, another minute.
2. Add meat and 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook, breaking meat up with a wooden spoon, until it loses its pink color. Ad tomatoes and peas, stir, cover, and cook until heated through, about 5 minutes. Stir in cider vinegar, adjust salt, sprinkle with cilantro leaves, and serve.

2 comments:

  1. Hi Lauren,
    this looks delicious...If I substituted turkey instead of beef would I get the same flavoring?

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  2. Yes--turkey would be good. With so many spices, you wouldn't miss the fat.

    ReplyDelete