pakistani kima

my roommate kindly reminds me when there's too much stuff in the freezer. i remembered that i had frozen ground beef, and i wondered what i could do with it. my friend passed along this simple recipe for pakistani kima which i tried the other night. along with it, i made a cucumber yogurt sauce as well as a light refreshing cucumber salad.

below are the two recipes. i did adjust the seasoning for the pakistani kima. i added a lot more seasoning that just a dash. don't go overboard, but just taste as you go. you'll know when to stop.

for the cucumber salad, just cut up cucumbers, lightly salt them, and let it sit to draw out all the water. as this sits, chop up tomatoes and some red onions. then drain the cucumber and use a paper towel to pat it dry. then combine the cucumbers, tomatoes and red onions. sprinkle with a dash of fresh cracked pepper. it goes really well by itself or with the yogurt sauce.

Pakistani Kima
More with Less Cookbook

Serves 5-6

Saute in skillet:
3 T butter (or substitute with olive oil)
1 cup onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced

Add:
1 lb ground beef

Brown well. Stir in:
1 1/2 T curry powder
1 1/2 t salt
dash pepper
2 tsp cinnamon,

1 tsp ginger,

1 T turmeric

1 T cumin
2 cups tomatoes, diced
2 potatoes, diced (I used sweet potatoes)
2 cups peas or green beans or corn (or any other veggie you like!)

Cover and simmer 25 min. Serve w/ rice and pita.

Cucumber-mint Raita

1 large unpeeled English hothouse cucumber, halved, seeded, coarsely grated
2 cups plain whole-milk yogurt
1/4 cup (packed) chopped fresh mint
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon plus pinch of cayenne pepper

Wrap grated cucumber in kitchen towel and squeeze dry. Whisk yogurt, mint, cumin, and 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper in medium bowl to blend. Add cucumbers and toss to coat. Season raita to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours. (Can beprepared 1 day ahead. Keep refrigerated.) Sprinkle raita with pinch of cayenne pepper and serve.