Kheema Bhaji -- Spinach with Minced Meat

Just like any other kids i never liked spinach so my mom made me this dish- kheema bhaji, where she would mix minced meat into the spinach and give me. This eventually made me be a popeye, and one of my favorite veggies is the spinach.

Traditionally this dish is a fusion between mughlai and deccan (south india), spinach is one of the most common food still eaten in Tamil Nadu. And when the Muslims from North (whoever traditionally cooked Mughlai food) moved to the south they fused their cuisine with the local cuisine. I will cover more on this fusion of Mughlai and South Indian cooking in future.

Ingredients:

Main Ingredients:

• 800 Gms Spinach finely chopped with stems discarded
• 400 Gms Minced Meat or Beef

Spices:

• 1 Bay Leaf
• 1 Tbsp turmeric powder
• 1 Tbsp Chilli Powder
• 2 Tsp Fennel (Called Saunf in India)
• 1 Tsp whole Coriander seeds
• 2 Tsp Mustard Seeds

Seasoning

• 1 tsp Asafoetida Powder (called Hing in India, no its not a chinese name :) )
• 3 Tbsp Cream
• 1 Tomato finely chopped 
• 1 Onion finely chopped
• 1 Tsp Ginger Garlic Paste
• Salt as per your taste

Cooking Oil (I prefer Sunflower cooking Oil, but with coconut oil this doesn't taste good)

Utensils Needed:

• 1 small skillet
• 1 big frying pan
• 1 big sauce pot

Getting Started:

• Fry the Mustard Seeds, Fennel and coriander in 1 tsp oil until the coriander turns light brown in the samll skillet. 
• While cooking the spices, fry the onions until they turn brown in 1 tbsp oil, 
• Now add the fried spices along with the onions and fry for 30 secs.
• Now add the Tomatoes, Ginger Garlic Paste and fry them all together for 3 minutes.
• Now add Spinach to the frying pan and mix well with all ingredients and add 1 cup water. Keep them cooking until all the water evaporates.
• While the Spinach is cooking, heat the sauce pot with 1 tbsp oil and add the minced meat to it along with 1/2 cup water. 
• Add the Turmeric Powder, Chilli Powder and Bay leaf to the meat and stir well. Adding these spices, especially the bay leaf also helps take out the meat smell.
• When the water from the spinach and meat evaporates, transfer the contents to the sauce pot and stir well. 
• Now add the Asafoteida and salt as per your taste cook well for another 15 minutes. 
• After this now add 2 tbsp Cream to the sauce pot and cook for 3 minutes.
• Now take it off the heat and transfer it to the serving dish.
• Heat 1 Tbsp Cream and pour it on top of the Food.

Hope you liked this dish...