food talk
When mince meets taste
Pushpesh Pant 

Necessity, they say, is the mother of invention. We couldn't agree more. Recovering from a gluttonous binge during the festive season we had some unexpected guests and were confronted with the task of rustling up a dinner in a hurry. Friends visiting us were famished and all we had at hand were well, "left-overs". Fortunately, there was some mince we had planned to treat ourselves to a keema matar curry that saved the day. What began as a hamburger steak ended up as keeme ki bharwan tikki because we not only were constrained to 'stretch' the keema but also wanted to impress our friends with an original 'creation! The spicing resembles that of a shami but is much stronger and the stuffing is more substantial than in a seekampur kebab. The onions and the barbecue sauce lent the dish a dash of the Raj Anglo-Indiana but it retained its desi character. The best part was that the jumbo patty was far easier to pan grill and turn on the non-stick pan than the delicate kebab. We feel this beauty tastes better without chutney but to each his own!

Keeme ki bharwan tikki

Ingredients

Mince meat 250g

Chana dal 1 tbsp

Bay leaf One

Red chillies (whole) Two

Brown cardamom One

Cinnamon One-inch piece

Jeera powder ½ tsp

Dhaniya powder 1tsp

Tandoori masala 1tsp

Salt To taste

Oil to pan grill

Stuffing

Hardboiled egg (chopped coarsely) One

Processed cheese (grated) 2-3 cubes

Onion (medium sized, peeled and diced fine) One

Ginger (scraped chopped fine) One-inch piece

Kishmish ¼ cup

Prunes/dried figs/dried apricots (chopped) 3-4

Fresh coriander (chopped) 2 tbsp

Sauce

Onion (large, peeled and sliced finely) One

Worcestershire sauce 1 tbsp

Method

Boil the mince with the lentils along with salt and whole spices with half cup of water or less in a pressure cooker. Evaporate all moisture and grind in a mixer after discarding whole spices. Allow the mince to cool, and then divide into equal portions. Roll into large balls. Prepare the filling by mixing all ingredients in a bowl. Flatten the ball and place a portion of the filling in centre, reshape

in to a ball and flatten again. Line a non-stick pan with a thin film of oil and grill the tikki on both sides till a crispy brown crust is formed. Stir-fry the onions in a separate pan in a little oil and when golden brown add the sauce. Cook till onions are rich brown. Pour over the tikki or place it on an onion bed before serving.





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