Sunday
Qeema with peas, tomato salad & mint yoghurt
A recipe from my childhood — an homage to my grandmother, who passed on my love for cooking and entertaining. Spiced minced lamb with sweet peas, a sharp tomato salad and cool mint yoghurt on the side.
Nani's kitchen always smelled like this. Cook the masala low and slow until the oil splits from the spices — that's the moment it turns from mince into qeema.
Method
- 01
Warm the ghee in a heavy pan over medium heat. Add the onions with a pinch of salt and cook gently for 10–12 minutes until deeply golden — don't rush this, it's the backbone of the dish.
- 02
Stir in the garlic, ginger and green chillies and cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
- 03
Turn the heat up and add the lamb, breaking it up with the back of a spoon. Cook for 6–8 minutes until any liquid has evaporated and the mince starts to catch and brown.
- 04
Add the cumin, coriander, turmeric, chilli powder and garam masala. Stir for 1 minute, then tip in the tomatoes and a good pinch of salt.
- 05
Pour in the hot water, lower the heat and simmer uncovered for 25–30 minutes, stirring now and then, until the sauce is thick, glossy, and you can see ghee pooling at the edges — bhuna, as Nani would say.
- 06
Stir in the peas and cook for a final 5 minutes until just tender and bright green. Taste for salt and finish with a pinch more garam masala.
- 07
Meanwhile, make the tomato salad: toss the tomatoes, red onion, chilli and coriander with lemon juice and salt. Leave to sit for 10 minutes so the juices come out.
- 08
Stir together the yoghurt, mint, cumin, salt and lemon for the raita.
- 09
Scatter the qeema with coriander and slivered ginger. Serve with the tomato salad, mint yoghurt and warm chapatis or rice — and eat with your hands, the way it was meant to be.
Keep cooking
