Turkey Keema – busy wife’s lazy week night escape

On my head office days I’m not home till late, so unless I have prepared something in advance, which of course I often have, I am after quick but still tasty dinner recipes. Today was such a day, there weren't enough leftovers of last night's poronkäristys and I also was going upstairs for a little tipple – usually it ends up being at least a bottle of bubbly to be honest - and a chat with our neighbour. So I needed something quick to cook for husband before heading upstairs..

I’ve done this Indian Keema before, I think I used ground lamb last time, you can use ground beef as well. This time I opted for the leaner turkey, not because of the leanness necessarily, but because I had some in my freezer and wanted to make some space as it’s so full now after my visit to Finland with all the goodies I brought with me.

So hubby headed for gym after asking if the flat tummy medicine that he saw advertised on Facebook might work just as well. I suspected it probably would not, so better just head for the exercise bike. I should have joined him after being power fed by my sister and mum for the last 10 days and looking like Kim Kardashian's backside and not in a good way, if there is a good way.

But I didn't. Instead I made a fragrant pot of healthy keema to wait for him on the stove (with some not so healthy basmati rice) and headed upstairs with a bottle of Cava.

Ground turkey (or beef or lamb) Keema recipe(serves 4)

1 yellow onion

3-4 garlic cloves

Thumb sized piece of fresh ginger

1 tsp garam masala

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp paprika

½ tsp turmeric

½ tsp cinnamon

Cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes for heat according to taste

400g ground meat

½ tsp  sugar

4-5 fresh tomatoes

1 chicken cube

Salt

Pepper

Juice of ½ a lime

Water
½ - 1 cup of peas

1/3 cup of parsley
(you can replace parsley with coriander and also add 1/2-1 tsp of ground coriander with the other spices)

Heat oil in a pan, add chopped onion and fry until soft - 5 min or so. Add minced garlic and minced ginger, fry another minute. Add the dry spices and fry a couple of minutes. Add ground meat and continue cooking, breaking the meat with a wooden spoon. When meat is browned add sugar, chopped tomatoes, chicken cube, salt, pepper and lime juice. You can also add a splash of water , 1/3 cup or so to make it a bit saucier. Let simmer for 15-20 minutes or even longer if you have time until tomatoes are soft and meat is tender. Add frozen or fresh peas and chopped parsley 5 minutes before you are ready to serve.