The Indian Sloppy Joe: Sriracha Turkey Kheema

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My apologies for the delay in posting since the last recipe; my husband and I were on an incredible three week vacation.  We saw beautiful places, experienced rich cultures, and--most importantly--ate exquisite foods.  Now that we are back home, though, we are trying to erase the sins of one too many Nutella crepes!  My solution: Sriracha turkey kheema!

Kheema is often called the Indian version of the sloppy joe.  It consists of minced meat and peas cooked in tomatoes, onions, and a variety of spices.  It is a perfect option when you are trying to eat less carbohydrates.  Kheema is often made using mutton, but I made it with ground turkey to keep it healthy.  You can also use ground chicken if you prefer!  

This recipe for turkey kheema comes from my  Aunt S--though I've added a few "twists" to her traditional recipe.  I have added Sriracha sauce to give the kheema a slightly thicker consistency and increase the garlic flavor and spice level.  I also added fresh Thai basil leaves (which are available at your local Thai or larger Asian grocer).  Thai basil has a peppery licorce flavor and gives this recipe amazing depth.  Don't confuse it with tulasi, or holy basil, which is often used in Indian cooking!  You can identify Thai basil by its purple stems.  If you can't find Thai basil, just omit it from this recipe or substitute tulasi leaves or mint leaves.

Prepare your ingredients by chopping the onion, grate the ginger, and mince the garlic.

Add the cooking oil and bay leaves to a saute pan and turn the heat on medium-low.  Carefully watch the bay leaves as they can burn quickly!  Once they begin to brown (usually you can also smell their fragrance), add the onions to the pan.  Cook the onions until they have softened, roughly 3 to 4 minutes. 

Once the onions have cooked, add the garlic and ginger and combine.  Cook for 1 to 2 minutes until garlic has softened; but be careful not to burn the garlic!  Next add the spices:  cumin, garam masala, red chili powder, and cinnamon.

Now that the onions and spices are mixed together, add the ground turkey.  Use your spatula to break up the ground meat to spread it evenly around the pan.  Cover the pan with a lid and cook over low heat.  

Every 3 to 4 minutes, open the lid and move the meat around in the pan.  Use the spatula to continue breaking up the meat into smaller pieces of ground turkey.  Cook the turkey in the pan until all of the meat is browned, roughly 7 to 10 minutes total.

While the turkey cooks, roughly chop the tomatoes.  Once the meat has browned, add the tomatoes and water to the pan.

Cover the kheema with a lid and allow the tomatoes to cook until soft, roughly 5 minutes.  Once the tomatoes have softened, use your spatula to press down on the tomatoes such that they become paste-like or pulpy.  The mixture may seem watery, but the water will evaporate as you continue to cook the kheema.

Now for the fun stuff!  Add the Sriracha sauce, salt, and peas.

Increase the heat to medium-high and allow the kheema to continue cooking--and water to evaporate--until the water is mostly gone.  At this point, taste the kheema and add more salt, garam masala, or Sriracha sauce as needed for your tastes.

In the last 30 seconds of cooking, rip the Thai basil leaves in half and add them to the mixture.  Stir the leaves around for 10 to 15 seconds.

Enjoy the kheema while it's hot with any type of bread and chopped spinach and arugala, with brown rice or quinoa, or as the filling for a lettuce wrap!  I made my husband a happy man by serving it with sandwich thins, a beer, and during the first NFL game of the season :)

Bon Apetit!

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Ingredients:

• 4 tbsp grapeseed oil or other cooking oil
• 2 medium bay leaves
• 1-2 small onions, enough for 1 cup chopped
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 1-inch piece ginger root
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp garam masala
• 1/4 tsp red chili powder (lal mirch)
• 3 pinches ground cinnamon
• 1 1/3 lb. ground turkey (7% fat or 99% fat-free), or ground chicken
• 2 Roma tomatoes, enough for 1 cup chopped
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 tbsp Sriracha sauce
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup frozen or fresh peas
• Optional:  5-6 Thai basil leaves, or holy basil or mint leaves

Recipe (serves 4):

1. Chop the onion, grate the ginger, and finely mince the garlic.
2. Add the cooking oil and bay leaves to a saute pan.  Warm over medium-low heat until bay leaves turn light brown and become fragrant.
3. Add chopped onion and cook until softened and golden in color, roughly 3 to 4 minutes.
4. Add garlic and ginger and cook until garlic softens, roughly 1 to 2 minutes.
5. Add cumin, garam masala, red chili powder, and cinnamon.  Stir to combine.
6. Lower heat and add ground turkey.  Use spatula to break meat up evenly over the bottom of the pan.  Cover the pan with a lid.
7. Every 3 to 4 minutes, use the spatula to further break the meat apart and stir it around.  Cook until meat has browned completely, roughly 7 to 10 minutes.
8. While turkey browns, roughly chop the tomatoes.  Once meat has browned, add tomatoes and water to the pan.
9. Cover pan with lid until tomatoes soften, roughly 5 minutes.  Once soft, use the spatula to mash the tomatoes into a paste-like or pulpy consistency.  The kheema may seem watery at this point, but the water will evaporate.
10. Add Sriracha sauce, salt, and peas to the pan and stir to combine.  
11. Increase the heat to medium and allow the kheema to continue cooking with the lid off, until most of the water has evaporated.  Once the water has evaporated, add more salt, garam masala, and/or Sriracha sauce as needed.
12. During the last 30 seconds of cooking, rip the Thai basil leaves in half and add them to the kheema for the last 10 to 15 seconds.
13. Serve with bread, rice, quinoa, or in a lettuce wrap!

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