Mince is budget-friendly, quick and easy to prepare. Tougher cuts of meat can be used to grind into mince. When ground at home, the quality of meat and amount of fat can be controlled. Various vegetables can be added to the mince according to your preference to create a substantial dish. This savoury mince is flavourful, delicious, with the spice balanced with tamarind water and vinegar. Another variation of cooking ground meat the Goan way.
Goan Beef Mince (Green Masala)
(Serves 6)
Ingredients:
1/2 kg ground beef
1 large onion (chopped)
2 green chillies (slit)
1 large tomato (chopped)
4 potatoes (cut into small cubes)
1/2 cup green peas
1 cup tamarind water
1/2 cup water
3 tablespoons vinegar
1/2 bouillon cube
a pinch of sugar
few coriander leaves (chopped)
2 tablespoons oil
salt
Grind to a paste with very little water
1 1/2 cups coriander leaves
4 long green chillies
4 large cloves of garlic
1-inch piece of ginger
10 whole black peppercorns
2 cinnamon sticks (1.5" each)
8 cloves
2 green cardamoms
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
Method:
Season mince with salt.
Heat oil in a pan, add onion and saute till light brown. Then put in the tomato and cook till soft and pulpy. Add the mince and cook till it changes colour. Stir in the ground paste and cook for sometime on low heat.
Mix in the tamarind water, 1/2 cup water, green chillies and potatoes. Cover and simmer on medium heat until potatoes are tender.
Towards the end, add green peas, bouillon cube and vinegar. Check for seasoning, add salt and a pinch of sugar. Garnish with coriander leaves.
Serve mince with pao (bread) or rice.
Note:
- Adjust sourness with vinegar, according to your taste.
- If mince is spicy (hot), add a dash of vinegar and a pinch of sugar to cut down the spice.
- Use a potato masher to break down mince when cooking.
- For more gravy, add extra water.
- Add desired vegetables to the mince.
- Ground meat was substituted with sliced meat (pictures below). Only a dash of water (about 1/4 cup) was used to rinse the blender jar. Tamarind water was replaced with 1 tablespoon of tamarind paste. Then, pressured cooked in the instant pot for 15 minutes, followed by quick release with the potatoes incorporated and pressured cooked for an additional 4 minutes. Steam released immediately with the gravy garnished with coriander leaves. Omit the green peas.
- Beef pieces were substituted for ground meat (last two pictures). Pressure cook beef until tender. Then incorporate the potatoes.