Tahira's keema

This recipe is from Tahira Sami, a gifted chef who makes mouth-watering Pakistani food every Friday night at The Pelican in downtown Lake Worth, FL (or breakfast any day). It can be made with ground chicken or lamb - she says she adds a bit of water and more chilis when she makes it with lamb. At The Pelican, she serves it in an omelette with a little crumbled feta, served with naan. It's even better the second day.

4-5 plum tomatoes, chopped
1 tblsp ginger
1 tblsp garlic
2 tblsp vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tsp cayenne
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp roasted cumin powder
2 tblsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp turmeric
8-10 whole dried red chilis
2 lb ground chicken breast (or lamb)

Purée tomato,garlic, and ginger together in a blender and reserve. Sauté onion in the oil gently until golden. Add all the spices and cook gently for a minute or two. Add the tomato purée and the chilis and sauté gently for about 5 minutes, until the juices come up on top a little. Add the ground chicken and sauté until cooked.

Note: Tahira's recipe calls for adding the meat raw -- I'm sure this is fine with chicken breast, which is quite lean, but I tried this with the lamb and it was a little greasy. I would try browning the lamb first and pouring off some of the fat before adding it to the puree-spice mixture. Or add it raw and wait until the next day to eat it, skimming first) I served with sauteed zucchini -- eggplant would also be good.