Goan Beef Cutlets

I have always had a love affair with food. Even as a kid, both my brother and I, were never picky about food. I guess we had Mum to thank for that. She was, and to this day is a fantastic cook. Given, now because of her health, she cannot do as much as she used to, back in the day. But when we were growing up, every meal was home cooked. I don’t remember eating out till much later, when I was in college. Right from breakfast, through to lunch and dinner, snacks and desserts, she made everything. And a great variety of it too. I’m happy that now, I can proudly say, I try to do the same. I still have a lot to learn and experiment with, but I owe my love for cooking and good food to my Mother.

These Beef cutlets have got to be one of my favorite recipes. When we were kids, my brother and I would wait for Mum to make a batch of these cutlets at home. It wasn’t made very often, but when it was, it was a real treat. I have, for the most part, stuck to my Mum’s recipe, with just a few tweaks.

These cutlets are very versatile. Make them smaller in size and serve them up with some tomato ketchup or Barbecue Sauce as starters or Finger food, make them larger and use them as patties in Burgers or make a medium size and serve it up with some Mashed potatoes / Roasted potatoes / Fries and a salad .

I have posted a beef cutlet recipe before, but that was a really long time ago. This recipe is the same, with just the addition of some Worcestershire sauce. I thought it would be a good opportunity for me to take some new pictures. After all, its been a long journey from ‘My Hobbie Lobbie’ to ‘The Aspiring Home Cook’. I’ve also filmed a little video with some handy dandy tips too. I will link the video at the end of this post.

Goan Beef Cutlets
(Makes about 14-15)


500g ground beef (beef mince)
1 large or 2 medium onions, finely chopped
2 birdseye chillies, finely chopped (optional)
3-4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1/2″ ginger, finely chopped
1-2 tbsp fresh coriander leaves, finely chopped
1 egg
1/4 tsp black pepper powder
1/4-1/3 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp red chilly powder
2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
Salt, to taste
2 slices of bread
Bread crumbs, to coat the cutlets
Olive oil, for frying (You can use whatever cooking oil you have on hand)






Soak the slices of bread in water for a few seconds, drain out all the liquid and crumble. Mix together all the ingredients except the bread crumbs and vegetable oil.


Make sure all the ingredients are well mixed and evenly distributed.


Shape into cutlets.


Coat with bread crumbs.


Heat 2 tbsp oil in a pan. Carefully place the cutlets in the pan and let it cook on a medium heat till its done to your liking. Turn over and cook the other side as well.





Repeat till you’re done with the meat mix, adding more oil to the pan as and when you need to.


Serve hot.



Enjoy!!!

Here’s the video –

Goan Red (Beef) Kheema

I’m back …. after what seems like forever. There have been a few changes around here. First of all, a name change. We are now called “The Aspiring Home Cook” which I think suits me and the site just right. The housekeeping will take a little longer. I am currently working on updating names and links on Facebook and Pinterest. So if you have any of the links saved locally, you will need to replace “myhobbielobbie” with “theaspiringhomecook”. All the pictures before today will still have watermarks with the old name and I hope to replace them eventually. So there will be a few more changes around here.

So there you have it. You now know why I’ve been missing in action around these parts. Up until now, I thought I’d wait to sort everything out before I got back to posting here again. But I couldn’t stay away any longer. I needed to try out new recipes and have someone to tell about them. So I’m back. All this techie business has lead me into a kind of cooking / baking rut lately and I’ve been longing to dig into some interesting food again.

So after a little bit of looking around, I think I’ve found some of my mojo again. I found this really good recipe for a curried beef mince, Goan style. This recipe is very different in technique from my usual recipe. I was a little skeptical when I started reading through it because of the major differences. But its the differences that convinced me to try it out. I was glad I did. There are a couple more steps involved in this recipe but it results in a very flavorful beef kheema. The red masala comes through making the resulting dish a warming shade of red, perfect for these cooler autumn days. I hope you try this recipe out when you have a hankering for some good homemade Goan / Indian food.

Goan Red (Beef) Kheema
Recipe from: Delicious Memories with Alves Fernandes

500g Beef mince
1 1/2 tsp ginger garlic paste
Juice of 1 lime
2 medium potatoes, cut into cubes
1 tbsp cooking oil (sunflower, vegetable, groundnut, olive – whatever you use for your day to day cooking)
2 onions, finely chopped
2 medium sized tomatoes, chopped
1 fresh green / red chillies, slit
1-2 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped
2 tbsp vinegar
Salt, to taste
A pinch of sugar

Grind to a paste
5 dry red Kashmiri chillies (or any mild variety)
2-3 large cloves of garlic
1″ ginger
1 1/2″ cinnamon
2 cardamom pods
32 black peppercorns (I know it seems like a lot, but its not)
15 cloves
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 teaspoon white poppy seeds (khuskhus)
1 tsp turmeric powder
3 tbsp vinegar
Water, as needed

Marinade the raw beef mince with salt, ginger garlic paste, juice of 1/2 a lime and mix thoroughly. Keep aside.

Grind all the ingredients listed under ‘grind to a paste’ to a fine paste and keep aside.

Bring the marinaded mince and 1 cup of water to a boil. Simmer till the mince is cooked about 3/4 of the way.

Heat the oil in another large pan.

Saute the onion. till they have turned translucent.

Add the tomatoes and cook till it has softened.

Add the ground spices and let it fry for 2-3 minutes stirring occasionally.

Add the potatoes and stir well to coat them in the spices.

Add the boiled mince to the pot and stir through. Let it cook for about a minute, then add the remaining stock that the mince boiled in.

Add about a cup of water to the blender in which the spices were ground and swirl around to get any remaining masala (spice paste) and continue cooking.

After about 5 minutes, add the slit red / green chilly and the remaining lime juice (juice of 1/2 a lime).

Let it cook till the potatoes are tender. Just before the potatoes are cooked, add salt (to taste) and a pinch of sugar.

Cook till the potatoes are cooked and the gravy is the consistency you like. I like mine to be more on the thicker side.

Check for salt and sourness and add more as needed.

Turn off the heat.

Sprinkle chopped coriander over the top and serve hot.

Serve with some boiled rice, pulao, chapatis or even your favorite bread.

Goan Meatball Curry

After what seems like ages, I’m finally back. And it’s good to be back. I was away for a month and spent Christmas with our family in Mumbai, followed by a mandatory trip to Goa and a short stopover at Panchgani. Those of you that follow me on Instagram would have seen some of my pictures there. Those of you that don’t, I would love it if you could join me. I’m on IG as @vaztrisha – Do stop by and say ‘Hi’.

I can’t wait to share more about the trip with you. However, that wonderful trip ended with an anti-climatic couple of days of jet lag followed by 2 weeks of a cold, stubborn cough and a couple of days of a fever. Am I glad that’s over. I hate being unwell mostly, because that means I cannot be up and about cooking and enjoying the simple pleasures of life. But I’m well and truly glad to be back.

One of the first few things I cooked up after getting back on my feet is my beloved Mama’s Meatball Curry. I’ve always loved this curry right from the time I was a little girl. This time when I went to Mumbai, I knew I had to learn this recipe from her. See this is the thing with her recipes, she can whip them up with her eyes closed, but ask her to tell you how she makes it and she may leave out a thing or two, not intentionally of course. So this time around, I got into the kitchen and watched her make it. Yes, I watched her, like a hawk πŸ˜‰  And I’m happy to report that I got the recipe down and made the curry today and I was really pleased with how it turned out. Ofcourse, nothing can beat the food my Mother makes (even though I follow her recipes to the T, her food always turns out better), but this came pretty close, I tell ya.

This recipe is a little more intricate than most of the recipes I share here, but it is really easy. There are two parts to it – one is making the meatballs and the second is making the curry itself. This curry is full of flavor and goes really well with either plain steamed rice or this fragrant Peas Pulao. If you’re not in the mood for rice, it goes well with some Goan bread (Poee) or dinner rolls too.

Goan Meatball Curry


For the Meatballs – 
1/2 kg beef mince (ground beef)
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1-2 green or red chillies, finely chopped
2 tbsp fresh coriander leaves and stalks, finely chopped
Salt, to taste
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/2-1 tsp red chilly powder
1 egg
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce (optional, though it does add good flavor)

Mix all the ingredients together.

Form the meatballs and set aside.

For the curry – 
1 small onion, finely chopped
6 curry leaves
2 tbsp oil
Salt, to taste
Tamarind, to taste (Soak tamarind in warm water to form a pulp)
Fresh coriander leaves and stalks, finely chopped
1 large potato, peeled and cut into large cubes

Grind to a fine, smooth paste (masala) using a little water –
8 Kashmiri chillies (dry red chillies, mildly spiced, but used for its vibrant color)
4 Bedki chillies (dry red chillies, spicy)
3 large cloves garlic
1 tsp cumin seeds
6 cloves
10 black pepper corns
2″ cinnamon
1/3 tsp turmeric powder
1 tomato

Heat the oil in a pan and carefully drop the curry leaves in.

Add the onion and saute on a medium high heat till the onions are translucent.

Add the masala and continue sauteeing for a few minutes till the raw smell of the masala goes and the oil starts to seperate.

Add salt, to taste.

Add water to get it to the desired consistency, depending on how thick or thin you’d like the gravy. Keep in mind that the gravy does thicken a little as it cooks. Err on the side of less, you can always add more water as you need.

Gently place the meatballs in the gravy.

Place the potato cubes in the gravy without smashing the meatballs.

Once the gravy comes to a boil, turn the heat to a simmer, cover the pot and let the curry cook.

After about 15 minutes, check to see if done.

Check and add more salt, if needed.

Add tamarind pulp to taste.

Once ready, garnish with some fresh coriander and serve hot.

 Enjoy!!!

**Note: You will be able to find Kashmiri chillies in most Indian shops in Sydney and a few of them carry the Bedki / bedgi variety. If you can’t get your hands on them, substitute with any dry red chillies you have on hand. You may then need to adjust the number of dry red chillies used, to regulate the spice level to your liking.

Beef Puffs

Today I have a yummy little snack to share with you. Back in Bombay and in Goa, these puffs are legendary. You find loads of variants of the puff with a variety of the fillings – chicken, veg, mutton etc. They are pretty easy to find, though finding a good one might not be too easy. My favourites all came from stores in Bandra, namely my college haunt – Andora’s Cafe, Hearsch’s Bakery and a more pricey Candies. So eventually, when I learned to make my own at home, I was really excited. Back in Bombay I always made the puff pastry from scratch and it always turned out well. I hope to make it again someday and share the recipe here.

Here in Sydney, I was thrilled to find I could buy frozen puff pastry. That meant it was now possible to enjoy these little puffs with a fraction of the effort and time involved. Now don’t get me wrong. I am all about cooking and baking from scratch, but everyone needs to be open to a few shortcuts every now and then, especially when life gets hectic. So today, we are going to use the store bought frozen version. That covers the pastry. For a tasty filling I use my Beef mince recipe, but leave out the potatoes. Also you need to make sure that the liquid has cooked out so that you don’t have a runny filling. A runny filling will only result in a soggy pastry.

Now it’s just a matter of assembling the puffs. I cut up each thawed sheet of pastry into 6 portions and place the filling on one side keeping away from the edge. Run a finger dipped in water along the edges and fold over to seal. Apply an egg wash and bake. You can make these in a larger batch and refrigerate them. Just bring them to room temperature and heat them up on a pan or in the oven and you can sit down to a nice little snack. Very often, I have these with some tomato ketchup and I can safely say, nothing beats it.

Beef Puffs


Beef mince (each puff requires a spoon of filling)
Frozen puff pastry sheets, as many as you need (Each sheet yields 6 pieces)
1 egg, for the egg wash

Preheat the oven to 220ΒΊC (follow the package instructions if you’re using puff pastry).

Place the thawed puff pastry sheet on a flat work surface and cut into 6 potions. Place a spoon of the filling on one side of each puff staying away from the edges like so –

Keep a little bowl of water near your work surface. Dip a finger in the water and run on the edges of each puff.

Flip the empty half over onto the side with the filling and seal the edges. Place it on a baking tray lined with baking paper.

Crack an egg in another bowl and beat lightly. Using a pastry brush, lightly brush the egg wash over the puffs. This gives it a lovely golden brown glaze.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or till golden brown.

Enjoy them warm.

Nana Braganza’s Beef Stew

REMINDER: I’m hosting a giveaway and would love for each of you to be a part of it. Up for grabs are gift vouchers from Amazon / Flipkart. For details and to participate click here. Giveaway closed.


Today I am going to share with you a wonderful recipe for which I can take absolutely no credit at all. Yup, you heard that right. This is a recipe that my husband remembers and has committed to memory from watching his mother and Nan cook. Can you believe that!!! I love him to pieces and its things like this that earn him extra brownie points. πŸ™‚ I remember the first time he whipped up this beauty was a few years ago. I was out of town for a couple of weeks on work. I had a few things cooked up and kept in the fridge for him to just heat up and eat while I was away. I knew he was good with puddings, breakfast and the like, but wasn’t too sure if he’d manage mains for lunch and dinner. To my delight, when I got back from my trip, waiting for me was a pot of this beautiful fragrant stew. To say I was pleasantly surprised would be an understatement. Long story short, we both loved it and from then on, each time we have this stew, my husband actually makes it himself.

This is such a simple recipe and it requires just a handful of ingredients. If you use a pressure cooker to cook your meat, its comes together faster, which is what I did. Unlike typical Indian food, this stew is not spicy but is beautifully flavored. You can serve this up with a couple of slices of hearty bread or croutons or even over steamed rice. I personally think it tastes better on the next day, so we always make a little extra to enjoy for even 2 to 3 meals.

Nana Braganza’s Beef Stew

1lb. beef, boneless (I use what we call undercut, very flavorful n tender, cooks up really fast, but you can use what you have on hand)
4-6 cloves
2″ cinnamon
8 pepper corns
Salt, to taste
Juice of half a lime
2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 onions, finely chopped
2 potatoes, cut into small cubes
1-2 fresh green chillies, finely sliced
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped or minced
3/4″ ginger, finely chopped or minced
1/2 cup of red wine
2-3 rashers of bacon, skin taken off and chopped into small pieces (optional, but yum)
1/4 tsp crushed black pepper powder
1 tbsp. vegetable oil

Cut the beef into 2-3 large pieces.

Sprinkle salt, lime juice and Worcestershire sauce over the meat. Add the cloves, cinnamon and pepper corns and toss well making sure the meat is marinated in this for about 10-15 minutes.

Pressure cook with a couple of cups of water till tender. I cooked it on low for 30 minutes after the first whistle. Let the pressure ease of on its own. Cut the beef into cubes. Reserve the stock.

Heat the oil in a pan and add the bacon. Let the bacon fry a little and release its fats. If you’re using bacon you may want to reduce the amount of oil a little. If your not using bacon, simply move on to the next step.

Add the chopped onions and chillies and saute them.

When the onions have softened a little, add the chopped ginger and garlic and continue sauteing.

After a minute or two add the potatoes and continue sauteing.

Add some pepper powder and stir.

When the onions have slightly started to brown, add the wine to deglaze and add the stock that the beef was cooked in with the whole spices.

Let it come to a boil and simmer for about 10-15 minutes.

Add the meat and let it all heat through.

Check for seasoning and adjust if needed. Let it simmer for another 10 minutes or so. Once the flavors have fully developed, take it off the fire.

Serve hot.

This recipe has been linked to –
Show me you Plaid Mondays

Time to Sparkle

Tempt My Tummy

Wonderful Food Wednesday
Back for Seconds
Wow Me Wednesday
Cast Party Wednesday
What’s Cookin Wednesday
Chef’s Day Off

Moussaka

This baked delight is supposed to be a classic Greek dish. Typically, it is made of eggplant and lamb mince. We’re not overly fond of lamb mince for regular eating. So I used the next best thing, beef mince. I find it more flavorful. Now let me tell you something about this dish. It is good, really good, so very good. Sometimes, I wonder why I don’t make it more often. Hmmm. Anyway, each time I make it, it gets polished off. Ofcourse, one casserole lasts us a couple of meals atleast. But what I’m trying to say is none of it ever goes to waste. I use Nita Mehta’s recipe from her book “Continental Cooking for the Indian Kitchen”. I’m pretty sure this recipe will not be a classic Moussaka recipe, but nevertheless, its pretty darn good.

The inside still remains luscious, moist and full of flavor.

Moussaka
Adapted from: Continental Cooking for the Indian Kitchen by Nita Mehta
(Serves 6-8)


2-3 eggplant, thin long variety
2 tomatoes, chopped
500g beef mince (you can use lamb if you’d like to)
2 large onions, finely chopped
6 flakes garlic, finely chopped
2 tbsp tomato puree
2-3 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp red chilly flakes
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp black pepper powder
Salt, to taste

For the Cheese Sauce – 
2 tbsp butter
3 tbsp all purpose flour
1 1/4 cups milk
1 egg
1/4 – 1/3 cup Grated cheese
1/4 tsp mustard
Salt to taste

Thinly slice the eggplant and arrange them on a platter. Sprinkle salt on both sides of the slices and let it stand for about 1/2 an hour to drain the juices. Rinse in cold water and pat dry.

Heat some oil in a pan. Fry the slices till brown. Make sure you do not burn them. Drain on absorbent paper towels and keep aside.

Heat the olive oil in a pressure cooker.

Add the onion and stir fry till they soften a little.

Add the chopped garlic and stir fry till the onions turn pink.

Add the tomatoes and stir fry till the juices evaporate.

Add the mince and cook on a high flame till brown and dry.

Add the tomato puree, chilly flakes, oregano, salt and pepper. Add 1/2 to 3/4 cup of water and pressure cook. After the 1st whistle, simmer on low flame for 2 minutes.

Remove from the gas and cool till the pressure dies down.

Open the cooker, check for tenderness, adjust seasoning if needed and cook till almost dry. Dry the excess liquid but don’t make it too dry. Keep aside.

For the cheese sauce, heat butter in a saucepan. Add flour and cook on a low flame for a minute till it changes color slightly. Remove from the heat. Add the milk and mix well. Return to heat and cook till the sauce thickens. Add salt, pepper, mustard and cheese. Remove from the heat and cool slightly.  Add the beaten egg to the cooled white sauce. Keep aside.

To Assemble
Spoon half the meat mixture in a shallow ovenproof dish. Top with half the eggplant slices. Repeat with a layer of the rest of the meat and top that with the rest of the eggplant slices. Pour the cheese sauce on top.

Cook in a preheated oven at 200ΒΊC for 25 to 30 minutes or until bubbling hot and browned.

Serve hot with some garlic bread.

This recipe is linked to –
Tuesdays at the Table
Hearth and Soul
A Little Birdie Told Me
Delectable Tuesday
Recipes I Can’t Wait to Try
What’s on the Menu Wednesday
What’s Cooking Thursdays
It’s a Keeper Thursday
Full Plate Thursday

Beef Cutlets

This is another treat, thats really tasty, very moreish and can be served as a side at a meal or coupled with some homemade fries or mashed potatoes and a salad, is a meal in itself. Whenever I make these, I always like having a few extra, which I simply refrigerate and keep for another day. It stays good for about 3-4 days, it may last longer, but we always manage to finish it off by then. You simply bring it to room temperature and heat it in a skillet, covered, and you’re good to go.

P.S. I won’t be posting for the next few days, since I’m headed out of town for a week. See you when I get back. I have so many recipes lined up to share with you guys, I can’t wait to get those posted. So make sure you come back. πŸ™‚

Beef Cutlets
(Makes about 10 depending on size)

250g ground beef (beef mince)
1 large or 2 medium onions, finely chopped
2 green chillies, finely chopped
3-4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1/2″ ginger, finely chopped
1 tbsp fresh coriander leaves, finely chopped
1 egg
1/4 tsp black pepper powder
1/4-1/3 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp red chilly powder
Salt, to taste
2 slices of bread
Bread crumbs, to coat the cutlets
Vegetable oil, for frying

Soak the slices of bread in water for a few seconds, drain out all the liquid and crumble. Mix together all the ingredients except the bread crumbs and vegetable oil.

Make sure all the ingredients are well mixed and evenly distributed.

Shape into cutlets.

Coat with bread crumbs.

Heat 2 tbsp oil in a pan. Carefully place the cutlets in the pan and let it cook on a medium heat till its done to your liking. Turn over and cook the other side as well.

Repeat till you’re done with the meat mix, adding more oil to the pan as and when you need to.

Serve hot with some fries and a salad, and some spicy tomato ketchup.

Enjoy!!!

This recipe is linked to –
What’s Cooking Thursdays
Full Plate Thursdays
Thrilling Thursday
It’s a Keeper Thursday

Potato Chops

Most of you have heard of lamb chops, pork chops etc. but I’m pretty sure you’re wondering what on earth is a Potato Chop. Its one of my favorite little treats. I usually make these at quite a few dinners and parties. My mum used to make these for our birthday parties and other gatherings and I tell you these are simply the best. To give you a gist of it, its like a cottage / shepherd’s pie that you can almost call finger food, except that its a little larger than finger food but you get the picture. It is also the perfect way to use up any leftover beef mince (only you might want to make sure you don’t use any pieces of potatoes that may be in the mince). If I’m making some mince just to make the chops, I leave out the potatoes, because the mince is stuffed in a pocket of mashed potato anyway.

They taste best if served hot with some tomato ketchup. They also keep well, refrigerated. All you do, is pop them in a pan, cover and let it heat through on a low flame before serving. These chops are a good option to consider as travel food for a road trip.The crumb coating gives this a nice crunchy exterior.

Potato Chops


1/2 a recipe of Beef Mince (You can substitute mutton mince, if you don’t eat beef)
4-5 medium potatoes, boiled, peeled and mashed
Salt to taste
1/4 tsp cumin powder
A pinch of turmeric powder (optional)
1 tbsp fresh coriander leaves, chopped
1 egg
Bread crumbs
Vegetable oil, for frying

Make half a portion of beef mince and keep aside. This should come down to room temperature before you proceed with this recipe.

Boil the potatoes only when you are ready to make the chops you need to work when the potatoes are still warm. Cold potatoes make handling difficult.

Peel and mash the potatoes well. Make sure there are no lumps. Add salt to taste, cumin powder, turmeric powder and coriander leaves and using your hands mix well to ensure all the spices and herbs are evenly distributed. Feel free to adjust the quantities of the spices and herbs used to suit your taste.

Take a portion of the mashed potato, the size of a tennis ball, roll into a ball and flatten to form a thick disc on the palm of your hand. Place a spoon of the mince in the center and bring the sides of the potato disc up and over the filling to cover it well. Make sure that no mince is sticking out. If you feel the need to add more potato to it, feel free to do so. The mashed potato merges well. Shape it to form a patty and keep aside. Continue till you’ve used up all the mashed potato.

Crack an egg in a shallow bowl, wide enough to fit the chops. Beat well to incorporate the white and the yolk.

Pour some bread crumbs onto a plate and keep it ready. I have a little assembly line going for this, starting with the chops at one end, followed by the bowl with the beaten egg, the bread crumbs and a plate lined with some absorbent kitchen paper at the other end.

Heat some oil in a pan.

Briefly dip a chop in the egg and turn over, making sure it coats the chop well.

Dredge it through the bread crumbs making sure the potato chop is well coated. This is what will give it a good crunch.

Carefully place in the pan with the heated oil and shallow fry till it takes on a nice golden brown color. Turn and let the other side fry as well till it gets golden brown.

Carefully take it off the pan and place on some kitchen paper to drain out any excess oil.

NOTE: You don’t need to fry these one at a time, place as many as your pan can accommodate, making sure theres a little space between them to help you turn these over.  


Here’s what it looks like on the inside –

Enjoy!!!

This recipe is linked to –
What’s Cookin’ in the Kitchen
Feed Me Tweet Me Follow Me Home
Friday Potluck
Fat Camp Friday

Beef Mince with Potatoes and Peas – a.k.a Beef Kheema

My parents are both wonderful cooks and I’ve learnt many a kitchen trick from them. Most of the food that I cook is based on something or the other that they made. Ofcourse, the lack of written recipes, leaves me with no choice than to improvise with ingredients and quantities as I go along. You see, both my parents mostly cook without any recipe and they eyeball not only quantities of ingredients used, but the ingredients themselves. It happens so often, my mum or dad whips up something spectacular and then when they’re asked for a recipe, its always you can do this or that or even the other. Pretty frustrating, I tell you! I now know better and if I like something, I try and get them to dictate a recipe, which I hurriedly scribble on a paper napkin or something, before they claim to have forgotten, or confused between a couple of ways about how they usually make it.

So you see, when they come over for a meal, I have pretty high standards to live up to. One dish, I know for sure, I make much better than both of them do, is a minced beef with potatoes and green peas. Today, I’m going to share that recipe with you. I love this preparation.

Here are some serving options –

  • with fresh bread
  • in a toasted sandwich
  • with plain rice
  • with a wheat chapati, naan or roti
  • in a tart shell
  • within puff pastry layers
  • in a potato chop
  • with a lovely pulao
  • over some pasta
  • as a pizza topping
  • …. and many more
One thing to note though, is if I’m using it in a potato chop or using it as a tart filling/puff pastry or in a toasted sandwich, I cook it till all the juices have dried up, to avoid a soggy mess when used. I also leave out the potato.  For other purposes, I take it off the heat before it absorbs all the moisture, leaving a little gravy.

Beef Mince with Potatoes and Green Peas


1/2 kilo minced beef, (I pick up lean meat)
1 large or 2 medium sized onions, finely chopped
2 tsp ginger garlic paste
2 green chillies, finely chopped
5-6 curry leaves
1″ cinnamon
6 cloves
5-8 black pepper corns, whole
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 potato, cubes
1/3 cup green peas
3 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
Salt, to taste
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1-1 1/2 tsp red chilly powder
1 1/2 tsp garam masala powder
2 tbsp fresh coriander leaves, chopped

Heat the oil in a large vessel. Carefully tip in the cinnamon stick, cloves and pepper corns. When they warm up and release their flavors, add the curry leaves and let it sputter. Be careful not to burn it.

Add the onions and green chillies and sautΓ© till the onions have softened, stirring to avoid burning.


Add the ginger garlic paste and let it fry off for a couple of minutes, stirring well to make sure it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the vessel and burn.


When the onions have slightly browned, add the turmeric powder, red chilly powder and garam masala powder. Still well and let the spices fry out for a few seconds.


Add the minced beef, and sear it well on a medium high heat, till it browns, stirring well. 


When you see that all of it has browned, (no pink patches should be visible) and it has released some of its juices, add salt to taste and the Worcestershire sauce. Add the cubed potatoes and green peas. Stir well and let it cook for about a minute or so.


Add about a cup of water to the pot. Let it come to a boil. Cover and simmer till the meat is cooked. If you see that there’s too much liquid left in the pot after the meat has cooked completely, cook uncovered on a medium heat till the liquid has been absorbed, stirring occasionally.


Lastly add the chopped coriander leaves and stir it in.


Enjoy it hot!!!




This recipe is linked to –   
Full Plate Thursday
What’s Cooking Thursdays
Thrilling Thursday
Its a Keeper

Homemade Burgers with Fries – Made from Scratch

Yes, you heard that right. Every element of these burgers was homemade, made from scratch, right from the burger buns, to the meat patties and even the mayonnaise. I know a lot of you must be wondering whether I’m crazy. But try it out, seriously, its not that difficult. It just needs a little bit of planning

Now don’t get me wrong, we love the ready made stuff too. But the satisfaction of making your very own version, tops most of those ready ones. Also, not surprisingly, these turned out really tasty. Heck, they were tastier than a lot of the burgers that we’ve eaten from many different places. I think the only burgers that can top these are the ones that we had at BLT’s and Al’s Diner in Hong Kong. I used to think that the best burgers in Mumbai could be found at Hearsh’s or Candies in Bandra, but I now beg to differ. Though the burgers from both these places are good, I’d rather have the home made ones whenever possible. To sum things up, this was a wonderful treat. With a little planning you’ll enjoy the flavors and you’ll save a few bucks while you’re at it.

Over the past few months, whenever I pass by most eateries, fast food places or restaurants and am considering stopping there, I realize that a lot of my favorite stuff can be made at home, which turns out tastier and more economical. So really, I think I’ve ruined eating out for myself. (Well, except when we are at Candies. That place, I think, has some really wonderful food.) Do you find this happening to you? It’d be nice to know I wasn’t alone and possibly crazy, thinking like this. πŸ™‚

Anyway, back to the burgers. Just yesterday I posted the recipe for these delicious Burger Buns.

In the past I’ve also posted an easy recipe for Homemade Mayonnaise. This can be made earlier, if you like, and refrigerated till you’re ready to assemble the burgers.

For the Burger Patties – 
Yields 6

1/2 kg beef mince (ground beef)
1 large onion, chopped fine
2 green chillies, chopped fine
4-6 cloves garlic, chopped fine
1″ ginger, chopped fine
Salt, to taste
Freshly cracked black peppercorns, to taste
Oil for frying

Mix all the ingredients together till they’re well distributed.

Shape into patties.

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan. Carefully place the patties on the pan and cook through as desired. We like out beef well done. So we let it sear on high heat for a few seconds to lock in the juices and then cook on a medium flame till done.

To assemble the burgers – 


Slice the burger buns in half.

Spread some mayonnaise on the bottom half.

Place the beef patty on in.

Top with a slice of onion, a slice of tomato and season with a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Add a leaf of lettuce. Cover the the top half of the bun. Obviously, you can pick and choose the stuff that goes into your burger but this is what I used. Other interesting options are pickles, sauteed onions, maybe some crispy bacon etc.


Enjoy!!!

P.S. Don’t be fooled by the size, this fills you up fast. The burgers that we buy here are seldom filling so we made a third burger which my husband and I figured we’d split in half. It was a task for both of us. I guess thats what you get with wholesome food. You know exactly whats in it, it tastes great and satisfies those crazy hunger pangs. We had these bad boys with some homemade fries.



Homemade Fries



2 potatoes, peeled and cut and kept in salted water.

Pat dry and deep fry till done.

Drain on absorbent kitchen paper. Season with salt and freshly cracked black pepper.

Serve with some ketchup if you’d like. We prefer ours without it.

This recipe is linked to –
What’s Cooking Thursdays
Full Plate Thursday
Thrilling Thursday
Its a Keeper Thursday
Made From Scratch