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Comment #1 posted on 2014-11-29 20:04:24 by Broam via 5150

The recipe we used for Keema Paratha

as taken from:

Beranbaum, Rose Levy. 2003. The Bread Bible. New York, NY: WW Norton &
Company, inc.

ISBN 0-393-05794-1

Recipe is on page 232.


Needed equipment: (not in recipe, but it'll save you time)

Rolling pins, 1 per person is best
Clean counters or cutting boards
Tea Towels or Oiled plastic for covering dough
We usually go with the towels to cover.
Brush suitable for use with butter
Skillet (cast iron or nonstick), bigger is better
An extra skillet & spice grinder if using whole spices
Turner suitable for use on skillet
Couple of mixing bowls
Measuring spoons
Stand mixer or food processor capable of mixing dough (or by hand)
Food scale



290g (2c) Whole Wheat Flour, as fresh as possible
(alternately, equal parts Whole Wheat & Unbleached All-Purpose Flour)
6.6g (1t) salt
11.7g (1.5t) dry milk
177g (3/4c) water at room temperature

This makes one batch of dough. The filling recipe below fills two
batches of dough. (We made 4 batches of dough as you may recall.)

(It is possible to swap half the water with scalded milk that has been
cooled back to lukewarm. We did not do this; we used the dry milk.)

The recipe itself calls for a Food Processor or to do it by hand. We
used a stand mixer, so this is somewhat from memory.

Whisk together all of the dry ingredients first until well-blended. Then
mix in the water. We mixed for about 5 minutes or so (the food processor
says 45 seconds; the hand method says 10-15 minutes). The dough will be
smooth, soft, and very slightly sticky. You should be able to handle it
easily.

Let the dough rest for 30 minutes to 3 hours.


MEAT FILLING
We ended up using a lot more ground spices than whole spices. This is
the unmodified recipe in the book; it's more complicated than the
simplified version we used. Substituting ground & dried spices is
easier and more portable (we pre-mixed) but you lose flavor.

28g (2T) of your favorite frying fat
bay leaf
3 whole cloves (or equivalent amount ground)
1 cinnamon stick
~142g (~1c) 1 medium onion, finely chopped
2cm piece of ginger, peeled & minced
3 medium garlic cloves, minced
1/2T coriander seeds (no weight noted)
1/2T cumin seeds (no weight noted)
1/2t ground turmeric
1T plain yogurt (we often use strained ("Greek") yogurt)
1T tomato sauce (we often use paste)

454g (1lb) beef, preferably chuck (85% lean, 15% fat).
Too lean and the mixture is dry; too rich and you'll have to drain
out flavor.

1/8t ground mace
we substitute allspice, even though it's not similar at all.
You may just wish to double the nutmeg.
1/8t ground nutmeg, preferably fresh grated
5g (3/4t) salt
1/2t cayenne pepper
recipe calls for 1/4 to 1/2. We recommend 1/2.
1/4c water


While the dough is resting, start the filling. It will keep 3 days,
and this makes enough to fill TWO batches of dough.

Heat frying fat over medium heat until hot.
Add bay leaf, cinnamon stick, and cloves.
Fry until the bay leaf gets a bit dark.
(if not using whole spices, skip this step and jump right to the onion.)

Lower the heat (to low), add onion, ginger and garlic; sauté & stir.
In about 10 minutes onion will darken to medium brown.

While this is going on: Dry-roast coriander & cumin seeds over medium
heat about 2 minutes. They should smell fragrant. Allow them to cool,
then grind in your spice grinder. If not using whole spices, ignore
this section.

Add coriander, cumin, and turmeric to onion mixture, sauté for 2
minutes; stir constantly. Add yogurt; stir 1 minute. Add tomato sauce;
stir & cook 3 minutes.

Add meat, raise heat to medium. Sauté, break up lumps with your
spoon/spatula/turner, until meat is browned.

Add mace, nutmeg, salt, cayenne, and water. Lower heat to lowest
possible setting. Cover. Simmer for 45 minutes. If all the water
evaporates, add more a small amount at a time. The mixture should be
dry when you are done.

Let filling cool, then remove the bay leaf, cinnamon stick, and cloves
(if you used whole spices. They are a pain to fish out; we tend not to
use whole spices for these three.)

(Broam's note: also the cooking time is a bit much. We didn't let it
go 45 minutes; we cooked it on low until most of the water evaporated,
then let the mixture cool.)


48g (1/4c) clarified butter / ghee
(Broam sez: You can substitute regular unsalted butter, or you can
attempt to clarify it yourself, which is a bit labor intensive. Don't
use vegetable ghee, unless you're a vegan.)


Shape Dough:
Divide dough into 8 even pieces; roll into balls. (The recipe has you
roll into a long rope, then cut. This is not strictly necessary). Work
with one piece of dough at a time lest the others dry out.

With floured fingers, flowered rolling pin, and a floured surface,
flatten the balls of dough and roll into a 12cm (5") circle. Flour the
dough lightly if it sticks. Once rolled out, brush the excess flour
off. Brush the dough lightly with clarified butter, fold over, and
brush again. Fold over one more time.

After all the balls are buttered and folded, roll them out again. The
recipe says that you should be able to roll these into an 18cm (7")
round but we have never gotten our dough that stretchy.

Place 1/4c of the meat filling on top of the dough. Take another piece
and place it on top of the first piece. Fold the edges over 1cm (1/4")
and press to seal in the filling.

Flip the filled parathas over and use the rolling pin very gently. The
meat should not come through the dough.

(Broam says: Do not stack the parathas when finished. They'll stick
and it's a *nightmare* to separate them.)


FRY The Parathas

Heat large skillet over medium-low.

Brush pan with remaining clarified butter.
Place paratha in (you can cook a few at a time if they're small), fry
for 90 seconds. Brush surface with butter. Flip. Fry 60 seconds.

The dough may puff up a bit but will deflate when it's removed from
the heat. (Broam says: ours never do. YMMV).


SERVE the Parathas

Cut into 4 wedges. Keep finished parathas warm in a low oven ("warm"
setting) covered with foil while you cook the rest. (You can stack
them here.)

Can also be eaten at room temperature. Will keep overnight.

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