Indian-Inspired Ground Beef and Potatoes

This Indian-inspired dish of ground beef and potatoes has most of the elements of its true counterpart, Keema Aloo, with a few tweaks to suit our taste preferences.

The Hub is not a fan of coriander, so I substitute it with garam masala. I know garam masala has coriander but it's not a whole portion of it and that seems to do the trick. It's warm and satisfying, easy on the budget, cooks up quickly, which makes it a great weeknight meal.

Serves 4

1 pound of ground beef
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon light butter
1 medium onion, chopped
2-4 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons ginger root, minced
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons garam masala
2 teaspoons tumeric
Cayenne pepper to taste
1 teaspoon salt, divided
1/4 cup raisins (optional)
1 large russet potato, peeled & diced (1/2")
1 cup tomatoes, chopped
1 cup beef broth

In a stainless steel skillet, head the olive oil over moderate heat and add the onions. Saute for 3 minutes, then add garlic and ginger root and cook for 2 minutes, taking care to not burn the garlic. Sprinkle in  the cumin, garam masala, tumeric, cayenne pepper and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Stir to coat the onions and add the tablespoon of butter, cooking for 2 minutes. Incorporate the ground beef and break up any large clumps, sprinkle with remaining salt. Add raisins, tomatoes and potatoes. Cook till beef is no longer pink and then add the broth. Allow to come to a full boil and then lower heat to a simmer.  Cook, covered for 15-20 minutes.

Serve with basmati or jasmine rice, naan or pita bread and sprinkle with chopped cilantro. ENJOY!

RECIPE TWEAK Oct 7, 2014:
This is one of my favorite "go-to" weeknight recipes. Recently I tweaked it a bit by switching out the beef for ground turkey, the raisins for dried cranberries and the olive oil for coconut oil. The results? WOW, I did not think it could make it any better but I think I prefer this version to the original!