Kheema, The Chili Of India

I have one ultimate comfort food: kheema. Those from Texas, Southern Ohio or any other region of this big world of chili specialties will most certainly appreciate my love for this dish. It's just that — chili. But it's from India, a country famous for eschewing sacred live beef (and most other meat). I really love paradoxes. For instance the half of me that is not Indian is Jewish. 350 million gods? One god? The cheese gods? Surely cheese is a polytheistic religion, and one that I'd be more inclined to join up with. But that has nothing to do with kheema.

Lots of folks can whip up a bowl o' red or toss a spoonful of cocoa powder in their ground beef soup and call it a spaghetti topping, but kheema is different. When ground beef (which can also be ground lamb, chicken or turkey) meets onions, ginger, garlic and garam masala, plus a chopped tomato, some fresh cilantro and a handful of peas in a stir-fry capacity, you've got a cheap-o, super-delicious meal that somehow always tastes better the next day. It's great to make in large batches and freeze, it's really delicious wrapped in a dosa or stuffed in a kati roll and as far as tailgating goes, you've just one-upped that boring pot of soupy tomato and beef goop you're so proud of.