Burani is a fried vegetable dish; kadu is a generic word for squash, pumpkin, gourd, etc.; and qima is a ground meat sauce.
2 medium onion, diced fine
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp cardamom
1/2 tsp ground cloves
2 largish butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and chopped into cubes about half an inch on a side or a little larger
2 cups water
Olive oilYet another medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 inch ginger root, minced (optional)
1 lb ground beef or ground lamb
1 1/2 tsp garam masala
1/2 cup tomato sauce
Olive oilYogurt
Kadu: Warm the oil in a soup-pot over medium-high heat. Fry the onion until soft. Add the salt and spices and fry for another half-minute or so. (It will help to mix them together while the onions are frying.) Then add the squash and the water, stir together, reduce heat to low, and let simmer, uncovered, until most of the liquid is gone and the squash is very soft, usually about thirty minutes.
Qima: In another pot, fry the onions, garlic and ginger (if using) until the onions start to turn golden. Add the meat and garam masala. Fry until brown, then add the tomato sauce, stir thoroughly, and cook until the fluid volume has stopped shrinking, maybe 20 minutes. Drain off the fat.
Spoon some of the squash onto a plate or into a bowl, top with qima, and top that with yogurt to taste. Serve with rice or, even better, naan, because you can never have too much starch. Serves about four.
Notes: Traditionally, this is made with sweet pumpkins, not squash. But the decorative pumpkins they sell at the grocery store this time of year are almost tasteless, and butternut squash actually works quite well. (I haven't experimented with other kinds of squash.) For a smaller meal, just use one squash, and halve the other portions.
Burani bonjon is a basically similar dish made with eggplant, which I loathe, so you'll have to get that recipe someplace else.
This goes well with beer; I recommend a white Belgian-style ale.
Posted at November 08, 2004 21:46 | permanent link