Meat recipes to try from around the world

Sometimes, after any enthusiastic grocery shopping, we are left with a lot of meat in the refrigerator. If you are tired of having meat dishes deshi style, these three recipes are the perfect cure for you.

POTATO MOUSSAKA WITH GROUND BEEF

Ingredients
250-400g ground beef
2 large onions, chopped
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
About 4-5 tbsp tomato paste
3 tbsp minced fresh parsley (you can use dried or fresh mint) and dried rosemary
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
Pepper
Olive oil to preference
For cheese sauce —
¼ cup butter, cubed (you can alternate with about ½ cup olive oil)
¼ cup all-purpose flour
A pinch of nutmeg powder
2 cups whole milk
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese (you can use ½ cup grated Dhaka Paneer)
5 medium potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
Method
Cook the beef with the onions for about 7-9 minutes until it is slightly brown. Add garlic and cook for about 2 minutes then add the tomato paste and cook another 2 minutes. At this point, add salt, rosemary, pepper, dried mint or parsley and cinnamon, and cook for another few minutes until it is properly browned. Preheat oven to 350° F.
To make the sauce, melt the butter and slowly stir in the flour until smooth then gradually add milk. Bring to a boil and cook another 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat and stir in a small amount of hot mixture into the eggs, constantly whisking them so they do not separate. Add them back into the saucepan and stir in the cheese now.
Add salt and nutmeg and cook for another 30 seconds then set aside. Layer the baking dish with a bed of potatoes; pour half the mix on this and all the meat. A second layer of potatoes and all the mixture then sprinkle additional freshly ground pepper and some dried basil and set into the oven.
Bake for about half hour. Let it stand for about 20 minutes before serving.

KEEMA KACHORI

Ingredients
For the dough —
2 cups all-purpose flour or maida
2 tbsp corn starch
1 tbsp cooking oil
½ tsp salt
For the keema —
250g beef keema
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp of coriander powder and Garam Masala 
½ tsp of dried fenugreek or methi
1½ tbsp garlic and ginger paste
1 tsp anar dana powder (pomegranate seeds)
½ tsp aamchur
½ tsp turmeric powder
1 tbsp chopped green chillies
1 cup diced onions
½ cup coriander leaves
2 tbsp ghee
1 tbsp butter
3 tbs corn starch
Cooking oil as per preference
Method
Mix all flour with corn starch, some water, oil, and salt and knead into dough for about 5-7 mins. Leave covered with a damp cloth for about half hour. Sautee the keema with the ginger-garlic paste and the turmeric until the oil separates. Add all the masalas and cook for another 3-4 minutes. Add the onions and cook for 2 minutes then add the green chillies and coriander and stir it through. Mix the 3 tbsp corn starch with the butter and ghee and set aside.

Now take the dough and portion it into seven pieces as this mix will roughly make seven kachoris. Roll them out into a round roti then layer it with the ghee mix and fold it into a square shape (fold the halves first then fold it again from both ends to reach a square shape). Now roll this square out into a larger square where the edges are thinner than the middle parts and fill it in with a tablespoon full of the keema mix.

Fold the wrap up much like a lobongo lotika or take 2 sides and hold them over the mix and press together than hold the remaining two sides and press together the four sides to give it a tent like shape. Now just press them further closer together and make a knot on top of the kachori and deep fry these for about 15-20 mins.
Serve them hot.

BEEF WITH JAMRUL & CARAMELIZED ONION PIE A LA THE FEARLESS OLIVE

Ingredients
250g beef cubes
1 kg jamrul or love apples, cored and quartered
1 cup chopped dried apricot (you can also add dried plums if you want)
1 large onion, diced
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
1 onion sliced in thick rings
A pinch of nutmeg
2 bay leaves
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp sugar
Olive oil to preference
For pie crust —
1 large egg
2-3 tbsp ice water
1½ cups all-purpose flour
A pinch of salt
10 tbsp unsalted butter, sliced into small cubes
Method
In a blender, add flour and salt and briefly pulse to mix it, then add the butter cubes and pulse some more until it is a coarse mix with no butter blobs left within. Add in the egg and ice-water and blend until a dough is formed. Now take this out and knead it into a smoother version, one that can easily be transferred into a baking dish.

For the meat, lightly brown the onions and bay leaves then add the meat and cook for about 6-7 minutes, adding garlic and cooking for another 2-3 minutes. Add salt and pepper and nutmeg at this point.  You may remove the bay leaves. Separately cook the jamrul in about 2 teaspoon of oil and add sugar and salt after about 2 minutes then cook until it is a dry mix. You can add more sugar if you want to add more sweetness to the overall dish. Caramelise the onions rings until browned on all sides.

Preheat oven at 350° F for 15 minutes then brush the bottom with some grease/oil and lay the pie crust. The crust should be about ¼ inch thick. Pour the meat mix on this with the caramelised onions and add a final crust layer on top. The top layer should be half the thickness of the bottom layer. Make some perforations or 4 small cuts in the middle to let the excess air out. Seal the sides of the pie crusts with your hands and stick it into the oven. Bake for about 25 mins.  Let it rest for about 10 minutes before serving.