Representative Ilhan Omar's “Little Moga-Hot-Dishu”

Ingredients

• 4 medium yellow onions, minced finely
• ghee or olive oil
• 2 T jalapeños, seeded and minced (approximately two medium peppers)
• 6 medium garlic cloves, minced
• 4 tsp fresh ginger, minced
• 2 T garam masala
• 2 tsp cumin
• 2 tsp coriander
• 4 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 lb. ground beef or lamb
• 1 tsp pepper, to taste
• salt, to taste
• 6 Roma tomatoes, diced
• 2 T tomato paste
• 1 package frozen spinach (16 oz)
• juice of one lemon
• 1 cup fresh cilantro, chopped (a large bunch or two)
• 1 cup frozen peas (optional)
• 1 package of tater tots
• 1 cup plain Greek yogurt (optional)
• 1 cup coriander chutney

Steps

1. Using a big stock pot or Dutch oven, fry onions on medium heat, stirring frequently until they start to caramelize. Then add ghee or oil to the pan and give them a pinch of salt or two and cook until they are a medium golden color. Be patient — this can take a little while but it really lays the groundwork for all the layers of flavor in this dish.

2. Clear a space in the pan, adding more ghee or oil there. Throw in the jalapeño, ginger and garlic and fry for a minute or two until fragrant. Then stir to combine.

3. Add the garam masala, cumin, coriander, turmeric and cinnamon and stir to coat everything. It'll be a dry mixture at this point, but that's normal.

   I went with oil instead of ghee, mostly because I always have plenty of oil on hand and ghee is a luxury. This is also, candidly, my favorite blend of spices — cumin, coriander, turmeric, etc. Ratchet up the black pepper and it’s hard to top.

4. You'll probably need to brown the meat in two batches even with a very large pot, so remove about half of this masala-onion mixture and set it aside. Add half the ground meat to the pot, sprinkle with salt/pepper and brown as you combine it thoroughly with the onion mixture. Repeat with the remaining meat and masala-onions.

   I did indeed need to brown in two batches. While it’s tempting to want to deglaze here, the instructions don’t call for it.

5. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste and sprinkle with a little more salt.

6. Simmer on low, covered, about 15-20 minutes or until the tomatoes kind of melt into the stew, stirring occasionally.

7. Stir in the frozen spinach, lemon juice and about half of the chopped cilantro. Turn off the burner. Taste and adjust spices, salt and pepper as needed. Stir in the frozen peas, if desired.

   Now we’re talking. I ended up adding more salt, more pepper, and more garam masala. About a teaspoon of each, which was spiced to my liking. I chose to forgo frozen peas and I don’t have to give you an answer as to why.

8. Transfer the palak keema into a 13x9 (3-quart) casserole dish. Top with a single layer of tater tots.

9. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until the tots are crispy and golden brown.

10. Serve with the rest of the fresh cilantro, plain yogurt, coriander chutney and whatever other bonus chaat toppings.