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Keema Matar and Gobi. I had minced lamb, cauliflower and green peas to be cooked and was deciding between that and Shepherd’s Pie. It’s interesting how these two dishes have so many common ingredients. The Keema won. So I cooked it one evening after dinner and served it the next morning for breakfast with some flatbread on the side. It was a rainy Spring morning on a Tuesday, and hot keema with freshly-cooked flatbread seemed just the thing.
My husband’s first impression was “It’s nice! It’s very mild though. That’s good for the kids.”
Mild.
The word struck me, somehow. (On hindside, it was probably due to the lack of sleep)
For the former me who would add chilli in just about every dish to give foods a spicy kick, mild equated bland.
“I wouldn’t say it’s bland. It’s simply tasty but mild,” was my husband’s patient reply.
I tried to explain that it was just impossible to make anything chilli-spicy with nightshade spices out of the Autoimmune Protocol (AIP). Capsaicins were out! You’re asking for the impossible! The perfectionist in me was unfortunately dismayed.
Crestfallen, I told my husband: “You know, it’s like trying to turn a horse into a unicorn. That’s not going to happen. I guess I shouldn’t blog about it, huh.”
He gave me a reassuring hug before leaving for work and said: “I understand. Anyhow, you decide whether you want to blog about it or not. I think it’s nice.”
So I thought about it and decided to share it here after all. Remembering how my two kids ate their servings with gusto and asking for more. In fact, I had an extra serving myself. It is delicious, just not grab-a-glass-of-water-to-quench-the-chilli-fire spicy. I don’t really miss that sensation, interestingly. I used to love black pepper and put it into just about every dish automatically. After reintroducing it successfully, my pepper mill remains neglected in the spice drawer. I don’t feel the need to use it and find the spice rather distracting now. So for folks who are looking for a typical keema recipe, this is not it. If you’re on the AIP and need to avoid nightshades, or are allergic/ intolerant of nightshades, I hope you’ll give it a try.
Wait, I hear you say.
What about the flatbread? Are you going to talk more about the flatbread sitting in the background?
Ah, yes. The flatbread.
I was aiming for a billowy leavened naan-esque flatbread, but that’s not going to happen with gluten-free and grain-free flours. What was I thinking? More unicorns out of horses? So I ended up with a tasty chewy-crisp yeasted flatbread instead. My eldest son asked me: “Mama, what is this?”
My reply: “No name flatbread.”
He repeated it curiously and took a couple more bites, before happily declaring that they were pancakes.
No Name Flatbread Recipe (overnight recipe, makes 4 – 5 pieces)
- 167g 1.5 cups cassava flour
- 1 tbsp active dry yeast
- 164g or 3/4 cup lukewarm water
- 3 tbsp – 1/4 cup avocado oil
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
Method
- Mix all ingredients together until combined
- Refrigerate overnight for 8 hours, covered
- Preheat a non-stick frying pan over medium heat, oiling it lightly if necessary
- Scoop out some dough (it will be somewhat wet) and spread it out thinly on the frying pan with an oiled non-stick spatula
- Cook until the surface looks almost dry, about 2 minutes
- Flip over and cook for 1 -2 more minutes, until cooked through
- Repeat for the rest of the dough until it is used up.
- Serve hot
Here are some other gluten-free and grain-free flatbread-y options that are also AIP and great for scooping up keema. You may have to play around with the herbs (or omit them) in some of the recipes as they may not go with Indian-style dishes:
- Adventures in Partaking: AIP Chapati
- Fork and Beans: Grain-Free Tortillas
- My Coconut Socca recipe
- My AIP Flatbread recipe (coconut & cassava-based)
- The Domestic Man: Grain-free Flatbread (omit the white pepper for strict AIP)
Where to get certain ingredients:
- avocado oil
- tamarind paste
- turmeric powder
- ground ginger
- granulated garlic
- dried thyme
- ground cinnamon
- ground clove
- Sea salt
- 2 tbsp avocado oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp granulated garlic
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground clove
- 1 lb ground lamb
- 1 tbsp tamarind paste, kneaded in 2 tbsp hot water and strained
- ½ cup small diced white sweet potato (1 small)
- 1 cup small diced carrot
- 2 packed cups coarsely grated cauliflower
- ¾ cup bone broth
- 1 cup green peas (Note: stage 1 AIP reintroduction ingredient)
- ½ - 1 tsp sea salt, or to taste
- 1 tbsp lime juice (from half a lime)
- Handful of chopped mint
- Handful of chopped coriander
- Heat up oil in heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat
- Add onion and cook until translucent, about 3 mins
- Add crushed garlic, turmeric powder, ground ginger, granulated garlic, dried thyme, ground cinnamon and ground clove
- Stir to mix, until onions are well coated and fragrant
- Stir in the minced lamb, mixing well, spreading out in an even layer (Brown the lamb in batches to get a nice searing effect)
- Cook for 5 minutes, crumbling the minced lamb with the spatula as it cooks
- Mix in the tamarind paste
- Stir in the sweet potato, carrot, cauliflower and bone broth
- Once it resumes simmering, lower the heat to med-low, cover and cook for 20 - 30 minutes (Check on it and stir occasionally if necessary)
- Finally, stir in the green peas, return to a simmer and cook for 3 more minutes
- Season to taste with sea salt and lime juice
- Garnish with chopped mint and coriander
- Serve with hot flatbread
