The Spice is Nice

Macinato di Manzo Tandoori con Riso Pilaf al Zucchine & Cumino 
Tandoori Ground Beef with Zucchini + Caraway Pilau Rice

Sometimes it is nice to enjoy something spicy and savory and even more so if it is simple and speedy- like this dish of Tandoori-spiced tastiness, which I put together in just 30 minutes! Quick, cheap and plain delicious- this burger-sized portion of beef made a much more satisfying and exciting meal- and this is how I did it...


Start your rice cooking as usual, but pop a cardamom pod and a smalllpiece of cinnamon into the water, as well as salt and a little lemon juice. We are just going to par-boil the rice for 5 minutes and finish it off in the oven.


So at the same time, start frying the beef in a dry non-stick pan at a high heat with some grated ginger and crushed garlic. Again, it just needs to get slightly browned at this point. Once it has all turned from red to brown, remove it from the pan and add the sliced zucchini to also lightly pre-cook it. Basically, what you are doing, is getting it lightly coated in some of the fat that the beef have given off, which laced with ginger and garlic will give it a nice mild flavoring. Remove the zucchini from the pan and return the meat... and at this point, turn off the rice, add a teaspoon of butter to it and a few cumin seeds and stir well.

Now that all of the ingredients are pre-cooked, we can get down to adding some real flavor!
Once the pan is hot again, add some chopped spring onion to the meat and a tablespoon of Tandoori spice. Stir this in well and add a teaspoon of tomato paste. Deglaze the pan with the juice of 1 lime and add 2-4 tablespoons of plain yogurt. Reduce the temperature and stir well together. Season with salt and pepper, a few caraway seeds and some dried chili flakes.

To assemble the way that I did, fill one layer of rice into an ovenproof dish and then lay a ring of zucchini slices out on top of it. Cover with a little more rice and then arrange a second ring of zucchini. Pop this into the oven at a moderate temperature for 10 minutes to get the rice nice and hot again. Now stack the ground Tandoori beef on top and return to the oven to bring the whole thing up to temperature... and that's it! Very simple, but decorative and tasty at the same time... I don't know how to say "enjoy" in Indian... but I sure hope that you do!