KEEMA PULAO

During my stay in Japan, my meat intake was reduced to such a point that my iron level decreased to 3.6 mg with my hemoglobin level decreasing to 9.5. I remember my doctor telling me "Your iron level is remarkably low". Interestingly, what popped into my head at that instant was the peculiar use of the word remarkable. Now that I think about it, it really was strange and hilarious to be worrying about that at that time. Well coming back to my iron level, it hit me pretty hard when I realized how careful my mom was with my diet. Maintaining my body's nutrients level despite my repulsion towards meat seemed really superwoman-like. Repulsion is a strong word though, in Bangla we call it "অনীহা" which means subtle repulsion I guess. I can't really find a better choice of word in English. Consequently, dizziness and fatigue became a regular thing in my life. I had a hard time concentrating on work and Gosh! living alone ain't easy. Usually just medication doesn't help such an issue, making appropriate lifestyle changes is more important. Since then, I trained my mind and body to notice dizziness very carefully. Every time my iron intake drop enough, I start feeling dizzy and I remind myself to work on that.

Few days back my body gave an alert, I started feeling dizzy. So the easiest way to work on it was to have beef right away. Since I don't have pressure cooker, cooking beef can be a hassle and time consuming. And hence I came up with keema pulao. It took me about 40 minutes to prepare my entire meal. First I started preparing my meat. So in a pan smeared with oil, I added some chopped onion and green chili and allowed to brown a little. I then added in the ground beef and seasoned it with the classic Bangladeshi spices: ginger paste, minced garlic, salt, red chili powder, cumin powder, coriander powder and mixed spices. While the meat was cooking, I moved on to my rice. In a pot, I added in a little oil followed by chopped onions, chopped green chili and a pinch of mixed spices and salt. When I was happy with the color of my onions, I added in the water. The amount of water is crucial, I will give the measurements below. After the water reaches to a boil, I added in the rice and the prepared beef. Though in my mom's rule book, the beef is added when the rice is half done. But I didn't have much time (cause I was hungry!), so I added it together with the rice. My target was to cook the beef along with the rice. Turns out, it works. I didn't see the difference, it could be because I very hungry and everything tastes better when hungry. But it tasted really yum! especially when I sided it with yogurt.

Ingredient: (for 2 servings)

For beef:

1 cup beef

1 tsp oil

1 tbsp chopped onion

1 pcs green chili

1 tsp salt

0.5 tsp red chili powder

0.75 tsp cumin powder 0.75 tsp coriander powder

0.5 tsp mixed spices

1 tsp ginger paste

1 tsp minced garlic

For rice:

1 cup basmati rice

2 cup water

1 tsp oil

1 tbsp chopped onion

1 pcs green chili

0.5 tsp salt

0.5 tsp mixed spices