The Illusion of the Bubble - Hyderabadi Keema Rice

This has been the year of the bubble. Or perhaps the illusion of a bubble. We have spent the good part of the year spending time with family and friends who have been carefully screened and scrutinized. And I've realized that our lives are certainly not as interesting or adventurous inside of our carefully curated circle.

My childhood was, in essence, a kind of bubble. My parents emigrated from India, and we did not have a lot of family or close friends when we were younger. My grandparents lived in India, and we would occasionally get a letter. They were airmail letters on thin blue paper. I saw my grandparents only a handful of times as a kid. There was no Facetime, Zoom, or Google to keep in touch. I was always envious of kids who spent the weekend at their grandparents or would go over casually for dinner. Our family here in the US consisted of two uncles and their families scattered across the country.

My parents did not have a circle of close friends until we were at least in high school. They were not the kind of people who collected friends along the way. I think my father was too busy trying to support and raise a family in a country that he did not regard as his own. And my mom was doing her best to save money, raise two children and learn a new culture and the rules that go along with it. If you are working hard trying to juggle all these things, I suspect you have little energy and attention to growing your bubble.

G has taught me the importance of family, friends, a network, or the "un" bubble. As a single child in a single-parent household, his mom worked hard to create a network of friends who were truly family. Those bonds are tight, and all their friends are indeed family, or perhaps even better. And with our collective experiences, we hope that Poet and Flower will grow up with a wide range of friends and family to call on. We want to give them a wide breadth of friends and exposure to so many experiences.

This week I made my mother's Hyderabadi Keema Rice. It is a classic Muslim dish that she loved to make. Keema rice is vegetable rice made even more delicious with ground beef. It is an easy one pot dish made with green peas, green beans, carrots, and basmati rice. My mother loved to cook with meat, and this rice dish is warm and comforting.

Keema means ground beef in Urdu and Hindi. Poet and Flower also love weeknight Kheema with rice too. In Keema rice, the rice is simmered with vegetables, ground beef, and just a few spices. It's not a biryani. A traditional biryani typically is a layered dish of rice and meat that gently steams and comes together. I love Hyderabadi lamb biryani. G would call this a pilau.

We don't live in a bubble. This year we have certainly tried, only to realize how much we want Poet and Flower to see and experience. I am looking forward to the promise of this year.

Hyderabadi Keema Rice

A comforting one pot rice dish with peas, carrots, green beans and ground beef. Don't be intimidated by the list of ingredients, it comes together easily.

Serves 6

• 6 tablespoons neutral oil
• 1/2 pound ground beef
• 1 1/4 cups basmati rice
• 2 carrots (thinly sliced)
• 1/2 cup green peas
• 4 oz green beans (cut into 1 inch pieces (about 1 cup))
• 1 large onion (thinly sliced)
• 2 1 inch pieces cinnamon stick
• 6 cardamon
• 6 cloves
• 6 cloves of garlic minced
• 1 inch piece of ginger minced
• 1 large tomato (chopped)
• 3 green chilis (cut into small pieces)
• 1/2 cup cilantro (chopped)
• 1 tablespoon coriander powder
• 3/4 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
• 2 cups of water

1. In a dutch oven or large saucepan, heat the neutral oil. Add cinnamon, cloves, cardamon. Saute for 30 seconds until they are sizzling.
2. Add the onion and saute until soft and translucent, about 5-10 minutes..
3. Now add the minced garlic and ginger and saute until it begins to stick to the pan.
4. Add the ground beef, salt, coriander powder, chili powder and turmeric. Saute until the ground beef is just barely cooked.
5. Now add the tomatoes, cilantro and vegetables. Saute 5-10 minutes until the tomatoes are soft.
6. Add the water and bring the mixture to a boil. Simmer for 10 minutes.
7. Add the basmati rice to the pot. Bring to a boil then simmer for 20 to 25 minutes until rice is cooked.
8. Serve warm with a yogurt chutney or mango pickle.