Hyderabadi Keema Pav Street Minced Mutton Bread

Ingredients

• 400 g minced mutton (keema)
• 2 tbsp oil
• 2 large onions — finely chopped
• 1 tbsp ginger paste, 1 tbsp garlic paste
• 2 tomatoes — finely chopped
• 1 tsp red chilli powder, 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp garam masala
• 1/2 cup peas (fresh or frozen)
• salt to taste
• coriander leaves for garnish
• 8 soft dinner rolls (pav) for serving
• butter for the rolls

Method

1. Heat oil and cook onions: Heat 2 tbsp oil on medium. Add finely chopped onions. Cook 12 minutes until very deep golden.
2. Add ginger and garlic: Add ginger paste and garlic paste. Stir 2 minutes.
3. Add tomatoes: Add finely chopped tomatoes. Cook 6 minutes until soft and oil separates.
4. Add spice powders: Turn to low. Add red chilli powder, coriander powder and turmeric. Stir 2 minutes.
5. Add keema: Add minced mutton. Break it apart with a spoon. Cook on medium-high heat stirring continuously for 8 minutes until the keema is browned and any released moisture has evaporated.
6. Add peas: Add peas. Stir. Cook 3 minutes.
7. Add garam masala and salt: Add garam masala and salt. Stir. Cook 2 more minutes.
8. Check keema: The keema should be dry — no watery gravy. Each grain of minced meat should be separate and coated with the spiced onion masala.
9. Toast the pav rolls: Slice the dinner rolls in half. Toast with butter on a flat griddle for 1 minute each side until golden.
10. Serve: Scatter coriander leaves on the keema. Serve the hot keema in a bowl alongside the buttered toasted pav rolls. Eat by breaking the roll and scooping up the keema.
11. Note: Keema Pav is one of the most popular street foods of the Charminar area of Hyderabad — the old city lanes around the Charminar mosque are lined with keema stalls from evening onwards. The combination of Hyderabadi-spiced minced mutton with the soft bread rolls reflects the layered food history of Hyderabad — a city that has absorbed Mughal, Persian, British and local Deccani influences simultaneously.