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Turkey, Pumpkin & Pea Keema with Rice

Turkey mince cooked down fine in a mildly spiced tomato base, thickened with pumpkin purée and peas, over soft rice with yoghurt.

Turkey, Pumpkin & Pea Keema with Rice. Turkey mince cooked down fine in a mildly spiced tomato base, thickened with pumpkin purée and peas, over soft rice with yoghurt.
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Prep 20 minCook 40 minServes 4

Ingredients

Why metric?

Metric avoids regional spoon ambiguity. US uses 5 mL tsp, 15 mL tbsp and 240 mL cup. Small masses stay in grams unless a verified recipe conversion exists. More on measurements

  • 300 g pumpkin, peeled, steamed and mashed smooth
  • 40 ml neutral oil (36 g)
  • 500 g turkey mince
  • 1 large brown onion, finely chopped (200 g)
  • 2 garlic cloves, grated (10 g)
  • 15 g fresh ginger, grated
  • 12 g mild curry powder
  • 2 g ground cumin
  • 300 g canned no-added-salt tomatoes
  • 250 ml water (250 g)
  • 2 g iodised table salt, plus more to taste
  • 200 g frozen peas
  • 280 g white rice (dry)
  • 200 g Greek yoghurt

Method

  1. Steam the pumpkin for 12-15 minutes, until a piece collapses under a fork, then mash it smooth. You want about 300 g of purée.
  2. Heat the oil in a wide pan and brown the turkey over high heat, breaking it up constantly with a wooden spoon until the grains of mince are as fine as you can get them. Lumps of mince set hard as they cook.
  3. Add the onion and cook 6 minutes, then the garlic, ginger, curry powder and cumin for 1 minute.
  4. Add the tomatoes, water and salt and simmer 15 minutes.
  5. Stir in the pumpkin purée and peas and cook 8 minutes more, until thick and glossy. The mince should be coated and wet, never dry and crumbly; add water if it gets ahead of you. Poultry mince wants at least 74C/165F.
  6. Meanwhile rinse the rice, put it in a pan with 560 ml water and a tight lid, boil, then cook 12 minutes on the lowest heat and rest 10 minutes off the heat.
  7. Taste and adjust the salt. Serve the keema over the rice with the yoghurt spooned on top.

Safety and storage

Cook to
74°C / 165°F in the centre (poultry, including minced poultry)
Keeps
2 days refrigerated below 5°C
Reheat to
steaming hot, at least 60°C

The table gives poultry cuts as 74°C. Minced poultry is taken to the same temperature rather than the 71°C mince figure, because mincing spreads surface bacteria through the whole mass. Colour and clear juices are not a reliable test. Check the thickest part with a thermometer.

Cooked rice and pasta keep two days rather than three, so this dish takes the shorter time. Cool and cover within two hours, split large amounts into shallow containers, and reheat until steaming hot, at least 60°C.

Where these temperatures come from