Kheema Bombs

 Pathare Prabhus make a potato and ground meat cutlet called a keroli. Traditionally spiced ground beef is encased in a creamy potato mash and fried. No egg and breadcrumb coating is needed. The outer cover adheres perfectly as the potatoes are steamed, not boiled. This is not the occasion for those keroli, but an amended version, since I have a heap of boiled potatoes that I need to put to good use. 

Ground beef, onion, ginger, garlic and PP sambar masala and seasonings are stirred often until the meat cooks. No water is necessary. The less liquid there is, the firmer the filling. As for the potato coating, I used boiled versus steamed. To that I add some cooked rice and a little arrowroot. Both the latter items make a good binder. The labor intensive part is forming and crumbing the cutlets. Since I havent used the steamed potatoes, I will egg and crumb the bombs as insurance against cracking!  They should be deep fried. You health-conscious folk can shallow fry them, but you miss out on that crunchy crust. 

There is a reason I call them bombs. Primarily, their mini-football, bomb like shape....and of course the flavor, which is the bomb!

KHEEMA BOMBS

Makes 10-12

5 medium Yukon Gold Potatoes, boiled and peeled

1/2  cup cooked Rice

2 teaspoons Arrowroot Powder

1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt

1/2 pound Ground Beef (or your choice of ground meat)

2 tablespoons Canola Oil

1 large Onion

1 teaspoon Ginger Garlic Paste

1/2 teaspoon Chile Powder

1/2 teaspoon PP Sambar masala

A pinch of Turmeric

1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt

1 Egg

Breadcrumbs

Oil for frying

Grate boiled potatoes into a bowl. 

Add rice, arrowroot and salt and mash the mix well with your hands till it is smooth. 

Chop onion finely.

Heat oil in a saucepan. 

Add meat to pan and stir well, mashing the meat till there are no large chunks of meat left. Brown the meat. 

Drop chopped onion, spices and salt into the meat. Stir well for 5 minutes, them cover the pan, lower the flame and cook on low heat till meat is done. Stir the meat every so often so it doesn't stick to the pan.  Uncover and cool. 

Whisk egg in a bowl. 

Keep breadcrumbs handy. 

Gather a golf ball sized portion of potato. Mold it into an oval. Use your thumb to make a depression on one  end of the oval. Try to keep the wall of the bomb about 1/2 inch thick. Make a well in the center, enough for 1 heaped teaspoon of meat filling. 

Spoon filling in gently, tamping it down. Gather the potato at the top to close off the opening. 

Make all the bombs this way. Any remaining filling should be refrigerated for another use.

Dip bomb lightly in beaten egg.

Roll the bomb in breadcrumbs. 

Repeat will all the bombs. 

Heat canola oil in a fryer or wok. 

When the oil is hot, drop three or four bombs in carefully and fry till golden brown on all sides.

Enjoy the bombs hot. Or reheat them in an oven.

As I said these are the bomb! An explosion of flavor, both savory and satisfying!

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