Keema and Hair of the Dog Adam

My wife still has the sinus infection from hell and it hasn’t completely gone away, so we continue to do the hot and spicy foods. Last night I was supposed to work and she was going to cook, but the plan got changed so she wanted me to cook instead since I would be home. She was planning on doing something with ground beef but had no plans. I suggested keema, and Indian dish made with ground lamb or beef and often potatoes. She agreed so we went that route.

I browned some sweet onions in a little oil until they cooked down and had turned deep brown. Then I added minced ginger, garlic, and chiles and cooked them slightly. Next I added the beef and browned it and added a blend of ground coriander, cumin, fenugreek, a pinch of fennel seeds, and more dried red chiles. I deglazed the pan with water and added a bunch of quartered, peeled red potatoes, lowered the heat, and let it cook. After a few minutes, I realized it would take a while for the potatoes to cook with so little water, but was wary of turning my keema into a liquid stew. I did want to eat at some point that evening, so I did add more water, and ended up with something that was more soup or stew like than most keema. As that cooked, I got some tomatoes out of the garden (because we’re deluged right now), and blanched them in boiling water for a few seconds to remove the skins. I chopped them coarsely and added them to the pot once the potatoes were tender. I also added some garam masala, which is a traditional, aromatic Indian spice blend, and some chopped cilantro. I let the whole sit over low heat for about another three minutes and then served it with rice.

I had thought about what Alan Sprints from Hair of the Dog had said about dark sweeter beers with spicy food and picked up a bottle of Adam when I was at the supermarket. Alan’s web site describes Adam as “top fermented and cold conditioned to give it a rich and mellow smoothness. The unique garnet color is derived from specially roasted barley, and the intense hop profile is provided by the use of only the finest whole hop flowers. It is 8% alcohol by weight (10% by volume).” It uses a small amount of peated malt (I believe) which gives it a subtle smokiness. The smokiness was more apparent with the spiciness of the food. It’s intensely rich (Michael Jackson said it was as rich as any port), and has the body and sweetness to stand up to seriously spicy food. It was a remarkable match with the food and a joy to drink on its own as well. It’s another beer that I have a tendency to overlook because it’s generally available in many supermarkets and in all serious bottle shops. Only in Portland, can you overlook such an incredible, world class beer just because it’s so readily available. It’s always a pleasure to be reminded of how lucky we are to live and drink in Portland.