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English Chronicles 2025 26printed 06 · PDF 15
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I started cooking much later than I should have. The house was quiet, the
kind of quiet that makes every small sound feel louder than it is. I chopped
onions without thinking too much, letting my mind wander as the knife hit
the board. The keema had already been defrosted, sitting there like a
decision I had finally made.
When the oil heated and the onions went in, the smell spread quickly, filling
the kitchen and pulling me fully into the moment. I added ginger, garlic,
and the keema, breaking it apart with a spoon as it browned. There was
something comforting about the repetition of it, the way the meat changed
texture under my hand.
As it cooked, I thought about how many late nights in this house had ended
the same way, someone hungry, tired, unwilling to sleep yet. By the time I
added green chillies and a squeeze of lemon, the keema was ready. I ate it
standing up, with roti straight from the pan. It wasn’t nostalgic or symbolic.
It was just what I needed right then, and that felt like enough.
Mir Zain Mahmood
H2
Late-Night Keema
AC Chronicles
06
Recipe
½ kg chicken or beef keema
2 medium onions, finely chopped
1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
2–3 green chillies, chopped
1 tsp red chilli powder
½ tsp turmeric
1 tsp coriander powder
3 tbsp cooking oil
Lemon juice (optional)
Method
Heat oil in a pan and add onions. Cook until
lightly golden.
Add ginger-garlic paste and cook for 1 minute.
Add keema, salt, turmeric, chilli powder, and
coriander powder.
Cook on medium heat, breaking up the meat,
until moisture dries.
Add green chillies and cook for another 2–3
minutes.