Rookie Pan
← All recipes
Pakistan, Asia · Aloo Keema

Aloo Keema Quesadillas with Green Chutney Crema (Pakistani × Mexican)

Spiced potato keema and melting cheese pressed between flour tortillas and toasted crisp, served with a coriander-chilli crema that tastes like green chutney.

ServingsServes 2
Total cooking time38 min
DifficultyEasy
About servingsMinced meat must be cooked right through, with no pink left.

Method

  1. For the crema, chop the coriander (stems too) and green chilli very finely, stir them into the sour cream and squeeze in the lime juice. Chill until needed. A blender makes it smoother.

    Add in this stepSour cream 100 gFresh coriander (cilantro) 10 gHot green chilli 1Lime ½

  2. Peel the potatoes and cut into 1 cm dice; chop the onion small and the garlic finely. Heat the oil in a 24 cm frying pan over medium heat and cook the onion, garlic and potatoes for , until the potatoes are lightly golden.

    Add in this stepVegetable oil 1½ tbspOnion ½Garlic cloves 2Potatoes 150 g

    medium heat

  3. Add the mince and cook over medium-high heat for until no pink remains. Stir in the cumin, garam masala, chilli powder, salt and water, cover and cook over low heat for . The potatoes should be soft and the pan almost dry, so the tortillas don't go soggy. Tip onto a plate to cool slightly.

    Add in this stepBeef mince 200 gGround cumin ½ tspGaram masala 1 tspRed chilli powder ½ tspSalt ½ tspWater 80 ml

    medium-high heat→low heat

  4. Sprinkle a quarter of each serving's cheese over one tortilla, spread over half that serving's keema, add another quarter of the cheese and top with a second tortilla; press down firmly. Make one round quesadilla per serving in the same way.

    Add in this stepFlour tortillas (20 cm) 4Monterey Jack or cheddar, grated 120 g

  5. Wipe out the pan, melt a little butter over medium-low heat and cook a quesadilla for per side, flipping it with a wide spatula and a plate, until golden and the cheese is oozing. Number of batches: 2 (a little butter each time).

    Add in this stepButter 10 g

    medium-low heat

  6. Rest for 1 minute on a board, cut into 6–8 wedges and serve straight away with the green chutney crema.

Cook's tip

Cook slowly on medium-low so the cheese melts before the outside burns. Leftover aloo keema works perfectly: skip steps 2 and 3 and just cook it down until dry. For less heat, leave out the chilli powder and deseed the green chilli.

Cooking it at camp

Cook the filling at home, cool it and bring it in a sealed box; at the campsite you only assemble and toast. Use a cast-iron pan or a griddle plate over gentle heat. Keep the sour cream and filling in a cooler below 5 °C.