Yeshi had been living outside of Tibet for over a decade when our paths crossed on a mountain road in northern India 2009. He’d landed in the hill station of Mcleod Ganj ten years previously in a state of some shock. Everything here – the culture, the climate and the cuisine was completely different, and he had to navigate all of this in a foreign language to boot.
By the time we met, he made it all look easy. He spoke both English and Hindi now. Most importantly, he’d learned how and where to source the ingredients he needed to make the comfort food of his own homeland, and he’d picked up local culinary know-how that had added numerous new dishes to his repertoire.
I was the grateful recipient of many mouthwatering meals. Among them was keema, a traditional spiced Indian curry made with minced meat. His meat of choice was beef.
Back then, most food shopping happened out on the streets. A run of open-air butchers sold chicken, mutton and lamb, but you couldn’t buy beef. The sale of beef is strictly prohibited in Himachal Pradesh, as in most Indian states.
But beef makes the best momos. It’s the closest to yak meat that you can source outside of Tibet. And it turns out that beef – for Yeshi at any rate – makes the best keema as well.
No bother – Yeshi had an address book that provided. If he was after some beef, he called a guy and soon enough someone would ring back with an address he could pitch up at for his primal cut.
Himachal Pradesh has some of the strictest laws in India around cow protection, but there was a steady underground trade. Apparently traffickers used the ruse of providing meat for zoos.
The neighbourhood cats went crazy when Yeshi made keema. He’d mince the beef from a large piece of chuck. As soon as the cleaver came out they’d come honking at the door to share in this illicit joy.
Yeshi’s keema reminds me of chilli con carne. It’s highly moreish and also versatile – we often throw our leftovers into a soup, and if you add some noodles in too, well bingo – you end up with a classic Tibetan dish, enjoyed nightly in Yeshi’s home in Tibet.
Keema is on the menu at the restaurant this week. Freezer stocks will be available before the weekend. If you’re after the recipe, you can find it in the Taste Tibet cookbook.
We’re open all the usual hours this week, as follows:
Weds – Fri: 5-9.30pm (dinner only)
Saturday: 12-3/ 5-9.30pm
Sunday: 12-3 / 5-9pm
This week’s menu is up on the website – check it. Come for dine in, take away and a restock of your freezer. We also have plenty of chilli oil and hot mooli pickle.
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Looking forward to seeing you soon,
Julie and Yeshi
Opening hours this week:
Weds – Fri: 5-9.30pm
Saturday: 12-3pm 🥢 5-9.30pm
Sunday: 12-3pm 🥢 5-9pm
☏ 01865 499318
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