Bolognese For My Brother

Yes, when I was 4 years old, he told me that our fridge would suck me in if I stood in front of it for too long. Yes, he cut off my ponytails and glued them back onto my head while playing “barber”. Yes, he told me that we were related to Mahatma Gandhi and I believed him. And yes, he told me that ladyfingers were made of real ladies’ fingers. But that’s what an older brother does, right? At least mine did and I wouldn’t have had it any other way.

That’s because he’s also the brother who walked 20 minutes to the store in the stifling humid heat of the summer to buy me my favorite chocolate ice-cream. He introduced me to Star Wars, Star Trek, Tron and Indiana Jones. He made me feel better about my grades one year by telling me how Einstein was not book smart, but was still a genius. He encouraged me by buying the first Valentine’s Day card I made when, at the age of 9, I wanted to “start my own business”. And he made me appreciate his favorite dish, our mother’s spaghetti Bolognese, by cooking it for me when I moved to the US.

This is not your usual Bolognese.  It combines Indian, Arabic and Mediterranean flavors from the countries we’ve lived in during our shared childhood. In addition to the typical ground meat, tomatoes and garlic, my mother’s version has bold spices and herbs that make for an incredibly flavorful meaty sauce.

I love serving this over whole-wheat spaghetti, garnished with shredded Parmesan cheese and chopped cilantro. I remove the whole spices – cardamoms, bay leaves, cinnamon, cloves; khara masala as we say in India for spices that don’t dissolve –  before serving as they can taste bitter eaten alone. Leftovers taste amazing the next day when the spices have had a chance to release even more flavors. For a variation, I sometimes mix the cooked spaghetti and sauce in a casserole dish, top it with cheddar cheese and bake it until the cheese turns light brown.

There’s another reason I think of my brother when I make this dish. Growing up, he would come home from high-school in the early evening much later than all of us. We would have already eaten lunch and, on days that we had spaghetti, my mother would mix together a bowl making sure the proportions were just right. While he showered and when no one was around, I made it a ritual to sneak into the kitchen and steal a couple of bites. Those bites were always so incredibly perfect. Probably because revenge does taste good.

Grin.
~Anjali

A printable list of ingredients and directions are at the end of this post,
along with an image of this Perfect Morsel.

Pour the oil in a large sauce pan over medium heat. Once hot, add the whole spices: (left to right above) bay leaves, black cardamoms, green cardamoms, cloves and cinnamon. Stir until the spices release a flavorful aroma. About 2 minutes.

Add the chopped garlic and green chili, and stir for a couple of minutes.

Add the chopped red onions and stir until they turn medium brown. About 20 minutes.

Add the ground meat and stir until the meat is browned. About 5 minutes.

Stir in salt, black pepper and red chili powder.

Stir in dried oregano and fresh cilantro.

Add the peeled and chopped tomatoes. Here’s how to peel your tomatoes. You can substitute fresh tomatoes with a 28oz can of peeled tomatoes.

Stir and break down the tomatoes using the back of your ladle. About 5 minutes.

Add 2 cups of water to the meat sauce. Cook on medium heat for about an 30 to 45 minutes. Make sure not to dry out the sauce. Add an extra 2 tablespoons of water if it does dry out. Using a ladle, remove and discard any excess oil that rises to the top of the sauce.

Serve the Bolognese over your favorite spaghetti and garnish with shredded Parmesan cheese and chopped cilantro. Make sure to remove the whole spices from individual servings.

Leftovers also taste amazing the next day when the spices have had a chance to release more flavors. For a variation, mix the cooked spaghetti and meat sauce in a casserole dish, top with your favorite cheese and bake till the cheese turns light brown.