Minced And Spiced: 5 Unexpected Drink Pairings With Mutton Keema Dishes
One of the most popular and favoured dishes in Indian cuisine, mutton keema is prepared by cooking minced meat in a number of different aromatic spices and masalas which lend this dish a smoky, charred and spicy flavour. Mutton keema is often infused with the fragrances of bay leaves, cinnamon, cumin, peppers and red chilli powder and is cooked on a bed of chopped onions caramelising on the pan. The dish carries a very robust and deep flavour profile and is known for its rather pronounced masala-forward tasting notes.
Traditionally mutton keema is served with pao or a bun-like bread such that keema-pao has become a rather well-known pairing within Indian and Persian culinary traditions. This dish undoubtedly goes well with a number of smoky whiskies or even gin-based cocktails whose herbaceous notes undercut some of its spicy flavours. But, there are a few drinks and blends out there which are rather clever and surprising matches with mutton keema.
Read on below to know more about some of the drinks that rather unexpectedly pair well with a spicy and smoky mutton keema:
Smoky Mezcal Margarita
An interesting cocktail with rather robust flavours, this rendition of the margarita swaps out the tequila for a good quality 30 ml addition of mezcal which introduces a smoky touch into the cocktail blend. While this might seem like too overpowering a flavour with mutton keema, it is actually a drink whose smoky, tangy and citrusy notes go well with the spicy masalas used in the culinary preparation. Such a drink can be garnished with a smoked sea salt rim to introduce a charred effect into it which make the flavour depth of this food and drink coupling even more pronounced.
Spiced Rum Highball
Spiced rum has a caramelised character which brings rather robust, spicy notes into the cocktails which it is used to blend. This earthy and deep flavour tends to go well with the umami and savoury notes of a spicy mutton keema served with a side of toasted pao or bread. Make a simple highball cocktail by putting together 30 ml of such good quality spiced rum and 60 ml club soda over a bed of ice placed in a tall glass. The sweet and spicy notes of the spirit would go well with the masala mix of the keema as the soda lends a fizzy textural break to this combination.
Dry Rosé Sangria
An interesting drink with sweet and citrus-forward flavours which would contrast the deeper and more umami notes of mutton keema is a sangria crafted using sparkling dry rosé. Not only does this drink contain a slightly fizzy and bubbly textural finish which tapers down some of the depth of the keema but it also introduces an opposing fruity note in the form of chopped apples and pears used for preparing the cocktail. This tones down some of the spiciness in the keema to bring about an unexpectedly well-balanced flavour combination.
Vodka-Infused Minty Buttermilk
One of the more classic drinks that is generally served with spicy foods within the ambit of Indian cuisine is buttermilk. The creamy notes of this concoction manage to make some of the spiciness of masala-forward recipes a bit milder. Mutton keema is also one such dish which can be paired with a buttermilk variation that has been infused with the imaginative touch of the cool and peppery notes of muddled mint. Turn this drink into a frothy cocktail blend by shaking buttermilk with 30 ml Ciroc Ultra Premium Vodka or any other premium vodka of choice.
Apple Cider Beer
Another rather inventive pairing with mutton keema is apple cider. Often enough, pale ale or IPA or even a frothy Belgian Wit are among the beers that tend to be coupled with the spicy notes of mutton keema. However, what apple cider brings is a contrasting sweet and tart touch which manages to offset the more umami and smoky notes in the keema to bring forth a sophisticated finish from this beer and mutton dish coupling.
Also Read: Indian Mutton Curries And Mocktails: 5 Drink Pairings With Regional Recipes
Drink Responsibly. This communication is for audiences above the age of 25.
