Representative Ilhan Omar’s “Little Moga-hot-dishu”

A hotdish can never truly disappoint. At least, that’s my firm belief. It may be too salty, too soupy, underspiced or overcooked, but its baseline is like that of pizza — you have to really try to make a bad version (though Altoona-style pizza makes a case for it being more possible than you might imagine).

I’ve made two hotdishes on Cookin’ with Congress prior to this week’s: Amy Klobuchar’s traditional beefy neutron star and Tim Walz’s four-pan turkey ensemble.

Today’s hotdish may just outshine them all.

Rep. Ilhan Omar

Democratic Representative from Minnesota

Favorite Food/Homespun Recipe: Recipe

Notable:

being a member of “The Squad;” being more recognized by Republican voters than Democratic voters

As always, I followed the recipe word for word, no alterations:

INGREDIENTS

4 medium yellow onions, minced finely

ghee or olive oil

2 T jalapeños, seeded and minced (approximately two medium peppers) 6 medium garlic cloves, minced

4 tsp fresh ginger, minced

2 T garam masala

2 tsp cumin

2 tsp coriander

4 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp cinnamon

2 lb. ground beef or lamb

1 tsp pepper, to taste

salt, to taste

6 Roma tomatoes, diced

2 T tomato paste

1 package frozen spinach (16 oz)

juice of one lemon

1 cup fresh cilantro, chopped (a large bunch or two)

1 cup frozen peas (optional)

1 package of tater tots

1 cup plain Greek yogurt (optional)

1 cup coriander chutney

*Bonus chaat toppings*

minced raw onions

sweet tamarind chutney

sev (crunchy Indian chickpea noodle snacks) a sprinkle of chaat masala

chana masala

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Using a big stock pot or Dutch oven, fry onions on medium heat, stirring frequently until they start to caramelize. Then add ghee or oil to the pan and give them a pinch of salt or two and cook until they are a medium golden color. Be patient — this can take a little while but it really lays the groundwork for all the layers of flavor in this dish.

This recipe is from the 2019 Minnesota Congressional Delegation Hotdish Competition, yes, the very same that Tim Walz won three times in 2013, 2014 and 2016. Did this hotdish win? No. Let’s find out why.

2. Clear a space in the pan, adding more ghee or oil there. Throw in the jalapeño, ginger and garlic and fry for a minute or two until fragrant. Then stir to combine.

3. Add the garam masala, cumin, coriander, turmeric and cinnamon and stir to coat everything. It'll be a dry mixture at this point, but that's normal.

I went with oil instead of ghee, mostly because I always have plenty of oil on hand and ghee is a luxury. This is also, candidly, my favorite blend of spices — cumin, coriander, turmeric, etc. Ratchet up the black pepper and it’s hard to top.

4. You'll probably need to brown the meat in two batches even with a very large pot, so remove about half of this masala-onion mixture and set it aside. Add half the ground meat to the pot, sprinkle with salt/pepper and brown as you combine it thoroughly with the onion mixture. Repeat with the remaining meat and masala-onions.

I did indeed need to brown in two batches. While it’s tempting to want to deglaze here, the instructions don’t call for it.

5. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste and sprinkle with a little more salt.

6. Simmer on low, covered, about 15-20 minutes or until the tomatoes kind of melt into the stew, stirring occasionally.

8. Stir in the frozen spinach, lemon juice and about half of the chopped cilantro. Turn off the burner. Taste and adjust spices, salt and pepper as needed. Stir in the frozen peas, if desired.

Now we’re talking. I ended up adding more salt, more pepper, and more garam masala. About a teaspoon of each, which was spiced to my liking. I chose to forgo frozen peas and I don’t have to give you an answer as to why.

10. Transfer the palak keema into a 13x9 (3-quart) casserole dish. Top with a single layer of tater tots.

After getting criticized for scattering my Tim Walz tots (it SAID to scatter!), I got to line these up like a Type A interior designer.

11. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until the tots are crispy and golden brown.

12. Serve with the rest of the fresh cilantro, plain yogurt, coriander chutney and whatever other bonus chaat toppings.

Chaat options were flowing, but I kept it simple: tamarind chutney. I wanted a hint of sweet/sour with all the spice, and I felt like it would play with the dairy as well.

Voila! If you want to actually watch me attempt to eat it, go to the Cookin’ with Congress Instagram or TikTok OR…YouTube! This is a single slice, of course, as the entire hotdish looked the same going in and coming out. And yes, it includes all the fixins except the chaat options. I do wish this had adhered slightly better — there’s a certain gluey nature to most hotdishes due to the soup + cheese combination. Still, an attractive slice o’ Minnesota.

Verdict:

Yeah I’m on board with this. I am VERY on board with this. Could it have used some paneer or other cheese? Yes, absolutely yes. The hotdish, however, was delicious regardless, and I even brought this over to my friend’s house to great effect.