Start by heating a large skillet (14 inch skillet preferred!) on medium-high heat and add the 3 tablespoons olive oil. Make sure you wait a few minutes until the pan is hot before you add the ground beef so that it does not simply steam in the pan.

Add the 1 ½ lbs lean or medium ground beef to the hot pan and break it up with a wooden spoon to prevent large clumps. Cook and stir for 5 minutes. You will notice that the moisture will start to be released at this point.

Add in the 1 teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon paprika, 1 teaspoon coriander, 1 teaspoon onion powder, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon cinnamon, ½ teaspoon black pepper and ½ teaspoon curry powder. Stir to combine and cook for a further 6 minutes. At this point you will notice the juices drying up and the oil/fat left in the skillet separating from the beef.

Spread out the beef and leave it undisturbed to continue browning for another minute or two. Begin to stir once you see browning happening on the bottom layer, which will add texture and flavour.

Add the 1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses (or sub tomato paste if you really don't have it), stir and cook for a further 2 minutes. Avoid drying out the meat so don't cook too long!

Serve the ground beef over rice, a side salad and tahini sauce OR this shawarma sauce for a full meal. The sides can all be prepared while the beef is cooking.