Bursting with aromatic spices, tender minced meat, and vibrant green peas, this keema curry recipe is a celebration of bold Indian flavours and comforting textures.
- About Indian Keema Curry
- Meat Marination
- Prep Work For Curry
- How To Make Qeema Curry
- Serving Suggestion
- My Tried and True Tips
- More Indian Curry Recipes
- Keema Matar Recipe
About Indian Keema Curry
Keema Curry is a mouthwatering dish that hails from the rich culinary heritage of the Indian subcontinent. It is a classic meat dish that never fails to impress with its rich flavours and textures. There is a kind of unsolicited comfort in each bite of Keema Matar. Every region of India has its keema recipe with mutton, lamb, chicken, or beef minced meat.
It is undoubtedly one of my favourite Indian meat curries from the days when I could not even spell the word keema.
But finally after a lot of patience and practice, here is my authentic Punjabi-style mutton keema curry recipe with all the family secret tips which yields beyond gratifying results each time.
You have to wait for the right time to add salt, the bright colour of roasted onion gives you the signal of doneness, succulent juices of the meat to release, these were the secret mantras which were missing from our earlier attempts to make the perfect keema curry.
Meat Marination
Marination tenderises the meat and allow the flavours to penetrate deep within the layer of fat. I prefer doing it a day before or overnight.
For marinating the minced meat, you need:
- Salt
- Turmeric Powder
- Ginger Garlic Paste
- Plain Curd or Yogurt
- Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder
Combine minced meat, curd, salt, turmeric and chilli powder in a bowl. Mix nicely to coat meat with the marinade. Cover and keep in the refrigerator. Best overnight or atleast 30 minutes before making the curry.
Prep Work For Curry
Gather Ingredients: If using fresh peas, shell them and set aside. If using frozen peas , thaw them before use. Arrange all the spices, salt, and oil next to the cooking station.
Finely chop the red onions . You can use food processor for the task. It gives perfectly minced onion for making the curry.
Make Paste: Blend tomatoes, dried red chillies, ginger, and garlic to a smooth paste using 1 – 2 tablespoons of water.
Equipment: I use my stovetop pressure cooker to make this keema curry. But you can make it in instant pot pressure cook mode without any hassle. I have shared a detailed delicious recipe in my cookbook – The 100 Best Curries for your Instant Pot .
How To Make Qeema Curry
Fry Onion and Meat:
- Heat the mustard oil in a pressure cooker until it starts smoking.
- Add the whole spices. Sauté for 20 – 30 seconds until the spices become fragrant.
- Add the finely chopped onions and fry until they turn golden brown and caramelized, stirring at regular intervals. This may take about 8-10 minutes over low heat.
- Add the marinated minced meat. Increase the heat to medium-high and sauté the meat, breaking up any lumps with a spatula or spoon, until it’s evenly browned and cooked through. This takes 8 – 10 minutes.
- Soon you will notice that meat has started releasing its oil and juices.
Introduce the Tomato and Spices:
- Reduce the heat to low. Add tomato paste prepared earlier along with green peas, salt, and spices.
- Stir well to combine. Saute over low heat for 5 – 6 minutes.
Pressure Cook :
- Pour in about a cup of water, stirring to combine all the ingredients.
- Pressure Cook the keema curry over low heat for 2 whistles. Turn off the heat.
- Allow the steam to release naturally from the pressure cooker.
Simmer and Season :
- Add garam masala, green chillies and finely chopped coriander. Mix nicely.
- Allow the curry to simmer over medium-low heat for about 5 minutes, allowing the flavours to meld together. At this stage, add more salt or water as per the requirement.
Garnish the Keema Curry with fresh coriander leaves for a burst of freshness and aroma.
Serving Suggestion
Whether enjoyed as a weeknight dinner or served at festive gatherings, this keema recipe is sure to become a favourite.
Whether enjoyed with fluffy basmati rice, warm naan, or crispy parathas , Keema Matar Curry promises to delight your taste buds and transport you to the bustling streets of India. The morsel of soft and pillowy naan or tandoori roti dipped in a delicious keema curry bursts with flavours in the mouth.
You can serve Qeema with jeera rice , matar pulao , or any other Indian flatbread like roomali roti, or lachha paratha.
My Tried and True Tips
- Meat Selection: You can use your choice of minced meat for this recipe, such as beef, lamb, chicken, or even turkey. It is always best to use fresh mutton mince instead of frozen or ground meat to make keema curry. The taste and texture of the curry highly depend on the fibrous texture of the meat.
- Perfect Roasting: Allow the mutton mince to change the colour while roasting. When well roasted the meat will release a sweet aroma, juices, and oil/fat. It is not the whole spices or garam masala that gives flavour to the keema curry. The true flavour comes from the perfect roasting of the onion and the mutton mince.
- Do not add too much oil while frying the onions for keema curry. If well roasted the mutton mince will release fat of its own in the curry making it all the way more delicious.
- Do not cook meat for too long. After marination and roasting, it cooks easily.
- Vegetarian Option: To make a vegetarian version of this dish, you can substitute the minced meat with crumbled tofu or paneer (Indian cottage cheese).
- Make Ahead: Keema Matar Curry tastes even better the next day as the flavours have had time to develop. You can make a larger batch and store it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or freeze it for longer storage.
More Indian Curry Recipes
- Paneer Curry
- Prawn Masala
- Butter Chicken
- Creamy Egg Curry
- Indian Chicken Curry
- Mughlai Chicken Korma
- Chicken Chettinad Masala
Ingredients
- ▢ 1 kilogram mutton mince (keema)
Ingredients For Marinade:
- ▢ ¼ Cup plain curd or yoghurt
- ▢ 2 tablespoon ginger garlic paste ( see recipe )
- ▢ 1 teaspoon red chili powder
- ▢ 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
- ▢ 1 teaspoon cooking salt or to taste
Ingredients For Tomato Paste:
- ▢ 2 medium size tomato, diced fine chopped
- ▢ 6 garlic cloves
- ▢ 1 inch ginger, chopped
- ▢ 4 dried red chillies
Ingredients For Curry
- ▢ 4 tablespoon mustard oil
- ▢ 1 bay leaf
- ▢ 1 cinnamon stick
- ▢ 4 cloves (laung)
- ▢ 1 black cardamom (badi elaichi)
- ▢ 4 medium size red onion, finely chopped
- ▢ 1 Cup green peas, fresh or frozen
- ▢ 1 teaspoon Kashmiri red chilli powder
- ▢ 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- ▢ 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
- ▢ 1 teaspoon cooking salt or to taste
- ▢ 1 teaspoon garam masala ( see recipe here )
- ▢ 1 Cup water
- ▢ 2 green chillies, sliced
- ▢ handful of fresh coriander, chopped
Instructions
Marinade Meat
- Combine minced meat, curd, salt, turmeric and chilli powder in a bowl. Mix nicely to coat the meat with the marinade. Cover and keep in the refrigerator. Best overnight or at least 30 minutes before making the curry.
Prepare Tomato Paste
- Blend tomatoes, dried red chillies, ginger, and garlic to a smooth paste using 1 – 2 tablespoons of water.
Prepare Keema Curry
- Heat the mustard oil in a pressure cooker until it starts smoking. Add the whole spices. Sauté for 20 – 30 seconds until the spices become fragrant.
- Add the finely chopped onions and fry until they turn golden brown and caramelized, stirring at regular intervals. This may take about 8-10 minutes over low heat.
- Add the marinated minced meat. Increase the heat to medium-high and sauté the meat, breaking up any lumps with a spatula or spoon, until it’s evenly browned and cooked through. This takes 8 – 10 minutes.
- Soon you will notice that meat has started releasing its oil and juices.
- Reduce the heat to low. Add tomato paste prepared earlier along with green peas, salt, and spices. Stir well to combine. Saute over low heat for 5 – 6 minutes.
- Pour in about a cup of water, stirring to combine all the ingredients.
- Pressure Cook the keema curry over low heat for 2 whistles. Turn off the heat. Allow the steam to release naturally from the pressure cooker.
- Add garam masala, green chillies and finely chopped coriander. Mix nicely.
- Allow the curry to simmer over medium-low heat for about 5 minutes, allowing the flavours to meld together. At this stage, add more salt or lukewarm water as per the requirement.
- Garnish the Keema Curry with fresh coriander leaves for a burst of freshness and aroma.
- Serve Keema curry warm with Naan .
Recipe Notes:
- Instead of a pressure cooker/instant pot, you can make this keema curry in a slow cooker as well.
- Spice Level: Adjust the number of green chillies according to your preference for spiciness.
Nutrition
We follow a strict NO SPAM Policy
Keema Matar Recipe
Equipment
- Pressure Cooker
Ingredients
- 1 kilogram mutton mince (keema)
Ingredients For Marinade:
- ¼ Cup plain curd or yoghurt
- 2 tablespoon ginger garlic paste ( see recipe )
- 1 teaspoon red chili powder
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon cooking salt or to taste
Ingredients For Tomato Paste:
- 2 medium size tomato, diced fine chopped
- 6 garlic cloves
- 1 inch ginger, chopped
- 4 dried red chillies
Ingredients For Curry
- 4 tablespoon mustard oil
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 4 cloves (laung)
- 1 black cardamom (badi elaichi)
- 4 medium size red onion, finely chopped
- 1 Cup green peas, fresh or frozen
- 1 teaspoon Kashmiri red chilli powder
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon cooking salt or to taste
- 1 teaspoon garam masala ( see recipe here )
- 1 Cup water
- 2 green chillies, sliced
- handful of fresh coriander, chopped
Instructions
Marinade Meat
- Combine minced meat, curd, salt, turmeric and chilli powder in a bowl. Mix nicely to coat the meat with the marinade. Cover and keep in the refrigerator. Best overnight or at least 30 minutes before making the curry.
Prepare Tomato Paste
- Blend tomatoes, dried red chillies, ginger, and garlic to a smooth paste using 1 – 2 tablespoons of water.
Prepare Keema Curry
- Heat the mustard oil in a pressure cooker until it starts smoking. Add the whole spices. Sauté for 20 – 30 seconds until the spices become fragrant.
- Add the finely chopped onions and fry until they turn golden brown and caramelized, stirring at regular intervals. This may take about 8-10 minutes over low heat.
- Add the marinated minced meat. Increase the heat to medium-high and sauté the meat, breaking up any lumps with a spatula or spoon, until it’s evenly browned and cooked through. This takes 8 – 10 minutes.
- Soon you will notice that meat has started releasing its oil and juices.
- Reduce the heat to low. Add tomato paste prepared earlier along with green peas, salt, and spices. Stir well to combine. Saute over low heat for 5 – 6 minutes.
- Pour in about a cup of water, stirring to combine all the ingredients.
- Pressure Cook the keema curry over low heat for 2 whistles. Turn off the heat. Allow the steam to release naturally from the pressure cooker.
- Add garam masala, green chillies and finely chopped coriander. Mix nicely.
- Allow the curry to simmer over medium-low heat for about 5 minutes, allowing the flavours to meld together. At this stage, add more salt or lukewarm water as per the requirement.
- Garnish the Keema Curry with fresh coriander leaves for a burst of freshness and aroma.
- Serve Keema curry warm with Naan .
Notes
- Instead of a pressure cooker/instant pot, you can make this keema curry in a slow cooker as well.
- Spice Level: Adjust the number of green chillies according to your preference for spiciness.
Nutrition
If you are searching for a vegan fruit cake, then bookmark this summer-inspired peach cake recipe. Be sure to watch the video!
- Baking With Summer Fruits
- Ingredients Required
- The Cake Decoration
- Watch Peach Cake Video
- My Tried & True Tips
- Storage Suggestion
- More Eggless Cake Recipes
- Vegan Peach Cake Recipe
Baking With Summer Fruits
Baking with summer fruits is a ritual that I follow diligently. Whether it is my teatime strawberry cake , lemon pound cake , or the aromatic orange cake , each one is a favourite summer teatime.
Stone Fruits, otherwise known as the summer fruits such as mango, peach, and apricot, certainly live up to their reputation. They have juicy, fibrous, aromatic, sweet taste and texture, making them perfect for baking.
This summer, Fresh Peach Cake was on my mind even before the peaches started appearing in the market. This eggless cake has summer goodness written all over it. It has a delicate and delicious flavour of fresh peaches.
Ingredients Required
- Flour: Use all-purpose flour as it gives a delicate texture to the cake. You can use all-purpose flour and almond flour in a ratio of (1:1) .
- Granulated white sugar or vanilla sugar are perfect for this cake recipe.
- Peach : I have used fresh peaches. You can use canned peaches or peach puree as well. The same cake can be made with mango, strawberry, or apricot.
- Oil : Olive Oil gives a light texture and does not interfere with the flavour of the peaches. Coconut Oil is also a good choice for this peach cake recipe.
- Milk : For the tropical flavour, I use coconut milk. Regular dairy milk or almond milk also works for this cake batter.
- Other Essential Ingredients: Baking Powder, Baking Soda, Salt, Vanilla (Optional)
The Cake Decoration
There are many creative ways to decorate and serve a peach cake.
- You can dust the cake with icing sugar and top it with diced peaches for everyday family tea time.
- I have layered the cake with whipped cream, peach puree, and fresh peaches. And this combination turns out heavenly. And makes the cake perfect for simple celebrations at home.
- You can cover the peach cake in buttercream frosting if you are a professional baker.
Watch Peach Cake Video
My Tried & True Tips
- I use 6 inch round cake tin and then cut the cake into two layers for frosting. This batter is perfect for 6 – 7 inch cake or loaf tins.
- Ensure all ingredients are at room temperature before preparing the cake batter. Cold or chilled ingredients make the cake the opposite of light and fluffy.
- Adjust the amount of sugar according to the taste of the peaches. Usually, the canned peaches or the packaged puree are sweeter than the fresh peaches.
- In my 52 liter OTG, the cake takes 50 minutes in the middle rack. Make sure to bake the cake until the centers are set. Insert a toothpick in the center of the cake to test the doneness.
- Allow the cake to cool down for 10 minutes before inverting it into a wire rack. Do not frost or slice a warm cake. Wait for the cake to cool down completely.
Storage Suggestion
It is best to store fresh fruit cakes in the refrigerator. Especially if the cake is frosted.
In hot and humid tropical summer like India, the peach cake remains fresh for 4 – 5 days in the refrigerator. Make sure not to leave the non-frosted cake at room temperature for more than 24 hours.
More Eggless Cake Recipes
- Eggless Vanilla Sponge Cake
- Eggless Whole Wheat Cake
- Eggless Chocolate Cake
- Eggless Tutti Frutti Cake
- Eggless Semolina Cake
- Eggless Orange Cake
- Strawberry Cheesecake
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients:
- ▢ 2 Cup (240 gram) all-purpose flour (maida)
- ▢ 1 ½ Teaspoon baking powder
- ▢ ½ Teaspoon baking soda
- ▢ ¼ Teaspoon salt
- ▢ ½ Cup granulated white sugar
Wet Ingredients:
- ▢ 1 ¼ Cup fresh peaches
- ▢ ¼ Cup (60 ml) coconut milk
- ▢ ⅓ Cup (approx 80 ml) olive oil
- ▢ 1 Teaspoon vanilla extract
Ingredients For Cake Frosting:
- ▢ 2 Cup whipped cream
- ▢ 1 Cup peach puree or preserve
- ▢ 1 Cup peaches, diced
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 356°F (180° C). Grease a 6 inch round cake pan with a teaspoon of oil. Line the base of the tin with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Sift the flour, baking powder, soda, salt in a bowl and set aside.
- Combine 1 cup diced peaches with sugar. Blend to make a smooth puree. You can use 275 grams of readymade puree as well.
- Whisk together peach puree, coconut milk, olive oil, and vanilla for 5 – 6 minutes. You can use a hand mixer as well for the purpose.
- Now combine the sifted flour and wet ingredients. Cut and fold the batter to evenly combine. Make sure not to over mix the batter. If the batter seems too dry add 2 tablespoons coconut milk and fold it into the batter.
- Add remaining ¼ cup of peaches and gently fold them into the batter. Adding diced peaches is optional.
- Pour the batter evenly into the greased cake tin. Tap the tin once or twice gently on the kitchen counter to release the trapped air in the batter.
- Bake cake for 45 – 50 minutes or until the toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Once the cake is baked, allow it to cool in the cake tin for 10 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack. The peach cake is ready to serve.
Cake Frosting:
- Slice the cake into two equal halves. Spread 1 Cup of cream on top of the first layer of the cake. Drizzle peach puree or preserve. Place peaches on the cream and puree dollops. Cover this layer with the second layer of the cake. Repeat the same frosting process.
- Keep the frosted cake in the refrigerator for 10 – 15 minutes to set before serving.
Recipe Notes:
- Make sure to use the standard measuring cups, spoons, or a weighing scale rather than teacups.
- The baking time of the cake might slightly differ due to the oven size.
- Frosting the cake is optional. You can serve it without frosting as well with vanilla ice cream or clotted cream.
- Refer to the post above for detailed tips, and frequently asked questions that might help.
Nutrition
We follow a strict NO SPAM Policy
