Whenever I cook minced lamb, goat or chicken,we look forward to the leftovers more than ever. Having leftovers of such dishes is utterly comforting for the next couple of days, simply because the ways to eat them are plenty - garnish with lots of fresh herbs and tuck them inside rotis (flatbreads) or tortillas with pickled onions, stuff between buns or simply turn them into quesadillas.
This may well be the kind of dish which shouts home to me.The scent of spices and mince meat cooking together comes close to nothing. It is the kind of food which compels me to spend long hours in the kitchen, till I smell the exact aroma which I remember from my mom's kitchen.Hearty, satisfying and with delicate flavors - at the end of cooking, it is so rewarding (especially with the leftovers).Anything with minced meat is so welcoming in itself, potatoes just make it better. The central pleasure for me here are those-earthy, creamy & dense - purely alleviating the entire experience.
'Keema' translates to any kind of minced meat in hindi. Aloo is potatoes.Hence the name. You can make its dryish or soupy curry - slow cooked with all the spices. Tari vala keema is soupy keema curry which my kids love with pan(dinner rolls)
The list of spices is long but these are your everyday ones.It may look like a long method but the actual work isn't much. Ofcourse, the oily keema is an indulgence reserved for once in a while. I make this recipe quite a lot during winter months.
Ingredients
- 1 lb minced lamb/beef/chicken (I used 80-20 lamb)
- 2 medium potatoes, cubed
- 7 tablespoon mustard oil (substitute with canola/vegetable, reduce the quantity to ¼ cup if you wish)
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 black cardamom pods
- 1 little piece of nutmeg
- 3-4 dried red chillies
- 2 " cinnamon stick
- ¾ cup chopped onion
- 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 2" fresh ginger shoot, finely chopped
- 1cup chopped tomatoes
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
- 3 teaspoon kashmiri chili powder (adjust to tolerance)
- 1 teaspoon red chilli flakes
- 3 tablespoon plain yogurt
- 1-2 cups water (depending on how you like the consistency)
- salt to taste
- To garnish - chopped cilantro
Coarsely grind together:-
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 2 teaspoon coriander seeds
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorns (adjust to tolerance)
- 4 cloves
- ¼ teaspoon fennel seeds
Method
- In a cooking pot with lid,on high, heat up the oil till you see ripples on the surface and it smokes slightly.
- Reduce the heat to medium.Temper the oil with bay leaf ,cinnamon stick, black cardamom pods, nutmeg and dried chillies. Saute whole spices for 10-15 seconds. Add the onions next.Cook the onions till they turn light brown.About 3-5 minutes.
- Add the garlic & ginger next and saute for about 1 minute till you smell the aroma.
- Next, add the coarsely ground spices to the pot.Toast the spices for another minute.
- Add the chopped tomatoes next along with turmeric, kashmiri red chilli powder and chilli flakes.Cook for 3-5 minutes or till you see oil separating on sides of the pan.Add the minced meat next, break down with mixing spoon and mix together with spices. Reduce heat to low and cover the pot.Let cook covered for 10-15 minutes till you see that the water of the mince has nicely separated.
- Open the lid and turn heat to high and saute with a spoon for about 8-10 minutes on medium heat. The color of the meat will start to deepen and we want to bhuno it (to give it a smoky flavor).Do not worry, everything is going as per plan.
- Once 90 percent of the water has evaporated, reduce the heat to lowest, wait for 1-2 minutes and add yogurt and salt to the pot. Keep mixing continuously else the yogurt will curdle. The meat will again get watery but keep sautéing for another 10-12 minutes until you see fat from the yogurt separating.
- Once most of the water has evaporated again, add 1.5 - 2 cups water along with potatoes and check and adjust the salt. Turn the heat to the medium low cover the pot with lid and let simmer for about 18-20 minutes until potatoes are fork tender.
Note : The cooking time will vary if you are using beef or chicken. Also, do not add too much water at the beginning because ground meats leave moisture as they cook.Add water at intervals as per the consistency you want.At the end of about 20 minutes of cooking you will see that oil separating from and change in color of the ground meat. Check that the potatoes are cooked through at this point.
- Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve warm with flatbreads, rice, pav etc & salad.
akila
very yummy n delicious...
Sublime Palate
Mutton's gotta be my favorite! Prefer that to chicken any day:) One of my friend's Mom made aaloo mutton curry about 6-7 years ago and ever since I've been a huge fan of the keema curry! The mustard oil does magic to mutton 🙂 Beautiful shots! It's tough to make brown food like mutton look good and you did such a great job!:)
Eha
Thanks for the recipe which, I know, tastes so moreish and yet basically uses staples in the pantry! I love lamb too, or mutton even better, if one can get it! Great that you do give variants for different ingredients - especially if one lives semi-rurally the way I do, everything is not always at hand!! I agree about your photography: it's difficult to make mince appealing: you have!!
Sayantani
hi Tanvi, how are you? this is great looking curry. everyone in my family would choose mutton over chicken on any day and the fact that these are seldom made these days makes it more desirable. the clicks are awesome as always.
Spandana
Coincidence that even my last post was kheema.
Loved your version with potatoes.
I agree that indian food sometimes is not so photogenic :), but your pictures are gorgeous.
Nami | Just One Cookbook
If my memory is correct.. did you have similar recipe with some kind of meat and potatoes before? I remember liking it (sorry after becoming mom, my memory is horrible!!!). Oh your photos are absolutely gorgeous! You bring in nice colors and I always look forward to your post.
Tanvi
Nami, Yup..I did a mutton & potatoes curry few weeks back.
dassana
your meat & chicken posts always remind me of my home not to forget the facts that i have also cooked aloo keema for my parents many times. mince & potatoes are a great combo. in fact even in the mutton or chicken curries my mom makes, she adds potatoes.
loved the rustic feeling in all your photograph, especially the photo with the spice jars in the background.
[email protected]'s Recipes
Hearty and delicious! Gorgeous photos.
Asiya @ Chocolate and Chillies
Love aloo kheema but am not very good at making it..must give your recipe a try! The pictures are mouthwatering!
chinmayie @ love food eat
I am thinking fo trying his recipe with soy nuggets or granules... Will let you know how it turns out 🙂
Rosa Mayland
A scrumptious dish and combination! Really comforting and flavorful.
Cheers,
Rosa
Ilke
This tells me "home" as well. I love simple comfort food. And how long did it take you to mince it that small ? :))
Tanvi
He he .. Do you really think I minced at home? Nah! It's store bought. On second thoughts, I really wish I cud get hand minced meat here ..just the way we get back in India 😉
Kankana
Your keema pulao recipe is still a hit at home and I know I am gonna love this too!
Reem | Simplyreem.com
Ok either u move to OC or I am moving to vegas..
This is home, this is deliciousness... I have to show this to my hubby!!
scribbleofhappygoluckygal
it seems to b so perfect for coming ramdan..gonna try for sure:):)
TasteFood
This sounds like wonderful comfort food. Lovely photos.
Savory Simple
This looks SO incredible. All of the spices just sound wonderful together. And the photos are beautiful.
lakshmilovestoshop
Yum...I've never made my keema with potatoes in it before..will try immediately!
Wahida
Hi..love your recipes,thanks alot for sharing.I actually clicked for the Keema Maatar recipe but it keeps bringing me to the keema and potatoes,Im wondering if its a mistake on my end or yours.Anyway would love to have that recipe please 🙂
Tanvi
Thanks Wahida for trying out my recipes & letting me know. Here's the link to keema matar recipe. I have made it with lamb mince but you can substitute ground mutton.The cooking time should be roughly about the same.
https://sinfullyspicy.com/2011/03/12/ground-lamb-amp-peas-with-spices/
Tamra
I was looking for the lamb with peas recipe, whdn I click on it,
the one with potatoes comes up, is it the same base, just diffrent bhaji?
Tanvi
This is the keema matar recipe.
https://sinfullyspicy.com/2011/03/12/ground-lamb-amp-peas-with-spices/
Chowringhee
A perfect and healthy dish when hungry. I tried this recipe today... It came out very well...
Jan Scherders
hi Tanvi
I think you changed the recipe ? In the ingredients list you say black cardamom and in the cooking instructions you say green cardamom. What should I use? You add dried red chilies and red chili flakes. Is it possible to simplify and use either the dried chilies or the red flakes ?
Tanvi
Hi Jan, thanks for pointing it out. I corrected it. yes I changed the recipe a little bit. I realized that the dried chilies in the paste weren't giving that much heat(that why the chili flakes) or color(so additional kashmiri chili powder) to the gravy/sauce.
Jan Scherders
Thanks. But I think you still have to remove the dried red chillies from your ingredient list ;).
Tanvi
Hi Jan! If I have to take something out, it would be the red chili powder. I think maybe I can increase the number of dried chilies and eliminate those 🙂 Let me work on the recipe a little more!
Jan Scherders
I made the dish with the dried red chillies, the kashmiri chili powder (3 tsp) and left out the teaspoon red chili flakes. For me the heat and color were fine with this. I only struggle to get the potatoes cooked (I did cut them in small cubes)