Keema Masala

Keema masala is a rich and flavorful ground meat curry often served at indian dhabas. It is minced meat cooked in a buttery onion- tomato base with hot & tangy powdered spices and finished with heavy cream or milk.

It is one of the many keema recipes from the indian subcontinent. Keema Masala is easy to make and pairs great with parathas, naan or roti. You can make my recipe on stove top or instant pot or pressure cooker, I am including instructions for all these methods.

If you love to often cook goat or mutton, here are few of my favorite recipes like simple goat curry, easy keema pulao, rich and aromatic bhuna gosht & mutton korma recipes.

Scooping keema masala with piping hot tandoori roti at dhabas aka roadside diners is one of my favorite memory from the road trips in India. We used to go on many trips around Delhi and I looked forward to our dhaba meals.

Besides keema, dhaba style chicken curry, tandoori rotis used to be on our regular order. The smoky flavors of dhaba meals are one of a kind and hard to create at home, however in this recipe I do try to bring out those unbeatable flavors.

What is Keema? What is Keema made of?

In the Indian subcontinent, Keema refers to minced meat. Basically good quality meat finely chopped by hand or using meat grinders. In India, minced mutton is the most common and it is typically 100 percent mutton meat (there are no cheap cuts added while grinding). If you will purchase keema from the butchers, you may ask them to add suet(animal fat) while they grind the meat if your recipe calls for it.The added fat definitely bumps up the richness and flavor.

In indian subcontinent, Keema is used for making a variety of dishes like seekh kebabs, galouti kababs, koftas (meatballs), burger patties as well as a filling for naan or samosas.

About My Recipe

Here are a few notes about my Keema Masala recipe

• Since I do not get mutton here in the States, I use goat keema to make it. Goat keema is quite similar to mutton keema in taste as well in terms of being lean and works well. I usually purchase it from our middle eastern grocer who makes it using chunks of boneless goat. As you can see from the picture below, it is quite lean. Sometimes when I find 85/15 ground lamb, I use that too.
• Most dhaba style keema masala recipes use milk to finish the dish, however, I use heavy cream.

My Keema Curry recipe is :-

• Easy to make and great for meal prep. Make it over the weekend and you can use it in many ways throughout the week. See serving suggestions for few ideas.
• Gluten free
• Can be used for a variety of meats like lamb or beef or chicken.

Do read the sections below for my additional notes on how you are personalize this recipe.

Jump to:

• What is Keema? What is Keema made of?
• About My Recipe
• Ingredients
• Best Pot to Cook Keema
• How To Make Keema Masala (Cooking Steps)
• Keema Masala in an Instant Pot
• My Tips & Notes
• Variations You Can Try
• Serving Suggestions
• Storage
• FAQ
• Keema Masala (Dhaba Style)

Ingredients

Here are the ingredients you will need for this recipe

• Keema (Minced meat) -As I already mentioned, I used goat keema. You can use lamb mince or beef mince or ground turkey if you wish. Go for 85/15 or 90/10 (preferably) ground meat for this recipe. The method of cooking keema masala does not allow for separating fat during or after the meat has browned. If you are using chicken, I will divert you to my chicken keema recipe.
• Whole Spices - bay leaf, cumin seeds, cinnamon stick, cloves, mace, black cardamom. Skip whichever spices you don't have in your cabinet.
• Powdered Spices - coriander powder, kashmiri chilli (or paprika), red chili powder (or cayenne pepper powder), turmeric powder and garam masala powder .
• Vegetables - Onions, green bell pepper, tomatoes (I use both fresh tomatoes and canned tomato sauce), tomato paste will work too. We also need green chillies (I use thai bird's eye, you can use serrano or jalapeño) 
• Herbs- Cilantro & Mint
• Other Ingredients - Butter, Oil , Heavy Cream, Yogurt , salt, ginger paste, garlic paste. You can make ginger garlic paste at home by grinding equal quantities of ginger & garlic or its readily available in stores too.

Best Pot to Cook Keema

I was told that my grandfather, who was a great non vegetarian cook, used to say that the true taste and texture of keema comes through during the browning process.

If you going to cook keema start to finish on stove top like me, choose a heavy bottomed, shallow and wide pot (like a braiser with lid) for it. The meat should have space to sweat and fry. For this recipe, I use a 12 inch braiser for 1.5 pounds of keema.

Note:- If you are cooking just a pound of keema, dutch oven is fine to use. Anything over a pound, go for a wider pot in your kitchen.

To bring about the best taste of keema, the more we "bhuno" (the process of browning the mince) it , the flavorful it gets. When the cooking pot has a wide base, the moisture of the minced meat evaporates quickly(less chances of steaming) and the meat gets a chance to fry or brown evenly as compared to a deep pot (where it boils).

Secondly, a wide pot preserves the texture for there are less chances of the granules of minced meat getting smashed while you stir it during browning.

What to do if you want to use a Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker?

Not to worry. Brown the meat with onions- tomato base in the instant pot or pressure cooker before closing the lid to pressure cook it.

How To Make Keema Masala (Cooking Steps)

• Heat oil in a pan and temper with green chillies & whole spices.
• Add the chopped onions and brown on low medium heat. Takes 8-10 minutes, don't rush. Add the, ginger and garlic paste along with bell pepper next and cook for another 1 -2 minutes.

• Next add the cumin seeds & powdered spices along with 2 tablespoons of water. Saute the spices in oil to toast them.
• Chopped tomatoes & tomato sauce go in next along with a pinch of sugar. Cook for 5-6 minutes until the tomatoes are mushy and you see oil bubbles separating on the sides of the pan. Dont dry out the tomatoes too much.
• Add the keema next and using a spatula or wooden spoon, gently break it to mix with the onion tomato masala. Now let the meat brown on low heat. It takes good 10-12 minutes on low medium heat. Dont stir continuously. Avoid breaking the meat too much (unless you prefer so). We like large granules so I leave it alone.

Stages of Browning the meat

Stage1 :- Once the mince is added, at first you will see that in 3-4 minutes the meat starts to turns pale brown. You will also see a lot of water getting released from the ground meat and the meat will no longer be pink. Don't worry.

Stage 2 :- The meat will slowly start turning to deeper shade of brown and the liquid in the pan will start evaporating(lot of bubbles). Remember that browning will bring noticeable flavor to the keema so dont rush or skip this step.

Stage 3 :- The meat will be a glistening deep shade of brown and will smell wonderful! You will now see very little moisture in the pan(slow bubbles). Don't dry out the water in the pan completely. At this stage, if you taste the meat, it will be slightly chewy(but cooked through). This is the time to add water cover the lid and cook the meat for about 18-20 minutes to soften.

Tip:- The quality of minced meat differs from place to place so use you experience with the mince that you purchase/use to adjust the timings. The timing also depends on the kind of meat that you are using, for example ground turkey will brown faster than lamb or beef.

• Open the lid when the meat is completely cooked and soft. Add yogurt, heavy cream, ginger juliennes and garam masala. Stir around to mix. Cook for another 6-8 minutes. At this point, if needed you can adjust the consistency by adding water.

Note :- Dont add to much water. In my opinion, keema tastes best when it has a slurry consistency versus a soupy consistency.

• Rest for 30 minutes, garnish with chopped cilantro, chopped chillies etc and enjoy!

See recipe card for detailed instructions.

Keema Masala in an Instant Pot

Press SAUTE button in the Instant Pot.

Make the spiced onion tomato base as noted above.

Add the keema and brown it till most of the moisture has evaporated and the meat is glistening.

Add the water. Close the lid and press the PRESSURE COOK button. Set the timer to 8 minutes. Once the timer goes off, let the pressure release naturally.

To use a pressure cooker on stove top, cook for 5-6 whistles and let pressure release naturally.

Open the lid and press the SAUTE button again. Add the yogurt and heavy cream along with garam masala. Saute and simmer for 3-5 minutes. Garnish and serve.

My Tips & Notes

• Use premium quality keema for this recipe. I agree, fat = flavor, however ground meat with high fat content (80/20 or 70/30 or similar) is going to become too heavy and unappetizing in this preparation.
• If you are using frozen keema, thaw it completely before cooking.
• If you are adding vegetables to keema, blanch them slightly and then add at the time when you add yogurt.
• Dont use too many onions else the keema will become sweet.
• I go for (no salt or low salt) canned tomato sauce. In India, you can use tomato puree.

Variations You Can Try

1. Make Keema Kaleji - This is how I grew up eating keema. My grandfather made it a point to add a few pieces of mutton liver and kidneys to the keema. Absolutely delicious! You can also add a few round bone pieces if you wish- the bones add a ton of flavor!
2. Make Keema Biryani- Prepare the keema and layer it with 95% cooked rice in an oven proof dish or in a kadai with lid. Bake at 300F or 40 minutes(this mimicks dum cooking) or cook on stove top until rice is cooked through.
3. Add Vegetables like green peas, potatoes or cauliflower if you wish.
4. Use keema as a samosa or naan (flatbread) filling.
5. For a low carb dinner, try these keema bhari mirchein (Minced meat stuffed Peppers)
6. If you dont want to use butter and heavy cream, simply skip and cook the keema in oil.

Serving Suggestions

• In traditional Indian way, keema is served with any kind of flatbread like rotis, tandoori rotis, paratha or naan. Make sure to serve it with some sliced onions, lemon wedges and a generous scatter of chopped cilantro.
• Serve it with boiled eggs for a protein rich breakfast.
• Make Bun-Keema- Serve keema mumbai style with buttered laadi pav or dinner rolls.
• Make Keema Wraps - Add julienned vegetables of choice along with some green chutney and sprinkle of chaat masala.
• Make a dryish keema and use it as pizza topping or stuff inside store bought puff pastry to make keema puffs.

Storage

Keema masala stays well in the fridge for good 3-4 days. Store it in an air tight container and use a clean spoon to serve it.

Freezing - If you plan to freeze keema, dont make it too runny. Make it on the dryish side, cool down completely and freeze it portioned - either in freezer safe boxes or ziplock bags. It stays good for 1 month without losing taste. I use it within 3 weeks! Thaw it overnight or for at least 4-6 hours and reheat. While reheating you can adjust the consistency using a bit of warm water. Tip:- Add extra chopped herbs as a garnish to reheated keema to bump up the fresh flavor.

FAQ