Keema curry (keema matar) is a delicious Indian/Pakistani ground meat and pea curry. Easy to make, and with plenty of flavor, it's a great meal for any night of the week. It's also perfect for meal prep.
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Coming from the UK, Indian food was part and parcel of our food culture. In this case I say Indian to mean the whole subcontinent, as in many areas the majority were from Bangladesh or Pakistan.
In fact Indian food has become so common, some Indian dishes are these days considered British classics. Which is not necessarily so far from the truth, as some were indeed created by immigrants in the UK rather than being truly traditional dishes.
Where does keema curry originate?
This keema matar, however, while being a staple on restaurant menus in the UK and elsewhere, does indeed have Indian roots, apparently going back to the Mughul empire courts.
"Keema" means ground meat and "matar" are peas. If you think of keema curry as having potatoes, that is indeed another common variation, keema aloo.
Steps to make this easy meal
You can make this dish with pretty much any ground meat, with beef or lamb/mutton the most common. Here I have made it with ground beef which works really well. It's an easy dish to make and easy to spice up and down to taste.
All you do is sizzle the whole spices to get the flavors going, soften the onion then add in the spices. Brown the meat, add the tomato and peas then after a short cook it's ready to serve.
Keema curry is a great dish to make on any night of the week since it's both quick and easy, but it's also great for meal prepping. Just make a batch then have some with naan or other Indian breads, rice, or other Indian dishes on the side such as saag aloo. Some brinjal pickle (eggplant relish) would go well too. However you enjoy it, it's an easy way to ground meat that bit more interesting without too much work.
Try these other favorite Indian curries:
- Goan fish curry
- Lamb rogan josh (slow cooker)
- Paneer Makhani
- Plus get more Indian recipes in the archives.
I'd also recommend a couple Indian cookbooks which show the great diversity of Indian cooking (affiliate links) - Madhur Jaffrey's Indian Cooking and Floyd's India.
Keema curry (keema matar)
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 cardamon pods
- 1 onion (med-large, 1 ½ cups small dice)
- 1 tablespoon garlic finely diced
- 1 tablespoon ginger finely diced
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- ½ teaspoon chili powder or more to taste
- ⅛ teaspoon cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 lb ground beef 450g beef mince (can also use other ground meats eg turkey, lamb)
- 1 tomato finely diced
- 1 cup frozen peas 140g
- ¼ cup water 60ml
Instructions
- Warm the oil in a medium skillet/frying pan over a medium heat. Add the cinnamon stick and cardamon and let them sizzle a couple minutes. Add the onions and cook for around 5 minutes until softened but not browning.
- Stir in the garlic and ginger, cook a minute, then add the dried spices (coriander, turmeric, chili, cinnamon and cloves). Stir through to mix.
- Next, add the ground beef (or other ground meat) and brown all over, breaking up and stirring as you go. Add the tomato and stir through. Season with a little salt and pepper to taste. Cook around 5 minutes or so until the tomato appears cooked then add the peas and water. Cook a minute or two more then serve. Often traditionally served with Indian breads such as paratha, also works well with rice.
Nutrition
See some of my favorite cooking tools and ingredients in the Caroline's Cooking Amazon store.
Try these other ground beef dinner ideas:
- Easiest Greek Hamburgers by Positively Stacey
- Ground Beef and Vegetables over Garlic Seasoned Potatoes by Hot Eats and Cool Reads
- Low Carb Mini Mexican Meatza by My Life Cookbook
- Sweet Potato Crust Cheeseburger Pizza by Pies and Plots
- Taco Salad with Salsa Dressing by That Skinny Chick Can Bake
Remember to pin for later!
Barry
Good recipe to get the foundation of the dish. Found it a little bland buy easily fixed with some mild curry powder.
Caroline's Cooking
Sorry you found it a bit bland (though I think I mention I had tempered it a bit to allow kids to enjoy), but yes it's something you can easily adapt the seasonings to taste.
Jen
You have water in the recipe but it doesn't say where to add it - is it just at the end?
Caroline's Cooking
Apologies, have just updated - yes at the end with the peas.
Steven
Tasted bland...got to add salt to the ingredient list. Once I added some salt, it was much better. That made the dish perfect.
Caroline's Cooking
Glad you found an easy way to get it just right. How much you salt dishes is a bit of a personal taste, but a little can certainly help to bring out the flavors.
Christie
I love any kind of curry. I can't wait to try this one.
Caroline's Cooking
Me too, hope you enjoy!
Laura Dembowski
I am always looking for unique ways to use ground beef and was almost stumped when it came to this Sunday Supper. I can't wait to try the great spice mix in this dish!
Caroline's Cooking
I know what you mean, I am often lacking in creativity with ground beef but this one is definitely one to add to the list!
Denise
This is my kind of dish! I love that it uses ground meat as we always have some in the freezer. I think I'm going to try this recipe this week. Yum!
Caroline's Cooking
Thanks Denise, hope you enjoy!
Liz
Such a delicious, flavorful meal!!! Perfect for the ground beef in my freezer!
Caroline's Cooking
Thanks Liz, it is indeed!