We love a good curry and this keema curry is ready in under 30 minutes! Using minced beef for a relatively inexpensive curry that has a hearty meaty, flavour. It has subtle sweet pops from the peas that complement the aromatic spices beautifully and a heat level you can adapt to suit everyones tastes.
This minced beef curry is sure to be a winner with the family!
The translation of Keema means ‘minced meat or ground meat’.
A traditional Indian keema curry in India would be made with minced lamb or mutton. In quite a few British Indian restaurants you’ll find it using minced beef and that’s what I like to use.
📋 What do we need?
You can swap the minced beef out with minced lamb for a more traditional keema curry if you prefer.
Spiciness:
I like to use a fairly spicy Madras curry powder for this curry as I think it gives a nice heat level and a good depth of flavour, but you can swap it out for a milder variety or your favourite curry powder.
You could also add 1/2 a tsp of chilli powder or a chopped fresh chilli if you like it really spicy, just be careful not to overpower the flavour of the mince.
📺 Watch how to make it
Full keema recipe with detailed steps in the recipe card at the end of this post.
- First of all, we’re going to fry the minced (ground) beef with salt, pepper and cumin until golden brown.
- Remove the beef from the pan with a slotted spoon leaving behind the fat.
- Now we’re going to saute the onions before adding the spices along with garlic, ginger and tomato puree (paste).
- Add in tinned tomatoes then add the cooked mince back into the pan before simmering for 5-6 minutes to thicken the curry.
- Add in some frozen peas for the last couple of minutes
- Then serve on some rice and top it all off with some fresh coriander (cilantro).
👩🍳PRO TIP I like to use ’12-15% fat’ minced beef for this recipe. 20% fat is a little oily and 5% fat can result in a curry that’s a little too dry. If you do use a leaner mince then I would recommend adding in a couple of extra teaspoons of oil or ghee when frying the mince.
The frozen green peas add a lovely sweetness to the dish and complement the minced beef and aromatic spices really well.
🍽️ What to serve it with
I love to serve this keema curry up with some boiled basmati rice, a toasted chapati, mango chutney, and garnish with chunky pieces of tomato and cucumber.
You could also serve this with a dollop of fresh yogurt, garlic naan bread, paratha or roti, or how about going the whole hog and serving it up with a side of Garlic Coriander Potatoes or Saag Aloo.
This minced beef curry is actually one of my husband Chris’s recipes, and if you’ve been following me for a while you’ll know he’s also a keen cook and I love it when he gets in the kitchen and cooks me something delicious.
His Chilli Con Carne is a popular dish in our house (and with our readers), he always makes a big batch so we have extra portions in the freezer.
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Easy Keema Curry Recipe
Ingredients
- 500 g (1.1lb) minced deef (ground beef)*
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp ghee (or neautral oil)
- 1 onion (diced)
- 3 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 tsp minced ginger
- 1 tbsp tomato puree (paste in the US)
- 2 tbsp curry powder (see notes)
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 400 g (14 oz) tinned chopped tomatoes
- 200 ml (7 fl oz) water
- 140 g (1 cup) frozen peas
To Serve
- 2 tbsp fresh coriander (cilantro) (chopped)
- boiled rice
Instructions
- Heat a large frying pan over a high heat.
- Fry the minced beef in the frying pan along with the salt, pepper and cumin, breaking up the larger chunks of the mince until its completely browned all over. This should take about 5 minutes.500 g (1.1lb) minced deef, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp ground black pepper, 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- Remove the cooked mince (keema) from the frying pan with a slotted spoon, leaving the oil behind and place in a bowl for later.
- Turn the heat down to medium and add in 1 tsp of the ghee (or oil) to the pan.
- Add the diced onion to the frying pan. Cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion starts to soften.1 onion
- Add in the minced garlic, minced ginger, tomato puree, curry powder, garam masala and ground coriander to the pan and fry for a minute stirring continuously until the spices start to release their fragrance.3 cloves garlic, 1 tsp minced ginger, 1 tbsp tomato puree (paste in the US), 2 tbsp curry powder, 1 tsp garam masala, 1 tsp ground coriander
- Next in goes the tinned tomatoes and water, stir everything together, and bring to a gentle simmer.400 g (14 oz) tinned chopped tomatoes, 200 ml (7 fl oz) water
- Add in the cooked mince (keema), stir again and allow to simmer for 5-6 minutes
- Now add in the frozen peas, stir again and cook for another 2 minutes to heat through the peas.140 g (1 cup) frozen peas
- Serve with some fresh corinader along with boiled rice, mango chutney and your favourite naan bread or chapati.2 tbsp fresh coriander (cilantro), boiled rice
Video
Notes
Mince
I like to use 12-15% mince beef for this but you can use a leaner mince if you prefer. If you do use a leaner mince then I would recommend adding in a couple of tsp of oil or ghee when frying the mince.Curry Powder
I like to use a fairly spicy Madras curry powder for this but you can use your favourite curry powder to suit your spice levels. If you like it a bit spicer then add in some chilli powder too. Nutritional information is estimated per portion excluding the serving suggestions.Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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It says save the oil that comes from cooking the mince for later but doesn’t say why
Nice!
Hi,Nicky, compliments to Chris as I have just made this for a quick tea and must admit it was delicious, added a bit of chilli as we like a bit of heat and it was a winner all round
Thank you (and Chris)
I hate peas, unless they’re fresh out of the garden. What a good substitute, as the recipe looks really good.
I think chickpeas could work well…. I guess you could just leave the peas out.