Keema mattar is so good. Try this today!
Whenever I want to make something easy and quick, keema mattar is always on my list. I have a long list of such recipes but today I decided to make my keema mattar recipe again. You can literally prepare and cook this keema mattar in 30 minutes if you're in a rush.
I recommend taking a bit more time though and letting the meat and all those aromatic ingredients stew for a while. You are going to love this one.
What is keema mattar?
Keema Matar is a popular Indian dish made with ground meat (keema), typically lamb or beef, and green peas (matar).
It's a flavorful and spiced dish often prepared with a combination of aromatic spices, tomatoes, onions, and sometimes yoghurt, but not in my recipe. The ground meat and peas are simmered in the spicy and rich gravy until cooked through, creating a delicious and hearty curry.
What do you serve with keema mattar?
This is a meaty curry that resembles bolognese sauce but tastes completely different. I just wanted to mention that as keema mattar is really good over pasta.
Traditionally, however keema mattar is serve over hot white Basmati rice or breads such as naans or chapattis. You can scoop it up at the table with the breads. No cutlery (silver ware) required!
What part of India is this keema mattar from?
India is huge and every area has their own take on keema mattar. This is the Punjabi version. I will be posting keema mattar recipes from other regions too so watch this space.
The South Indian version I tried in Kerala with coconut milk and grated coconut will be next!
Can you work ahead?
This really is a quick and easy one pot recipe. So there really isn't much to do except cook it. Of course you could prep your vegetables beforehand but if you're going to do that, you might as well cook it.
This keema mattar curry can be prepare about 3 days before serving. Place it covered in your fridge. As it sits in the fridge, the flavours will develop and it will be even better when it finally hits the table.
To reheat it, just pour it all into a pan over medium-high heat and heat it through. You could also place it in your microwave for a few minutes but I think you get better results with the pan method.
A note about the whole spices.
The whole spices are added to the keema mattar at the beginning of cooking. They continue to flavour the curry while it is cooking.
If you do not like serving curries with large pieces of whole spices in them, remember to count them in and then count them back out again. They usually rise to the top and are easy to find in the sauce.
Can you freeze the leftovers?
Yes you can! This curry freezes really well for up to 6 months. Some say it actually gets better when frozen. It's made with minced (ground) meat so there are no texture issues.
One thing I will say is that if you are making this curry to freeze for later, don't add the peas. You can add those when you defrost and reheat it for better presentation.
Which meat can you use in a keema mattar?
Any minced (ground) meat you like. I have made keema mattar with so many different meats. From turkey to chicken, Beef to venison and pork any minced meat can be used. If you have ground meat on hand and you are trying to find a good recipe to use it in, keema mattar is always a good choice.
Are there different variations of this recipe?
This is the base keema mattar and also the most popular version. You could, however get creative and add other ingredients. Popular ingredients to add to keema mattar are chickpeas, paneer and spinach.
Step by step photographs.
If you like this keema mattar recipe, you might like t0 try some of these too.
Beef Biryani
Chicken Biryani
Chickpea Biryani
Chicken Karahi
Lamb Korma
Shami Kebab
Aloo Gobi
Lamb Nihari
Chapli Kebabs
Lamb Seekh Kebabs
Staff Chicken Curry
Butter Chicken
Chicken Haleem
Tarka Dal
Pilau Rice
Chicken Tikka Masala
Grilled Lamb Chops
Lamb Tikka
Spicy Kashmiri Lamb Chops
Have you tried this keema mattar recipe?
If so, please give it a star rating in the comments below and leave a comment. I love receiving your feedback and I'm sure other readers of my blog do too. Thank you.
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Keema Mattar
Ingredients
- 500g (1 1/4 lbs) lean minced lamb
- 5 tbsp rapeseed (canola) oil
- 1 tbsp cumin seeds
- 5 cloves
- 2 black cardamom pods
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 inch cinnamon stick
- 2 onions, finely chopped
- 5 cloves garlic - mashed into a paste with a drop of water
- 1 inch ginger - mashed into a paste with a drop of water
- 3 green chillies - finely chopped
- 300ml (1 1/4 cup) chopped tomatoes
- 200g (1 cup) frozen or fresh peas
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 3 tbsp chopped coriander (cilantro) leaves
- Juice of one lemon
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Pour the oil into a large sauce pan and heat over medium heat.
- Add all the whole spices and allow to fry for about 40 seconds. Throw in the chopped onions a continue frying until the onion turns translucent and lightly browned.
- Stir in the garlic and ginger paste and fry for about 30 seconds. Then add the chopped green chillies followed by the chopped tomatoes. Stir well to combine.
- Add the minced lamb (or other minced meat) and stir it into the onion mixture in the pan. Then pour in about 250ml to 375ml (1 to 1 1/2 cups) water or stock.
- Cover the pan and simmer for about 20 minutes. If you are in a rush, just simmer it without the lid but a longer simmering time will produce tastier results.
- After 20 minutes, remove the lid and continue simmering until you are happy with the consistency of the sauce. This curry can be served quite dry or with more sauce so it's really up to you.
- Add the garam masala and half of the chopped coriander leaves and stir them in with the peas. Continue to cook until the peas are heated/cooked through.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste, squeeze the lemon juice over the top and serve hot.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 197Total Fat: 4gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 14mgSodium: 73mgCarbohydrates: 11gFiber: 3gSugar: 4gProtein: 6g
JohnC says
As with all the best curry recipes I've found, this one's simple. It's also going to be the next curry I cook. Fast enough even for a school night!
Dan Toombs says
Thanks for that John. Let me know how you like it. My kids love this recipe!
Joanna Paterson says
I just wanted to tell you after making the lamb samosa recipe for a dinner on my daughters 30th how popular they were, unfortunately made a hash of your pastry so wasted some of the mince or there would have been more samosas for the demand, I used some filo pastry after the other didn't turn out so good.
I am going to make kheema mattar today as it sounds fab.
And hopefully more of the fantastic looking receipes you have another day.
Jo x
Dan Toombs says
Hi Jo
That's great. I'm really glad they were a success even if a few didn't turn out. I've been there a few times. LOL.
Thanks for stopping by.
Dan
Peter says
I've made this a couple of times, and just love it!
Some suggestions:
- I remove and use the seeds from the black cardamom pods and discard the shells.
- Add 2 fresh pureed plum tomatoes, reduce the tomato paste and water
- the Tablespoon of salt is a bit much- I reduce that to a heaping teaspoon
- be generous with the peas 🙂
Thanks Dan, a great recipe
Dan Toombs says
Hi Peter
Thanks for the tips and I'm glad you like the recipe. I agree about the salt. I think I should reduce that a bit.
Cheers,
Dan
Jonny Morris says
Hi Dan, thanks for the great recipe. Is this mince suitable for the BIR dish; Murghi Massalam or as it's sometimes called Nawabi Chicken which mixes minced meat (lamb) with cubes of tandoori chicken? The latter is not the same as Keema Chicken. Regards and thanks Jonny
Dan Toombs says
Hi Jonny
There are better combos and preparations for that curry but this will certainly work! Go for it. 🙂
Dan
Jayne says
Making this again as it was delish last time. Need to have a look through more of your recipes. As good as a takeaway 😊😊
Dan Toombs says
Thank you very much Jayne. I'm really glad you like it.
Dan
Carol Haslam says
Hi I just to live in Manchester werethere was a curry sop ok stretdord rd Hulme use to go back in the days with our bib bowl for curry can anyone remember the name thanks
Carol Haslam says
Curry sauce in the 60s used to buy at the curry in a bowl to take home anybody remembers this
Jehni says
Great recipe, thank you! I make keema curry a lot but was after something a bit more authentic that used the original whole spices. I veganised it really easily by swapping the lamb mince for TVP but I reckon you could use lentils just as well. Also added a can of tomatoes (as my original keema recipie always used fresh or canned tomatoes) added some corriander and turmeric powder and a bit less salt as others have mentioned and it was brilliant. Thanks for sharing!
Luke says
Really impressed with this dish. I've tried lots of different Indian dishes and this is up there with one of my favourites. Fairly simply, but full of flavour.
Dan Toombs says
Thank you very much, I am really glad you enjoyed the recipe.
Dan
Faye says
My kids loved it as much as yours!! Thumbs up! 👍
Dan Toombs says
Great, really good your kids enjoyed it!
Thanks
Dan