Keema Matar

A dish more people should know about.

2-4 servings
1 hour
Ethan Chlebowski

Ingredients

Spice base

  • Cooking oil
    a drizzle15 g
  • Mustard Seeds, whole or ground
    a spoonful5 g
  • Cumin, whole or ground
    a spoonful5 g
  • Black Peppercorns, whole or ground
    1/2 spoonful3 g
  • Turmeric powder
    a spoonful5 g
  • Chili Powder
    a spoonful5 g
  • Garam Masala
    a sprinkle2 g
  • Whole cloves, whole
    2-3
  • Bay Leaves
    1
  • Ground cinnamon, whole
    1/2 stick

Aromatics

  • Roma tomatoes, grated
    2-3
  • Onions, diced
    1/2
  • Garlic, grated or minced
    2 cloves
  • Fresh ginger, grated or minced
    a 1" knob
  • Green chilies, minced
    2-3
  • Salt
    a sprinkle

Beef base

  • Ground beef
    450 g2 parts
  • Water
    200 g1 part
  • Frozen peas
    200 g1 part
  • Lemon juice
    a squeeze
  • Salt
    a sprinkle
  • Garam Masala
    a sprinkle

For serving

  • Basmati Rice, cooked
    to preference
  • Cilantro, roughly chopped
    for garnish
  • Roti flatbreads
    to preference

Method

Step 1: Prep the spices & beef base

If your mustard seed, cumin seed, and peppercorns are whole, crush those down in a mortar and pestle or spice grinder.

  • Leave the cinnamon stick, cloves, & bay leaf whole to remove them at the end of cooking.

Grate (or finely dice) the tomatoes and set them aside.

Soften the ground beef: Add the ground beef to a bowl and mix in about 50% water. Mix the beef until it is smooth, moistened, and all the clumps are broken up. This will ensure no lumps and smooth, tender texture during cooking.

Step 2: Toast the spices & aromatics

Set a pan over medium heat, add a drizzle of oil, enough to cover the pan.

Once hot, add the cinnamon stick, cloves, bay leaf, ground peppercorns, mustard seed, and cumin. for 10-20 seconds until fragrant, being careful not to burn.

Add all the remaining aromatics except for the tomato and for a minute or two until they are softened and fragrant.

Step 3: Add the tomato & remaining spices

Stir in the remaining ground spices (chili powder, turmeric, and garam masala) along with another sprinkle of salt and cook for another 30 seconds.

Add the grated tomatoes and for 5 more minutes. If it looks dry or anything is threatening to burn, with a splash of water.

Step 4: Add the beef

Turn the heat to high, add the ground meat with another little sprinkle of salt, and break the meat apart while for about 8 to 10 minutes more or until cooked through and the mixture has thickened.

Step 5: Add the peas & finish

Turn the heat to low, toss in the peas, and stir in until they have just cooked through. Turn the heat off. Add the lemon juice and a final sprinkle of garam masala.

  • Taste it and adjust with salt, more lemon, or spices as needed.

Serve with rice or flatbreads (like roti). Garnish with fresh cilantro.

“Madhur Jaffrey describes keema as the first dish that Indian students abroad learn how to make to remind them of home. It's flat-out delicious and quite easy to cook once you have the spices. You can use ground beef or lamb for this recipe.”

Ethan Chlebowski
Creator

Watch & Cook

Nutritional Information

entire recipe
Calories2104
232g
108g
99g

Show macros split into…

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Recommended: 3 servings

FAQ

There's a lot of required spices...

Do your best with what you have. If you only have pre-ground versions of the spices, that is ok. The won't be as , so use a little bit extra. In the spice blend, turmeric, garam masala, and cumin are the most important to get the best aroma profile of this dish.