Keema Matar (Indian Spiced Minced Meat and Pea Curry)
Quick answer
- Total time
- 45 min
- Level
- Easy
- Servings
- 4 servings
- Ingredients
- 9
About this dish
Keema matar is a North Indian curry of seasoned minced meat and green peas cooked down into a thick, almost dry gravy.
Read more
Onions are fried until deep golden to form a sweet, caramelized base, followed by garlic and ginger that release their sharpness into the fat. Ground lamb or beef is added and stirred continuously to break up clumps before the spices go in. Turmeric, cumin, garam masala, and chili powder build the spice profile, while diced tomatoes provide acidity and moisture that allow the spices to cook through without scorching. Green peas are added near the end of cooking so they retain a pop of texture and natural sweetness. Because the finished dish is relatively dry with little sauce, it clings well to flatbreads such as naan or chapati and also works as a topping over plain steamed rice. The whole preparation takes under forty-five minutes with minimal knife work, making it one of the more practical Indian curries for weeknight cooking. Blooming the cumin in hot oil at the start, using the tadka technique, deepens the aroma significantly and lifts the overall flavor of the dish.
Ingredients
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Instructions
Read the steps as a cooking flow: prep, heat, seasoning, doneness control, and finish.
- 1Step
Finely dice 1 onion and 2 tomatoes, then mince 4 garlic cloves and 1 tbsp ginger.
Keep 150g green peas ready beside the stove so they can go in quickly near the end.
- 2Finish
Heat a wide pan over medium-high heat and add 500g ground lamb, pressing apart the clumps with a spatula.
When no raw pink remains and fat has rendered into the pan, move the meat to a plate.
- 3Control
Add the onion to the rendered lamb fat and cook over medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring often until deep brown.
Add the garlic and ginger for 1 minute, then return the lamb.
- 4Control
Add 0.5 tsp turmeric powder, 1 tsp ground cumin, and 1 tsp garam masala.
Stir constantly over medium heat for 1 minute so the spices coat the meat evenly without catching on the bottom.
- 5Control
Add the diced tomatoes and simmer over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes.
Lower the heat before the bottom dries out and stir often until the tomatoes collapse fully into the meat.
- 6Heat
Stir in 150g green peas and cook for about 5 minutes more.
Turn off the heat when the peas are heated through, little liquid remains, and the meat holds together moistly.
Practical Cooking Checks
The cues that matter most while cooking.
- Key technique
- Cumin bloomed in oil before any other ingredient enters the pan gives Keema Matar its aromatic dry-curry base.
- Finish cue
- Stir constantly over medium heat for 1 minute so the spices coat the meat evenly without catching on the bottom.
Cooking decision evidence
Calculated Charim data and applicable official cooking and food safety guidance.
This recipe
45min, 9 ingredients
Category median
48min, 8 ingredients
Based on 247 recipes
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