Keema is a classic Indian beef dish, and is often served with rice or naan. Its delicious and also very quick to make. About 20 minutes all in!

Because the onions are chopped very finely and the mince is ground, all the flavours and spices are able to mingle together really nicely. What I really appreciate about this dish is that its very simple and quick, but tastes really good. It basically tastes like it should have been trickier and taken longer to make! A very delicious way of transforming ‘plain’ beef mince into something amazing!

Indian Keema

Ingredients

3 tbsp oil (sunflower or coconut)
1 onion, finely diced
5 tsp ginger, grated
6 cloves garlic, minced
700g beef mince
3/4 tsp salt
2 tsp garam masala
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp coriander
3/4 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 1/4 cup water
Frozen peas, thawed (optional)

Method

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet or saucepan over a medium heat. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for 2-3 min until fragrant and beginning to brown.
2. Add the onion and cook for another 2 min. Add the mince to the pan, turn the heat up to high, and break the meat up with a spoon. Stir until all the mince is evenly browned.
3. Now add all the spices and seasoning, stir to coat the meat in everything and continue to cook until the mince is cooked through and no longer pink on the inside.
4. Add the water and turn down the temperature slightly. Cover the pan with a lid and cook for another 5 min. Stir in the peas and cook for another couple of minutes. Taste and season with a little more salt, if needed.
5. Serve with cucumber raita, extra peas and basmati rice.

Cucumber raita:

1 medium cucumber (3/4 long cucumber), finely diced
3-4 heaping tbsp yoghurt
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
Pinch of salt

1. Halve the cucumber, cut out the majority of the seeds and finely chop. Combine in a bowl with yoghurt, sugar, salt, cumin and lemon juice. Chill until ready to eat.