Keema is simply minced meat, and the word is a traveller — क़ीमा in Hindi, قیمہ in Urdu, kıyma in Turkish, kimás in Greek — carried along the same trade and conquest routes as the dish itself, which the Mughals brought to the plains from Persia. Keema matar is its everyday form: lamb or mutton mince cooked down with green peas in an onion-tomato masala, a winter dish in Punjab and Delhi when the fresh peas come in. The whole thing turns on roasting — the mince and onions fried together until they let go of their own fat and the colour deepens to brown, the point at which a Punjabi cook knows the keema is done; whole spices and garam masala matter less than that patient bhuna. The same mince, drier, fills a samosa or tops a keema-pav. This version follows Hina Gujral, who set down her family’s Punjabi-style mutton keema on her site Fun Food Frolic — an English-language record of a recipe carried down at home.
INGREDIENTS
- 600 g lamb or mutton mince (about 20% fat)
- 1 cup green peas (fresh or frozen)
- 4 tbsp ghee or neutral oil
- 2 medium onions (finely chopped)
- 1 tbsp ginger paste
- 1 tbsp garlic paste
- 3 medium tomatoes (puréed)
- 3 tbsp plain yogurt (whisked)
- 1 tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder
- 1 tsp red chilli powder (adjust to taste)
- 1½ tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp turmeric
- 4 green cardamom pods
- 4 cloves
- 1 small cinnamon stick
- 2 bay leaves
- 1½ tsp salt (plus more to taste)
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 2 green chillies (slit)
- 1 inch ginger (julienned, to finish)
- chopped coriander (to serve)
METHOD
- Warm the ghee in a heavy pan and fry the cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and bay leaves for a few seconds until they sputter.
- Add the onions and fry over medium-high heat until deep golden, 10–12 minutes.
- Stir in the ginger and garlic pastes and cook for a minute, then add the mince, breaking up any lumps, and fry on high heat until it browns and the moisture dries off, 8–10 minutes.
- Add the puréed tomato, yogurt, Kashmiri chilli, red chilli, coriander, cumin, turmeric and salt, and fry this masala down with the meat until the fat separates and pools, 12–15 minutes.
- Pour in about 200ml hot water, cover, and simmer on low until the mince is tender, 15–20 minutes.
- Stir in the peas and cook, uncovered, for another 5–7 minutes until they are just done and the keema is nearly dry.
- Stir through the garam masala and slit green chillies, and check the salt.
- Finish with julienned ginger and coriander, and serve with roti, paratha or jeera rice.
