lamb keema matar

Nearly restaurant keema matar with rice and chapati from above.

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5 from 9 votes

Keema matar a lamb curry you need to try.

Prep Time10

Cook Time20

Total Time30

Course: Main

Cuisine: Indian

Keyword: keema matar, lamb curry

Servings:

Calories: 444kcal

Author: romain | glebekitchen

Ingredients

The onion paste

2 cups onions - coarsely chopped
2 tbsp neutral oil - think canola, safflower, vegetable...
1 cup water

The keema

12 oz ground lamb
2 tbsp neutral oil
1 black cardamom - black is not the same as green. Just leave it out if you can't get it.
1 Indian bay leaf - called tej patta (optional but tasty if you can get it)
2 inch cassia bark - cinnamon bark
2 tsp garlic ginger paste - you can buy it but it is so much better if you make it yourself
1/2 tsp kasoori methi - aka fenugreek leaves
2 tsp madras curry powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt - use about half this much if you are using table salt
2 tsp tomato paste - diluted in about two tablespoons of water
2/3 cup water

spice mix

1 tsp cumin
2 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp mild kashmiri chili powder
1 tsp kasoor methi - dried fenugreek leaves
1 tsp kosher salt - use a bit less if you are using table salt

keema matar

12 oz lamb keema - the full amount of the recipe link below. You can take out the whole spices or not. Up to you.
4 tbsp the lamb fat thrown by the keema - make it up to 4 tbsp with neutral oil if you don't have enough from the lamb
2 tbsp garlic ginger paste - see notes
the spice mix from above
2 tbsp tomato paste plus enough water to dilute it to the consistency of tomato sauce
the onion paste from above
1 tsp tamarind paste homemade or store bought
1 cup peas

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Make the onion paste

Place the onions in a microwave safe dish and cover with cling wrap. Do yourself a favour. Punch a couple holes in the wrap to let the steam escape. Microwave at 70 percent until the onions are soft and translucent. This takes about 10 minutes in an 1100 watt microwave oven.
Remove the onions from the microwave. Be careful. They will be hot. Let them cool slightly.
Place the onions, 2 tbsp vegetable oil and 1 cup of warm water in a blender and puree until smooth. This is your onion paste.

Make the keema

Start your keema as soon as the onions go into the microwave.
Pre-heat your skillet over medium heat.
Add the oil. Once it starts to shimmer add the bay, cardamom if using and cassia bark. Cook until little bubbles form around the spices – about 30 seconds.
Add the garlic ginger paste. Cook until the sizzling stops. This should take less than a minute.
Reduce heat to medium low and stir in the kasoor methi, madras curry powder and salt. You want the spices and oil to be fully combined. Homogenous is a good way of thinking about it. Cook for around 30 seconds.
Turn the heat back up to medium. Add the diluted tomato paste. Stir to combine. Again homogenous is a good word. Cook for about 30 seconds.
Add the lamb. Break it up and cook until it no longer looks raw then add the water.
Continue to cook until the water has evaporated. This should take about 10 minutes.
While the lamb cooks use the time to finish making the the onion paste. Do your prep. Cook your peas. Measure out your spices. Dilute the tomato paste.
When all the water has evaporated remove the lamb from the pan and set aside. Keep the lamb fat in the pan. Lamb fat is delicious. Seriously.

Make keema matar

Cook the peas. If they are frozen microwave until warm. If they are fresh shelled peas, drop them into boiling salted water and cook until they turn bright green (probably a couple minutes if they are fresh). Check one. If you like them more done keep cooking until you get what you like.
In a small bowl, combine the cumin, coriander, turmeric, Kashmiri chili powder, kasoor methi and salt. This is your spice mix.
Heat the lamb fat you saved from the keema in a large skillet. If you don't have 4 tbsp add a bit of neutral oil.
Add the garlic ginger paste. Cook, stirring, until the garlic ginger paste stops spluttering. You'll see what I mean when you do it.
Turn the heat to medium low. Add the spice mix. Stir continuously until it starts to smell really good (about 30 seconds). This is called blooming the spices. It's a key Indian cooking technique. Watch it carefully. If it looks like it's sticking or burning lift the pan from the heat. If the spices burn you need to start over. No way around that.
Add the diluted tomato paste and stir to combine. Turn the heat up to medium. Cook for 1 minute.
Add half the onion paste and turn the heat up to medium high. Stir to combine. Cook for about a minute. Add the rest of the onion paste and stir again. Cook, stirring occasionally for about 4 minutes. Don't worry if it looks dry. You can add a bit of water at the end.
Turn the heat down to medium low. Stir in the tamarind paste. Cover and simmer for another 5 minutes. Add the pre-cooked keema. Simmer to heat the keema through. Add the peas. When the peas are warmed through you are good to go.
If the curry is a bit thick add a bit of water or chicken stock and stir. Taste for salt and adjust as needed.
Garnish with a of cilantro if desired.

Notes

Make your keema ahead of time and have it ready to go.

You can buy garlic ginger paste but it's easy to make and homemade is way better. Here's an easy recipe for garlic ginger paste. If you cook Indian fairly often it's so worth it to whip up a batch. It will keep for a few weeks in the fridge.

Nutrition