I cook ground lamb and chicken often since they are low effort and easy to cook.Lamb Keema or Curried Ground Lamb is another of my goto recipes when I need to put together a meal on short notice. I prefer not to store ground meat for too many days in the fridge, I usually pick it up and cook it within a couple of days.

Serve with basmati rice, naan or bread rolls.

Ingredients

1 pound Ground Lamb
2 cups Diced Red Onions
1 cup Green Peas
1 cup Tomato Puree or diced Tomatoes
1/2 cup Chopped Cilantro
1 tbsp Ginger-garlic Paste
1 tbsp Olive Oil
1/2 tsp Cumin Seeds
2 Green Cardamom
2-3 Cloves
1 Bay Leaf
1″ piece of Cinnamon
2 tbsp Coriander Powder
1/2 tsp Kashmiri Red Chili Powder (optional)
1 tsp Garam Masala
1/2 tsp Dried Fenugreek Leaves (“Kasuri Methi”)
1 tsp Salt (adjust to taste)

Number of Servings (approximate): 4 cups

Preparation

In a bowl add the ground lamb and 1/2 cup water and mix well using a circular motion; add more water gradually if needed. The ground lamb should lose the stringy texture and become a paste and this prevents lumps from getting formed when you cook it.

Boil the peas on the stove or in a microwave for about 2 minutes until  tender, drain the water and put aside.

Cooking

Heat the oil in a nonstick pan, add the cumin, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and bay leaf to the oil.

When the cumin seeds start to sizzle, add the ginger-garlic paste and fry it for until it turns brown (about 1 minute).

Add the onions to the pan and fry for about 8-10 minutes on medium heat until they start to turn brown. Sprinkle a little salt on the onions to speed up the cooking. Time to brown will vary based on your heat source, pan, etc.

When the onions are translucent to lightly browned add the tomato puree, coriander powder, red chili powder and salt and mix well and cook the tomatoes which should take about 10 minutes. The tomato puree and onions become a thick paste with the onions indistinguishable and you’ll see the oil separating out of it.

Add the lamb.

Mix the lamb and the onion-tomato base well and continue cooking on medium for another 10-12 minutes stirring frequently. You’ll notice that stirring the lamb into the onion-tomato base is a little tough at first but within 2-3 minutes as the lamb starts cooking it becomes easy to stir it.

Cook the lamb on medium for about 20 minutes; when the lamb is cooked after about 10 minutes you’ll see a change in color. Add the green peas, mix them in and cook for another 5 minutes or until the peas are tender (check by squishing one of the peas with your spatula).

Add the garam masala, dried fenugreek leaves and finely chopped cilantro and mix well.

Lamb Keema is ready. Curry on!

 

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