Aloo Keema Recipe: Ground Meat and Potato Curry
This post may contain affiliate links. Please check our disclosure policy.
Aloo Keema is a Pakistani ground meat and potato curry you’ll make on repeat. Rich, spiced, and ready in under an hour, and it pairs perfectly with roti, naan, or basmati rice.
Aloo Keema
This Aloo Kema is heartwarming and delicious, with well-balanced spice. It’s so easy to make that it’s a perfect menu item for your busy midweek.
This Pakistani ground meat and potato curry has been a staple on home tables for generations. Not because it’s complicated, but because it isn’t. One pan. Affordable ingredients. Deep, layered flavor from whole spices that do most of the work for you.
What makes it stand out is the contrast: tender potatoes soaking up a spiced, savory meat sauce built from pantry basics such as cumin, coriander, turmeric, and garam masala, all of which come together fast. Whether you serve it scooped into warm roti, spooned over basmati rice, or stuffed into pitta, every combination works. This is simple, practical cooking that delivers every single time.
Therefore, it’s an ideal menu to make when you don’t have time or energy to cook, like during a busy midweek.
What Type of Ground Meat
So, the recipe I’m sharing here is the Pakistani way that I learned from my sister-in-law. But I tweaked the recipe slightly without compromising the taste.
First things first.
When it comes to keema, you can choose any red meat. Because the name Aloo Keema almost always refers to red meat.
Having said that, though, you can also use ground chicken, and you can check my chicken keema curry if that interests you.
So you can choose beef, lamb, or mutton. As long as the meat is minced and ground, you’re all good.
Here, I use paprika powder as well as chili powder. This way, the dish won’t be too hot, and it will have a brighter color.
You can use chili powder or dried red chili flakes for the chili. If you choose chili powder, I suggest using Kashmiri red chili powder, which is well known for its flavor and vibrant color.
When it comes to meat, you can cook with ground beef or lamb mince. I prefer the lamb. But it’s your personal choice.
For the potatoes, waxy types such as Charlotte potatoes, new potatoes, or Jersey Royals are best because they keep their shape and don’t break or go mushy in the dish.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe:
- It’s a true one-pan meal. Everything from browning the meat, building the masala, and simmering the potatoes all happens in a single heavy-bottomed pan. Less mess, less clean-up, no juggling multiple pots.
- The spice list is short but precise. Cumin seeds, coriander powder, turmeric, chili, and garam masala. These are standard pantry staples in most South Asian or well-stocked kitchens, and they create a flavor base that tastes as if it were cooked for hours, although it wasn’t.
- Ground meat speeds everything up. Unlike bone-in curries that need long braising times, minced lamb or beef cooks fast and absorbs the masala deeply. You can have this on the table in about 40–45 minutes from start to finish.
- The potatoes are doing a lot. They’re not just filler. The waxy potatoes, cut into chunks, absorb the spiced oil and meat juices as they cook down, becoming soft and intensely flavored throughout. Don’t skip them or swap for a different size; the chunk size matters for texture.
- It scales effortlessly. Cooking for two or feeding eight? The ratios hold. Double the batch, freeze half in portions, and you have a ready meal that reheats beautifully without losing flavor or texture.
- It works with multiple proteins. Traditional Aloo Keema uses lamb mince, but beef mince, or even chicken mince for a lighter version, works just as well. The spice base is forgiving across all three.
- No special equipment needed. A wooden spoon, a decent knife, a heavy pan — that’s genuinely it. No food processor, no blender, no fancy tools. The kind of recipe that works in any kitchen.
- The leftovers are better the next day. Like most spiced dishes, the flavors deepen overnight. Make a larger batch intentionally, and you can use the cold Aloo Keema to fill a wrap or to eat with eggs for breakfast; it’s one of those quiet wins.
How to Make Aloo Keema
Many years ago, I made my aloo keema in cooked masala. I’d fry the onion, all the spices, and the tinned chopped tomatoes until they’re smooth and saucy, like masala. Then, I’d put the meat in it and cook it.
Place the ground meat in a cooking pot.
Add the dry spices and salt.
Add the chopped onion, minced ginger, and garlic paste.
Add the chopped onion and give a good stir as you cook at moderate heat.
Although that method is still applicable and acceptable, I find the more authentic way of making this potato and minced meat curry.
It is done by cooking the meat with all spices and tomatoes in a cooking pan/pot.
It’s a one-pot cooking method, which is brilliant for busy days. That’s why I often cook this dish for our mid-week menu.
Cook the meat until tender and water as needed.- Add the potatoes and cook again until everything is fully cooked.
- Cook until the liquid evaporates and you get an almost dry meat curry.
Once the meat, spices, and tomatoes are fully cooked, add the cooking oil and potatoes to the meat. Then continue cooking for another 10 minutes, or until the potatoes are cooked.
It’s as simple as that.
Ways to Enjoy Your Potato and Ground Meat Curry
Traditionally, minced meat and potato curry are served with roti/chapati, naan, pitta, or other flatbread. But it’s also yummy with plain Basmati rice.
And if you’re adventurous, try putting some hot aloo keema in a bun with some grated cheese. You’ll have the most flavorsome ground meat slider ever.
Or you can put this aloo keema in your grilled sandwich filling.
It’s unusual, but I promise it’s delish, as the melted cheese adds extra richness and flavor to the meat. Simply delish.
Storing Matter
This Aloo Keema is also a good keeper. You can cook it in a batch and store some in the freezer if you like. It’s a lifesaver when you run out of time to cook.
You can store the dish in a tight-lidded food container in the fridge for about one week. Or, you can freeze it and keep it for about two months.
Just let the dish cool to room temperature before refrigerating or freezing it.
Aloo keema – minced meat and potato curry
Ingredients
- 1.8 pounds minced meat lamb or beef.
- 2 medium onions.
- 5 cloves garlic.
- 1- inch ginger
- 2 teaspoons cumin powder
- 2 teaspoons coriander powder
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons paprika powder see the note.
- 1 teaspoon chilli powder
- 2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 ½ teaspoon salt
- 7 ounces canned tomato or chopped fresh tomatoes see the note.
- 9 ounces potatoes
- ⅓ cup cooking oil.
Instructions
- Peel and chop the onions. Set aside.
- Wash and chop the tomatoes if using the fresh ones. Set aside.
- Peel the ginger and garlic. Then using pestle and mortar, grind the ginger and garlic into a paste. Set aside.
- In a cooking pot, put the minced meat, chopped onions, ginger and garlic paste, tomatoes, cumin powder, ground coriander, turmeric powder, paprika, chilli, black pepper, and salt. Turn the meat and stir well until all mixed well and the herbs and spices evenly spread.
- Put the lid on and turn the heat on at a high medium. Let it cook for a while until the cooking gets started then turn the heat to low. Cook for about 20 minutes. But keep an eye on it and keep stirring every 5-10 minutes. You don’t want the bottom to get burned.
- Meanwhile, peel and cut your potatoes into ½ – 1- inch pieces.
- After the minced meat is cooked, add the potatoes and cooking into the meat, stir well and put the lid back on to cook further.
- Again, keep checking and stirring every now and then to avoid the meat get burned at the bottom. If you find your curry is a bit too dry, you can add about ¼ cup/ 60 ml of water to your curry.
- Let it cook for about 10 minutes, or until the potatoes are fully cooked. Keep checking and stirring every now and again.
- When you see your curry looks juicy and rich. And the oil separates from the water nicely, your minced meat and potato curry are done.
- This Pakistani aloo keema is lovely to have with roti/ chapati, naan bread, pitta bread, or even plain Basmati rice.
- Enjoy.
Video
Notes
- You can skip paprika powder if you don’t have it, and just put red chilli powder. If possible, try to use Kashmiri red chilli powder.
- You can also substitute the red chilli powder with dried red chilli flakes.
- I personally use canned chopped tomatoes when I cook curry dishes. Apart from the convenience reason, I like the fact that canned tomatoes are skinless. So once your cooking is done, you can’t really see the tomato skin. So it’s perfect for the kids. As they can be fussy not wanting to eat tomatoes. Of all the vegetables, they’re not keen on eating food with the tomatoes skin in it.
Nutrition
Devy founded So Yummy Recipes and Drizzling Flavor to share her love of food after exploring various cultures and cuisines for more than two decades. Her mission is to help others easily recreate traditional and non-traditional food with readily available ingredients. Her works have been featured in Reader’s Digest, Al Jazeera, MSN, Yahoo, Bon Appétit, and more.
i liked the recipe and want to try. I have cooked meat with me (just salt and turmeric added). How can i make it? any suggestions?
Hi, sorry for the late reply. Yes you can use your cooked meat. So you can brown the onion first, then add ginger garlic paste and the rest of the spice. Cook it until the spice releases the aroma and add in your cooked meat followed by chopped tomatoes. Cook the Keema as the recipe. Good luck.
This was fantastic! I made it tonight exactly as written and I’m still impressed. My mom who is not much of a fan of Indian food tried it expecting not to like it and she LOVED it. She even went back for seconds! This will now be a staple in my house, thank you!
Aww, you’re most welcome and thank you for sharing. You made my day. I’m so happy that your mom likes this Aloo Keema as much as we do.