Aloo Keema Recipe: Ground Meat and Potato Curry
Aloo Keema
This Aloo Kema is heartwarmingly delicious with well-balanced spice. It’s so easy to make that it’s a perfect menu item for your busy midweek.
Aloo keema means potato and ground meat. It’s a type of dry curry in South Asian cooking.
It’s particularly a popular home food menu among Pakistani/ Indian households.
Simply because this curry is easy to make all you have to do is just throw everything in the cooking pan and let it cook.
It’s an ideal menu to make when you don’t have time or energy to cook, like during a busy midweek.
This dry curry is so flavorful that you don’t need anything on the side. It’s delicious with chapatis/ rotis, naan bread, pitta bread, or flatbread. You can mop the mouthwatering curry juice with your bread.
But really, I often have it with plain Basmati rice, and it’s equally tasty.
What Type of Ground Meat
So, the recipe I’m sharing with you here is the Pakistani way of making aloo keema.
But I tweaked the recipe slightly without compromising the taste.
First thing 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 the meat is minced and ground, you’re all good.
Here, I use paprika powder as well as chili powder. This way, the taste won’t be too hot, and the dish 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 you use Kashmiri red chili powder, which is well-known for its flavor and vibrant color.
When it comes to meat choice, you can cook it with ground beef or lamb mince. I prefer the lamb. But it’s your personal choice.
For the potatoes, the waxy types, such as Charlotte potatoes, new potatoes, or Jersey Royal, are the best to choose from because they keep their shape and don’t break or go mushy in the dish.
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 become smooth and sauce-y like masala. Then, I’d put the meat in it and cook it.
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 dish method of cooking, 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.
When the meat, all spices, and tomatoes are fully cooked, you can add the cooking oil and the potatoes to the meat. Then, continue cooking for another ten 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 is served with roti/ chapati, naan bread, pitta bread, or 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 saver when you run out of time for cooking.
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 down and reach room temperature before refrigerating or freezing it.
More Ideas for Potato Recipes
Thank you for reading this Aloo Keema recipe. I hope you’re inspired to cook it. Let me know how you like it. I would love to hear your views in the comments below. Or perhaps you tweaked the recipe and found it better to your liking.
And please follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and/or Pinterest to sneak a peek at what’s cooking in my kitchen.
Before you go, don’t forget to check out my other recipes that you’ll love.
- Aloo Gosht – potato and meat curry.
- Aloo Palak – potato and spinach curry.
- Aloo Chana – potato and chickpea curry.
- Aloo Methi – potato and fenugreek leaves curry.
Take care and all the best.
Aloo keema – minced meat and potato curry
Equipment
- Cooking pan
- Wooden spoon
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.
Video
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.
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
Disclaimer
Nutritional info in this recipe is only estimate using online calculator. You should refer to it as a guide only. Please verify with your own data if you seek an accurate info.
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.