Keema matar — spiced minced beef with peas and basmati rice
Punjabi keema matar: minced beef fried until sizzling in its own fat, a masala of golden onion, tomato and spices tempered in oil, peas added at the last moment to keep them sweet and green, and lemon-marinated red onion alongside.
Method
- Rinse the rice in a bowl, changing the water 3 times until almost clear, then put it in the saucepan with 320 g water and 3 g salt: leave it to soak there until it is time to cook. Peel and finely chop the yellow onion. In a bowl, mix the ground cumin, ground coriander, turmeric, paprika, ground chilli and pepper with 15 g water (1 tbsp): this spice paste will not burn.
- Heat the oil over a medium heat in the 26 cm sauté pan. Add the cumin seeds, bay leaf, cardamom pods crushed with the flat of a knife, and cinnamon: cook for 20–30 seconds, until the seeds crackle and darken slightly without blackening. Immediately add the onion and fry for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally and more often towards the end, until golden brown. Meanwhile, peel and crush the garlic, peel the ginger with a spoon and grate it, and finely slice the green chilli; finely slice the red onion and put it in a bowl with 15 g lemon juice (squeeze the half lemon) and a pinch of salt; wash, dry and chop the coriander.
- Add the garlic, ginger and green chilli and stir for 1 minute, until fragrant but without browning the garlic. Add the spice paste and stir for 30 seconds. Increase the heat to medium-high, add the beef and 5 g salt, and break it into fine crumbs with a wooden spoon for 8 minutes: it will first release its juices, then these will evaporate and the meat will sizzle in its own fat, brown in places, and leave visible fat at the bottom of the pan. This is the bhuna that gives keema its flavour: do not cut it short.
- Add the tomato purée and stir against the bottom for 1 minute, until it darkens. Pour in the tin of tomatoes, scrape the bottom, and at the same time place the rice saucepan over a high heat. Cook the keema uncovered over a medium-high heat for 6–8 minutes, stirring often, until the tomatoes break down and beads of oil appear at the edges. As soon as the rice boils, cover, turn the heat very low and cook for 11 minutes: the water should be absorbed and small holes appear on the surface. Turn off the heat and leave covered, without lifting the lid, until serving.
- Add 50 g water to the keema, cover and simmer for 4 minutes over a low heat. Add the peas straight from frozen and cook uncovered for 5 minutes over a medium-low heat, stirring twice: the peas should be tender and still bright green, the meat should have no trace of pink, and the mixture should hold together on the spoon without liquid running off. If still loose, cook for 2 more minutes over a medium heat.
- Off the heat, stir in the garam masala and 10 g lemon juice; taste and adjust with the remaining salt. Remove the bay leaf and cinnamon (and the cardamom pods if you can see them; otherwise set them aside at the table). Fluff the rice with a fork, divide it and the keema between two shallow bowls, sprinkle with coriander and add the drained red onion alongside.
Variants and their steps remain below the recipe.
Lighter version
More peas add a sweeter vegetable flavour and more tender little peas throughout the mince. The sauce is less oily and there is less rice; the keema spices come through more directly in each mouthful.
- Basmati rice : 140 g
- Sunflower oil, for frying or as a neutral oil : 10 g
- Frozen peas : 350 g
- Water : 295 g
Step 1: 140 g rice with 230 g water. Step 2: 10 g oil, stirring the onion more often. Step 5: 350 g peas and 1 extra minute of uncovered cooking.
Less rice and oil, more peas: the keema retains its masala, and the beef fat is enough for the bhuna.
On your plate
Recipe
1044 kcal · protein 57 g · carbs 110 g · fat 39 g
Quantities per person
- 175 g Minced beef, freshly minced by the butcher
- 125 g Frozen peas
- 100 g Basmati rice
- 75 g Yellow onions
- 25 g Red onions
- 7.5 g Garlic
- 7.5 g Fresh ginger
- 7.5 g Hot green chillies
- 200 g Tinned chopped tomatoes (400 g tin)
- 10 g Double-concentrated tomato purée
- 10 g Sunflower oil, for frying or as a neutral oil
- 1.5 g Cumin seeds
- 0.15 g Dried bay leaves
- 0.25 g Green cardamom pods
- 1 g Cinnamon sticks
- 1 g Ground cumin
- 1.5 g Ground coriander
- 0.75 g Turmeric
- 1.5 g Sweet paprika
- 0.5 g Hot red chilli powder
- 0.5 g Ground black pepper
- 1.5 g Garam masala
- 5 g Fresh coriander
- 4.5 g Fine salt
- 192.5 g Water
- 30 g Lemon
Cooking tips
The flavour comes from three stages that must not be rushed: thoroughly golden onion, meat sizzling in its own fat, and tomatoes reduced until beads of oil appear. For gentle heat, deseed the green chilli and use 0.5 g ground chilli. The keema keeps for 3 days in the fridge and is even better the next day: reheat in a frying pan with 2 tbsp water. No raita, as this is a meat meal: the lemon-marinated red onion takes its place.
Keema matar from Punjab and Delhi: whole spices tempered in oil, onion and meat cooked using the bhuna method, and peas added towards the end; a version with kosher minced beef, basmati rice and lemon-marinated red onion.
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