Easy and Authentic Aloo Keema Matar

This is an easy and authentic aloo keema matar recipe, that is super fragrant and spiced to perfection! In this recipe I show you how to make keema aloo mince (a variation of it) which is one super popular across South Asia. Whether you choose to make solely a keema aloo recipe or a keema matar recipe, this dish is super versatile and will work well for pretty much anything. Store in the fridge and you can make multiple meals from this! 

Why this recipe is a star?

• Easy and authentic: This aloo keema matar recipe (also known as a potatoes, keema and peas recipe) is not complicated at all and is super easy to put together once you have the basics down. I will show you how to make this South Asian classic in simple steps while still showing you an authentic keema curry!
• Versatile: You can use this as a filling for various different meals and snacks. I used this filling for my lamb samosas and they were genuinely delicious! Alternatively, you can serve this with rice, use this to make keema paratha or even keema rice. Cooked lamb mince can be stored in the fridge for three to four days and in those three to four days, you can make lots of different meals. Pairing it with a pasta is also great idea.
• Full of protein: I don’t like the narrative that you can’t eat south asian meals and be healthy at the same time, as that is just not true. Lamb mince is full of protein, iron and zinc, the added masala is great for gut health and the vegetables like the matar is excellent for added protein. If you’re health conscious, make sure to substitute the ghee for olive oil (like I did!).

If you’re on the hunt for other lamb recipes, my lamb chops curry or nepalese lamb momos are excellent recipes also! Once you have nailed this recipe, head over to my lamb keema samosas that you can whip up in under 20 minutes.

Keema ingredients?

• Lamb Mince: I used about 454g of british lamb mince. You can use less of more and if so, ensure you are adjusting the quantities and seasonings accordingly. If you are adjusting seasonings, don’t worry too much, it’s definitely more of a common sense act in figuring out how much more or less you’ll need instead!
• For seasoning the lamb, we are going to use the following:
  • Quarter of one red onion: If you have the spring onions coming out at the top of the onion too then totally fine to chuck in here as well.
  • Ground up ginger and garlic: Use about a thumb of ginger and two cloves of garlic.
  • Two teaspoons of oil: As mentioned above, if you’re trying to make this a healthier recipe, then use extra virgin olive oil, olive oil. Alternatively, you can use ghee or vegetable oil.
  • Use a tsp of the following spices and salt: Turmeric, chilli powder, curry powder, garam masala and cumin powder and salt.

Ingredients for cooking the keema aloo matar?

• Two small red onions: You are going to roughly chop these. Don’t necessarily worry that they are roughly chopped as they are totally going to melt into the gravy and form a really nice sauce.
• Ginger: As above, you’re going to crush the ginger. This is going to bring out the flavours of the ginger.
• Two cloves of garlic: Finely chopped!
• Two small sized tomatoes: (Apologies as it is not pictured below!) This will make your gravy super rich, nice and decadent!
• Two dried bay leaf: You can rip these up before you add it to the pan as it can be annoying to have huge bay leaf leaves loitering around in the pan.
• Two cardamom pods: This is one of my most favourite ever aromatics, it almost adds a sweet taste to your curries and is super fragrant in nature!
• Two barks of cinnamon: If you’re not too keen on cinnamon then reducing it to one bark should be fine also.
• Two small aloo / potatoes: Chop up into small chunks as it will take less time to cook.
• Cup of matar / peas: frozen peas or fresh peas are fine here. I used about a cup of frozen peas (I also never have fresh peas lying around either!).

Expert tips?

• Timing of when you add the potatoes and peas: If you’ve been around here long enough, you’ll know that the timing of when to add your potatoes are a big thing in any meat based Indian curries because you don’t want to overcook them into a mushy mess. My mother’s recipe calls for adding the potatoes in once the spices and keema have had some time together, this way the potato retains texture but is still super nice and soft!
• Marinating the keema: The longer you marinate the better, is the general rule of thumb! My mum normally marinates for around an hour, but if you’re short on time and want this done quickly you can also do a half-hour!
• Preparation: Do all the chopping and putting the spices together beforehand as this is going to make the keema cooking process so much easier. Once that’s done its then just a matter of adding ingredients to a pan and waiting for it all to cook.

Variations and Substitutions?

• Chicken keema aloo: You can totally make this recipe with chicken mince instead and it will still be a ten out of ten! It is super versatile and the flavours will be excellent despite which type of meat you use.
• Keema and aloo recipe or lamb keema matar: You can make a solely keema aloo recipe instead, and that is also fine and will still be delicious either way. In the same breath, if you were to make a solely keema and peas recipe, leaving out the potatoes, this would also work well.
• Vegan or vegetarian substitutes: You could also use soy mince instead, this dish will still work well with a plant based meat substitute.
• Lamb samosas: With the leftover keema, I made lamb samosas and they were absolutely delicious.