It’s dish 20 in our Cookery Course, so we thought we’d do a ‘consolidation recipe’ to recap some of your skills! Keema matar (mince with peas ) is great way to do this, and so tasty & easy too. You won’t learn many new skills, but you will reuse lots of old ones you have learnt so far along the way:
- Prepping garlic and/or chillies (2. Spaghetti Bolognese; 3. Chill Beef Wraps; 4. Chicken Noodle Stir Fry; 6. Crispy Duck Salad; 8. Potato Omelette; 11. Pasta Puttanesca; 13. Pesto Pasta; 14. Trapanese Pesto Potatoes; 15. Tuna Bean Salad; 16. Baked Beans; 17. Lentil Stew; 18. Bibi’s Dal; 19. Mince & Chickpea Curry)
- Chopping herbs (1. Bibi’s Risotto; 2. Spaghetti Bolognese; 3. Chilli Beef Wraps; 6. Crispy Duck Salad; 10. Tomato Tonnato; 11. Pasta Puttanesca; 13. Pesto Pasta; 15. Tuna Bean Salad; 16. Baked Beans; 17. Lentil Stew; 18. Bibi’s Dal; 19. Mince & Chickpea Curry)
- Chopping/slicing onions (1. Bibi’s Risotto; 2. Spaghetti Bolognese; 4. Chicken Noodle Stir Fry; 7. Greek Salad; 13. Pesto Pasta; 15. Tuna Bean Salad; 17. Lentil Stew; 18. Bibi’s Dal; 19. Mince & Chickpea Curry)
- Testing a pan for hotness (1. Bibi’s Risotto; 2 Spaghetti Bolognese; 3. Chilli Beef Wraps; 4. Chicken Noodle Stir Fry; 6. Cripy Duck Salad; 11. Pasta Puttanesca; 16. Baked Beans; 17. Lentil Stew; 18. Bibi’s Dal)
- Frying onions/using a bed of vegetables (1. Bibi’s Risotto; 2. Spaghetti Bolognese; 4. Chicken Noodle Stir Fry; 16. Baked Beans; 17. Lentil Stew; 18 Bibi’s Dal; 19. Mince & Chickpea Curry)
- Juicing citrus (3. Chilli Beef Wraps; 6. Crispy Duck Salad; 9. Sandwich Dinner; 10. Tomato Tonnato; 15. Tuna Bean Salad; 17. Lentil Stew)
- Prepping fresh ginger (3. Chilli Beef Wraps; 4. Chicken & Sweetcorn Soup; 6. Crispy Duck Salad; 18. Bibi’s Dal; 19. Mince & Chickpea Curry)
- Browning mince (2. Spaghetti Bolognese; 3. Chilli Beef Wraps; 19 Cashew Mince Curry)
- Using Indian spices (18. Bibi’s Dal; 19. Mince & Chickpea Curry)
- Baking potatoes (14. Trapanese Pesto Potatoes)
Skills you will learn in this recipe
*Consolidation Recipe*; skimming a sauce
Links to the last recipe
Cooking a mince-based Indian dish; using Indian spices
This dish, like our last one, Mince & Chickpea Curry, is a real family favourite. Mince with peas is definitely up there with our most-cooked meals, and one of our most requested recipes from family & friends, too. The reason – it’s super tasty, simple to make & very comforting. It’s also easy to prep ahead and serve later, making it a flexible option for hosting guests, or for having on hand in your freezer as a standby.
It can also be adapted to most tastes & guests. We use lamb mince, but if you don’t like it, use beef. If you don’t want to use meat at all, use a plant-based mince. It’s great with baked potatoes, as we are serving it today, but also with some rice, roti or naan bread. You can serve it simply with one of those sides, or jazz it up with some additions. Some good options here are: our Raita; the salad from our Mince & Chickpea Curry; or the Spicy Cabbage from Bibi’s Dal.
You can also cook a big batch of keema, then keep or freeze a few portions. That way if you’re rushing – or coming back late from college, work or a big night out – you’ll have something tasty ready to go. Just heat it up, and warm some roti or naan bread, and dinner is served!
Keema matar – mince with peas – is a staple dish, much loved across the Indian subcontinent. It’s a dry-style curry and usually spiced medium-hot – the peas give this vibrant dish a pop of freshness and sweetness. There are many versions of it, and ours is a mix & match of various recipes we’ve used over the years, plus Bibi’s original take on it. Do play around with it yourself until you hit on the spice mix you like – the only essential elements are the mince and peas themselves.
We’re not sure when or why we started serving it with baked potatoes rather than rice or Indian bread, but the two are so good together, the idea has stuck. We cook it so often that it’s ended up with a nickname – we call it ‘Mince, Peas & Pots’.
You could use fresh peas, but we tend to use frozen – they are just as good (if not better!) and generally cheaper. You don’t absolutely need to add a fresh herb, the dish will be good without it, but we like to add mint. Mint, peas and lamb are such a good combination! Fresh coriander would work well, too.
You can vary the spices, but for this size of keema (4 people) we use 3 teaspoons ground coriander, 2 teaspoons ground cumin, 1 teaspoon turmeric and 1 (scant) teaspoon cayenne. Plus garam masala at the end. But many recipes add cardamon, cloves (use in moderation), mustard seed, fenugreek – or any Indian spices you like. We like our keema quite spicy, so we add fresh green chillies as well as a generous amount of cayenne, but you can spice it to your taste. Bibi also used green chillies in her version, so we do too! We also like to use quite a lot of garlic and ginger, which are key flavours in this dish.
Some keemas add tomatoes, but we don’t – we like the dryness you get without them, and it helps the meat and spices to shine. We finish up the dish with some lemon juice, which freshens it and helps cut through any fattiness from the lamb. Lime juice would be also good.
If serving with baked potatoes, you will need to plan ahead – they will take 1h to 1h 30 minutes to cook. See our baked potato Tip for how to cook them, crisp or soft.
Heat your oven to 200C (180C fan) and prick the potatoes with a fork. See our potato Tip for cooking instructions. You can cook them ahead and keep warm (in about a 60C to 80C oven) while you make the keema, so the dish it very flexible.
While the potatoes are cooking, start the keema. First, chop onions into medium pieces. See our onion Tip. Today our onions were quite small, so we used three, but if yours are larger use two for a four-person mince with peas. Brown or white onions are best in this dish.
Also chop some garlic. See our garlic Tip. This dish should use quite a lot – garlic and ginger are key flavours. Today we used seven cloves.
Peel and grate the ginger, at least a thumb-sized piece but we use a larger one. See our ginger Tip.
Top & tail and chop the chillies. See our chilli Tip. We like to use small hot green chillies, but you can also use the milder larger ones. Today we used four rocket chillies, and included the seeds. Remove the seeds and white pith if you want it less spicy.
Next squeeze some lemon. See our lemon Tip. Today our lemons were small and not very juicy, so we used two. One large juicy one would be enough.
Remove the mint leaves from the woody stems and chop finely, this is easiest with scissors. See our herb Tip.
Measure out your spices. Today we used 3 teaspoons coriander, 2 teaspoons cumin, 1 teaspoon turmeric and 1 teaspoon cayenne. But play around and find the spice mix you like.
Your mise en place is ready. And now you are prepped, it is very easy all the way!
The mince with peas takes about 45-50 minutes to cook, though much of this is ‘downtime’ while it simmers. Once done, it can be left and reheated – just leave adding the mint, garam masala and some of the lemon until you are ready to serve. It also freezes well.
First, place a large frying pan or wok over a medium heat and add a little vegetable oil. Once the pan is hot – test it with your hand, you should feel the heat from above – add the onions. Fry these, stirring, until just softened and beginning to turn translucent, usually about 5 to 8 minutes. Then add the garlic and fry, stirring, for another minute or two.
Next, turn the heat up slightly and put the mince in the pan, breaking it up as you add. Also add the chopped chillies, ginger and the spice mix (but not the garam masala). Stir well, and break the mince up further with your spoon. You need the mince to fully brown – it is ready when there is no red or pink left, and the mince is a uniform pale brown colour, as in the final picture below, at least 5 minutes.
Now add about 150-175ml water, and turn the heat up to bring the keema to the boil. When the keema is bubbling hot, turn the heat right down and cover with a lid. Simmer for about 30 minutes, giving it an occasional check and stir.
Lamb mince can be quite fatty, so if using this you will almost definitely need to skim your sauce. With beef mince this is less likely (and even less so with most other minces). Skimming means removing any visible liquid fat from the sauce. The fat will appear as glossy pockets of liquid – you can see one towards the bottom of the first image below, and another in the centre of the keema.
To skim this off, take a tablespoon and press down on the surface of the keema so the fat runs into the spoon; tip this into a bowl. Repeat until you are happy with the fat level in the sauce – if you have removed most of the most visible pockets of fat it will be fine. You can see the difference between the first and last pictures once we had skimmed.
Jake sticks his nose in
How much fat you remove is really down to personal taste. We like our keema quite lean, so remove quite a lot. Fat does give flavour however, so it is a balance. So don’t worry that you haven’t removed it all – stop when the keema has the consistency you like.
Once the keema is skimmed, raise the heat under the pan to medium, and add the peas – it is fine to add them from frozen. We add them by eye, and like quite a lot of peas, so add as many as you personally like. For 500g mince, we probably add about 200g peas, but we don’t measure them – we stop adding when the keema looks prettily ‘jewelled’ with them! Stir well so the peas defrost – you can tell when they are all nice and green.
Add a good splash of the lemon juice, and season with salt. Also add about another 100-125ml of water. Stir well, bring to the boil, then turn the heat down and cover with a lid. Cook for about 10 minutes, or until the peas are tender.
At this point you can season and serve immediately. Or you can turn the heat off and leave the keema to reheat once you are ready.
Jake sticks his nose in
You also can keep some keema and store it in the fridge for another meal – it will keep for a few days. Or freeze some, it freezes very well. It’s best not to add the mint, garam masala or the final seasoning until just before you serve so the flavour really pops. But if you do, don’t worry it will still keep OK!
When the potatoes are done, and you are ready to serve you can finish the keema.
Taste the keema, checking the peas are tender, and add a little more lemon juice, and, if needed, more salt. Then add the garam masala, 1 or 2 teaspoons, stir, and add the chopped mint. Stir for another minute or two, then taste again. Adjust with any of the flavourings until you like it.
Today our keema was lovely, but lacked a little richness. This sort of thing happens – lamb can vary in flavour; onions can be sweeter or not etc etc. This is an example of trusting your tastebuds and thinking on the hop when cooking – Emily decided to add a jelly stock cube.
Today we had a chicken one in the store cupboard (it we’d had a lamb one, we would have used that). We stirred it in and brought the keema back to the boil, then turned down to a simmer. We tasted it again – perfect! To quote Estella: ‘I thought it was lovely before but now it’s one of the best things I’ve ever tasted!’
Today we served our mince with peas alongside the baked potatoes, and topped these with crème fraiche. You could use sour cream, butter or thick yoghurt on the potatoes instead, but the crème fraiche just seems to pair particularly nicely with the keema.
Cut the potato in half and top with the cream, serving the mince with peas on the side.
Enjoy!
Easy Keema – Mince with Peas & Baked Potato
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Heat the oven to 200c (180C fan). Bake the potatoes – this will take between 1h and 1h 30 minutes. See our potato Tip.
- Chop the onions into medium pieces. See our onion Tip. Finely chop the garlic. See our garlic Tip. Peel & grate the ginger, see our ginger Tip. Chop the chillies, removing the seeds and white pith if you want the keema less hot. See our chilli Tip.
- Squeeze the lemon(s). See our lemon Tip. Chop the mint, this is easiest with scissors. See our herb Tip. Measure out the spice mix (but not the garam masala).
- Put a little vegetable oil into a large frying pan or wok, and place over a medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the onions and fry, stirring, until just softened and beginning to turn translucent – 5 to 8 minutes. Add the garlic, and stir for another minute or two.
- Turn the heat up slightly, and add the mince to the pan, breaking it up as you do. Also add the chillies, ginger and spice mix (but not the garam masala yet). Stir well, breaking the mince up further with your spoon. Brown the mince until it is uniform in colour, and no pink or red remains, at least 5 minutes.
- Add 150-175ml water, and bring the keema to the boil over a high heat. Then turn the heat right down and cover the pan with a lid. Simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- If using lamb mince, you will most likely need to skim the keema as it can be quite fatty (with beef you are less likely, and less so with most other minces). To do this, look for glossy pockets of fat on the surface of the sauce. Press a tablespoon onto the keema near any fat so it runs into the spoon. Skim into a bowl. Repeat until you are happy with the texture and fat level – this is a personal preference. Discard the fat.
- Now add the peas, a little of the lemon juice, and season with salt. Stir and add another 100-125ml water. Turn the heat up and bring to the boil, then turn down again to a simmer. Cover with a lid, and cook for about 10 minutes, or until the peas are tender.
- You can now add the final flavourings and serve immediately, or turn the heat off and reheat the keema when you are ready to serve. It will also keep well in the fridge for a few days, or it freezes well too.
- When the potatoes are done and you are ready to serve, finish the keema. Taste, and add a little more lemon juice, plus more salt, if needed. Add the garam masalas and stir well, then add the chopped mint. Stir again and cook for another few minutes. Taste again, and adjust any of the flavourings until liked.
- Optional – if you keema lacks richness, as ours did today, add a jelly stock cube that ideally matches your meat, lamb in our case. But a chicken stock cube will also work well. Bring the keema back to a boil, then turn back down. (Note – your keema my not need one at all.)
- Serve the baked potato topped with the crème fraiche, with the mince & peas on the side.
- Enjoy!