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    Home » Recipes » Mains

    Beef Keema (Ground Beef)

    November 12, 2019 by pakistaneats 10 Comments

    Beef keema is one of my favorite South Asian dishes. I normally prepare it with a tomato and onion base (see Kulsoom's recipe here). So was intrigued when I found a recipe in the Salt'n Pepper Village cookbook that completely omitted tomatoes. The book's recipe instead asks for a generous amount of yogurt that adds both tartness and creaminess to the dish.

    The Salt'n Pepper Village cookbook is one of the many Pakistani cookbooks that I brought back from Islamabad this August. Pakistani food bloggers often talk about the dearth of Pakistani cookbooks and so I went on a bit of a hunt this time to find some (Mr. Books has a surprisingly good collection FYI). The Salt'n Pepper Village cookbook by the founder of the Salt'n Pepper restaurant empire, Mahmood Akbar, is definitely one of the more comprehensive and interesting ones I picked up. It focuses on traditional Pakistani recipes but features a mix of popular and unusual dishes (think chicken tikka alongside green tomato curry).

    beef-keema

    Tips to Make Beef Keema

    • The quality of the meat matters! Since the dish requires few ingredients, it really pays to buy quality beef. I would also recommend draining the meat to remove blood and excess water before preparing it.
    • Many people are nervous about cooking with yogurt due to the risk of curdling. You can prevent that by letting the yogurt come to room temperature before adding it, lowering the heat of the saucepan, and adding it right towards the end of the dish.
    • You can adjust the level of oil and water in the dish depending on your preference. Just keep an eye on the beef as it cooks, stirring every few minutes to ensure that it's not sticking to the bottom of the pan.

    Beef Keema (Ground Beef)

    5 from 2 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 5 mins
    Cook Time 1 hr
    Course Main Course
    Servings 4

    Ingredients
      

    • ⅓ cup oil canola/sunflower/vegetable
    • 1 large yellow onion thinly sliced in half rings
    • 1 tablespoon ginger and garlic paste
    • 4 green chilies sliced lengthwise
    • 1 lb. ground beef
    • 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
    • ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
    • 1 teaspoon cumin powder
    • 2 teaspoon coriander powder
    • 1 bay leaf
    • 4 cloves
    • ½ inch cinnamon stick
    • 1 black cardamom
    • 1 teaspoon red chili powder
    • 1 cup yogurt brought to room temperature

    Instructions
     

    • Heat oil in a medium-sized saucepan. Add onions and fry on medium-low heat till evenly brown for 10 minutes.
    • Add crushed ginger and garlic and fry for 30 seconds.
    • Add green chilies and fry for 30 seconds.
    • Add ground and whole spices and fry for 1 minute. Add a splash of water to deglaze the pan if needed.
    • Increase heat to medium and add ground beef and salt. Fry till no longer pink, about 5 minutes.
    • Add 2 cups water and bring to a simmer. Lower heat, cover and let the beef cook for 30 minutes. Stir occasionally to make sure it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan.
    • Add yogurt and stir continuously on medium-low heat for about 8 minutes.
    • Remove from heat, place in serving platter and garnish with finely chopped cilantro and chilies.
    Keyword gluten free, ground meat
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Sobia Nusrat

      November 18, 2019 at 5:26 pm

      5 stars
      I loved making this recipe. The yogurt adds creaminess and tanginess to the keema which is truly amazing!

      Reply
    2. Zifan Hotel & Suites

      December 05, 2019 at 1:17 pm

      Thank you for sharing beef qeema recipe, I was looking for one. Surely gonna try it now!

      Reply
    3. Medhelpsis

      March 22, 2020 at 8:03 pm

      Yes, just a tad more water and I would just add them toward the last 20-25 minutes, depending on the way they re cut. That should be sufficient time to cook with them. Hey! So I tried making kofta for the first time recently and after processing the mix was tooooo watery and wouldn’t bind even after adding more besan. My mom told me afterwards that I should have let the water drain from the keema first. Did you also do that ? Wanna try this recipe soon! Looks delicious!

      Reply
      • pakistaneats

        March 24, 2020 at 4:15 am

        Thanks so much! Yes, draining water from the ground meat is definitely best practice! I made this keema last night and forgot to do it and it was definitely more watery 🙂 Your mom is right.

        Reply
    4. Amy

      February 26, 2021 at 11:02 pm

      I look forward to trying this recipe. One question..why do you wash the meat?

      Reply
      • pakistaneats

        February 28, 2021 at 4:20 am

        I would love to hear what you think. Draining the meat helps remove any leftover blood. I removed the term washing since I realized it was misleading.

        Reply
    5. Samina

      November 05, 2021 at 6:57 am

      5 stars
      This is one of my favorite keema recipes - it's become a part of my regular rotation!

      Reply

    Trackbacks

    1. Kali Mirch Chicken Karahi (Black Pepper Chicken) - Pakistan Eats says:
      May 4, 2020 at 10:58 am

      […] I am thrilled to share the recipe of this kali mirch chicken karahi. I first made this dish a couple of weeks ago, and both Saptarshi and I couldn’t believe how good it was. While not the most photogenic, this incredibly flavorful and moist karahi hit all the right taste notes. The recipe itself is pretty straight forward. I adapted it from the Salt’n Pepper Village Cookbook that I have enjoyed cooking from this past year (other recipes I have adapted from the book are lobia masala and beef keema). […]

      Reply
    2. Feature: Soophia Hussain, Cusbah Restaurant - Pakistan Eats says:
      July 24, 2020 at 2:26 am

      […] Keema has been my favorite dish since I was kid! And keema samosas…I did not understand why keema samosas were not a readily available thing. You can get vegetable samosas everywhere but why is it not easy to get keema samosas? So I called my cousin who makes the best keema samosa in my family, and told her to give me her recipe. So over the phone, she told me, roughly this, roughly that…After that, I sat down with my chef, went over her recipe and we just did it. I didn’t know how it would go.  But as a restaurateur, you get to the point when you just have to try it. You have to put it out there, push it, educate your clientele about it, and particularly your staff, and see what happens. And it went over really well! The response that we got was very exciting. Seeing something on the menu that you have curated, that’s personal, that you love, and then, seeing that positive reaction, it’s an amazing feeling.    […]

      Reply
    3. 25 Best Asian Ground Beef Recipes - Insanely Good says:
      February 10, 2022 at 2:43 pm

      […] 2. Beef Keema (Ground Beef) […]

      Reply

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    Hi! I'm Maryam, an international educator and food writer, excited about bringing you traditional Pakistani recipes from across the country. Learn more.

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