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).
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)
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup oil canola/sunflower/vegetable
- 1 large yellow onion thinly sliced in half rings
- 1 tbsp ginger and garlic paste
- 4 green chilies sliced lengthwise
- 1 lb. ground beef
- 1 tsp salt or to taste
- ½ tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- 2 tsp coriander powder
- 1 bay leaf
- 4 cloves
- ½ inch cinnamon stick
- 1 black cardamom
- 1 tsp 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.
I loved making this recipe. The yogurt adds creaminess and tanginess to the keema which is truly amazing!
Thank you for sharing beef qeema recipe, I was looking for one. Surely gonna try it now!
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!
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.
I look forward to trying this recipe. One question..why do you wash the meat?
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.