• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Pakistan Eats

  • Recipes
  • About
  • Subscribe
  • Features
  • Collections
  • Navigation Menu: Social Icons

    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • Recipes
  • About
  • Collections
  • Features
×

Home » Recipes » Meat and Poultry

Chicken Keema (Ground Chicken)

March 21, 2016 by Maryam Jillani 4 Comments

chicken-keema

Jump to Recipe

Keema (قیمہ ) in Pakistan is comfort food, and so I was thrilled when my friend offered to share her chicken keema recipe for the blog.

Although you will never find it on a restaurant menu (see details on why that may be the case here), it's a household staple that sits deep into your desi subconscious. I always break it out when I have had a tough week, and need reinforcements.

Keema comes in many forms. Spell it with a Q or a K. Make it with minced chicken, goat, beef or even turkey. Have it with rice or roti. Or cook with peas, potatoes or green bell peppers. It can also be used in soup (such as here) or layered in khichri (such as here).

I like mine without vegetables so it was just as well that my friend, Kulsoom made an elegant chicken keema, dusted with garam masala and served with a generous helping of green chillies and cilantro.

How to Cook Keema

The process of 'bhuno' is critical. Shanaz Ramzi, author of the Pakistani cookbook, "Food Prints", defines 'bhuno' as the process of frying ingredients in an uncovered utensil on high heat while stirring constantly. A key feature of Pakistani and north Indian cooking, 'bhuno' deepens the flavor of the food by melding the spices, deepening their color and flavor. Stirring the meat constantly on high heat also tenderizes it, infusing the keema with a much richer texture. In this recipe, adopt this technique in step four when Kulsoom adds the keema after the ground spices.

chicken-keema

Chicken Keema

Keema in Pakistan is comfort food. This chicken keema recipe is easy to prepare and can be enjoyed in several ways: have it with rice, roti or sliced bread.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 mins
Cook Time 1 hr 35 mins
Total Time 1 hr 45 mins
Course Main Course
Cuisine Indian, Pakistani Cuisine
Servings 4
Calories 572 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 2 tablespoon oil canola, sunflower or vegetable
  • 1 ½ medium-sized onion chopped in half rings
  • 2 teaspoon ginger/garlic paste can be found in any Indian/Pakistani grocery store. Alternatively, just use 1 teaspoon crushed ginger and 1 teaspoon crushed garlic
  • 3 cloves
  • 2 black cardamom pods
  • ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
  • 1 teaspoon red chili powder
  • ½ teaspoon cumin powder
  • 2 lbs ground chicken or beef
  • Salt to taste
  • 3 tomatoes de-seeded and roughly chopped
  • ¼ teaspoon garam masala powder optional
  • 1 green chili finely diced (optional)
  • 1 tablespoon cilantro finely diced (optional)

Instructions
 

  • Heat oil in a medium-sized, deep non-stick pan. Add chopped onions and brown them on medium-low heat till they are limp, about 20 minutes.
  • Add the ginger/garlic paste and stir for a few seconds on low heat.
  • Add ground spices and let them simmer for a few seconds.
  • Add ground meat, salt and tomatoes. Stir until well-mixed and cover with lid. Cook on medium-low heat for 15 minutes.
  • Remove lid and stir for an additional 10 minutes to let the water dry out. Remove from heat.
  • Dust with a pinch of garam masala and garnish with finely chopped green chillies and cilantro.

Notes

Serve with rice or roti/chapati. In this case, we had it with a delicious batch of bhatooras.
Keyword gluten free, ground meat
Tweet
Share
Pin7
Share
7 Shares
« Redemption through Food
Albar's Boneless Chicken Biryani »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Sara

    April 15, 2022 at 6:29 pm

    Thank you for such a lovely recipe! Soo tasty and easy to make, made a great post iftar dinner! I always stay away from keema and have messed it up in the past but this recipe was easy and went down well with the family!
    Thank you for sharing, will be looking into your other recipes also 🙂

    Reply
    • pakistaneats

      April 16, 2022 at 9:16 am

      Thanks so much for trying the recipe and your kind words! It really makes my day.

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. 10 Easy Pakistani Recipes for Beginner Cooks - Pakistan Eats says:
    February 23, 2022 at 2:20 am

    […] a keema recipe. Keema is ground meat. In my earlier roundup on healthy recipes, I shared the chicken keema recipe. The one below is a beef version. This recipe is unusual because it omits the use of […]

    Reply
  2. Ash Reshteh (Afghan Style Noodle Soup) - Pakistan Eats says:
    March 9, 2022 at 3:10 am

    […] You can prepare ash with or without meat. The recipe below uses ground beef. If you have leftover keema, this dish is a great way to repurpose […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

About Me

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

Trending Recipes

  • Masoor Ki Daal (Red Lentils)
  • Palak Gosht (Mutton Curry with Spinach)
  • Beef Keema (Ground Beef)
  • Chana Chaat with Tamarind Chutney

Ramadan Recipes

  • Chana Chaat with Tamarind Chutney
  • Fruit Chaat (Fruit salad)
  • Palak Pakoray (Spinach Fritters)
  • Modern Shahi Tukray (Bread Pudding)

Reader Favorites

  • Nur's Borani Banjan (Eggplant with Yogurt)
  • Kali Mirch Chicken Karahi (Black Pepper Chicken)
  • Karela Sabzi (Bitter Melon Vegetable)
  • Masoor Ki Daal (Red Lentils)

Copyright © 2022 Pakistan Eats on the Foodie Pro Theme