Keema is a traditional Indian dish made of spiced ground meat such as lamb, onion, and usually peas or potatoes.
Lamb Keema with Peas
I love this Lamb Keema with Peas because it is easy to make and tastes great. It’s one of my favorite Indian dishes that I often order at restaurants, so I wanted to recreate a lighter version of it to enjoy at home when the mood strikes. More of my favorite Indian recipes are this Instant Pot Indian Chicken Pulao, Indian Shrimp Curry, and Indian Spiced Cauliflower and Potato.
While the ingredient list for this lamb keema recipe may be long, it’s actually pretty simple to make.
How to Make Lamb Keema
- Sauté the onion in ghee or butter in a large pan for eight minutes.
- Add the garlic and ginger and cook for two minutes.
- Add the ground meat and brown.
- Season the meat and onions with all the spices.
- Add the chili, cilantro, bay leaf, tomato sauce, and water. Then reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Pour in the frozen peas and simmer covered for another five to ten minutes.
What’s keema made of?
My keema uses lean ground lamb, a mix of Indian spices, and other ingredients for maximum flavor.
- Vegetables: Onion, frozen peas, tomato sauce
- Meat: Lean ground lamb, or use ground chicken or turkey
- Spices: Coriander, cumin, chili powder, turmeric, garam masala, cinnamon, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper
- Extra Flavor: Garlic, ginger, cilantro, chili pepper, bay leaf
How to Serve Lamb Keema
To complete your meal, you can serve lamb keema over white or brown rice or wrapped in naan bread. Leftovers make great stuffed peppers.
Variations and Tips:
- Swap the ground lamb for ground chicken, turkey, or beef.
- Add diced potatoes or spinach to the keema.
- Omit the cayenne if you want a mild keema.
- Refrigerate for up to 4 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
More Lamb Recipes You’ll Love:
- Grilled Harissa Lamb Chops
- Frenched Rack of Lamb
- Za’atar Lamb Chops
- Grilled Rosemary Lamb Chops
- Roasted Boneless Leg of Lamb
Lamb Keema with Peas
Ingredients
- 1 large onion minced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tsp ginger chopped
- 2 tsp butter or ghee
- 1 lb lean ground lamb from loin or shoulder
- 1 tsp coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 chili pepper minced (or more to taste)
- 2 tbsp fresh cilantro chopped
- 1/4 cup tomato sauce
- 1 bay leaf
- salt and fresh pepper
- 1 cup frozen peas
Instructions
- In a large saute pan, heat ghee or butter and onions on medium heat. Cook about 5 minutes, until soft.
- Add garlic and ginger; cook another 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add ground meat to pan and brown.
- Season with salt, pepper, cumin, coriander, cayenne, chili powder, turmeric, garam masala and cinnamon. Stir well.
- Add chopped chili pepper, cilantro, bay leaf, tomato sauce and 1/2 cup of water.
- Reduce heat to low and cover. Simmer 15 minutes.
- Add frozen peas and simmer covered another 5 minutes.
Absolutely delicious! Per my taste preferences I actually used way more spices than the recipe called for and two jalapeños for the chili flavor. The best part was the sweetness from the cinnamon and garam masala. Served over basmati rice with naan on the side. I prefer a saucier mix, so I used about double the tomato sauce and added an extra dose of water too.  Also more garlic and ginger (about double)!!Â
This is absolutely delicious and will go into frequent rotation at my house.
I made it with ground turkey. Â I frequently make your skillet taco cauliflower rice bowl recipe, and inspired by that recipe, I took a chance and increased spices by a half teaspoon, added a splash of extra water and tomato sauce, and about 7 ounces of fresh riced cauliflower during the simmering stage of the recipe. Â This fit my low carb needs. Â And I cant get enough! Â Served it with basamati rice for my 8 year old and he devoured it and asked me to make it again sometime. Â
I used ground turkey and had to make a few substitutions since I couldn’t find cilantro or garam masala in the store. I added some fresh parsley and used some additional cumin and a bit of allspice instead of the garam masala. My family really liked it so I guess I’ll keep those changes.
Absolutely perfect. So simple. Served over roasted sweet potatoes and parsnips.
Wow! This was delicious! Great recipe that will remain in my recipe file. I spooned it over mashed potatoes, fabulous! I see this mix working well as a Shephard’s pie.
Delicious!!Â
I have everything but the garam masala. Will that alter the flavor a lot?
You could sub curry if you have that on hand.
This is a delicious and simple dish. I may double it next time to have extra on hand for the week’s lunches. I somehow didn’t have an onion on hand so I used 3 extra garlic cloves and extra ginger. Used a can of peas instead of frozen m; and skipped the cayenne as a taste preference. We ladled it over brown rice. Perfect for a cold winter night. I can’t wait to make it w the onion next time.Â
I made this recipe for the first time tonight and I will be making it again. Fyi – I didn’t have an onion on hand (and didn’t feel like getting out on the cold icy roads) so i just added three additional garlic cloves and extra ginger. I also left out the cayenne; and I used canned peas instead of  frozen. Tasted delicious all the same. Probably will be even better with the onion and with fresh or frozen peas like it calls for.
My husband loved it!Â