Instant Pot Keema

Keema, a saucy, spiced, ground meat dish with peas, is comfort food that takes minutes to make in an instant pot! Serve hot with aromatic basmati rice.

What is Keema?

Have you ever had keema before? It’s like an Indian spaghetti sauce, only with fewer tomatoes and way more flavor. Oh, and peas.

Am I crazy for making that comparison? Someone tell me that you agree with me. I mean, it’s essentially an Indian spiced bolognese. You can eat it over pasta if you want, I mean, why not. Normally though, we eat it with plain basmati rice or an Indian flatbread.

I think keema mattar is a good “gateway” dish into Indian cuisine (that and Butter Chicken, of course). It’s a simple, comfort-food dish that you can make with any ground meat, lamb, goat, beef, turkey, chicken, etc.

It’s economical and can be stretched out with peas or potatoes. I always make it with peas, but I’m sure potatoes would be great too – though you’d have to reduce the cook time to 5 minutes, so the potatoes wouldn’t turn to mush. Hey, look at me, giving those of you who actually read what I write an extra recipe!

I’ve also included directions on how to use my onion masala to make this dish even easier. Just check out the notes in the recipe below. 🙂

Keema Ingredients

5 Reasons to Love Keema:

Serve keema with plain Basmati Rice or Jeera Rice. You can also use it as a stuffing in samosas or parathas.

More Indian Main Dish Ideas:

Instant Pot Keema

Instant Pot Keema

Keema has been one of my favorite dishes since childhood. You can make this with any type of ground meat (beef, lamb and goat are my favorite choices). I typically eat this over rice but you can serve this with flatbread or even use it as a stuffing for samosas (Indian pastries) or parathas (Indian flatbread). I feel like this recipe as well as butter chicken are good “gateway” dishes to Indian cuisine because nearly everyone loves them!

5 from 45 reviews

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Cuisine Indian

Ingredients

 

• ▢ 2 tablespoons ghee or oil
• ▢ 1 onion finely diced
• ▢ 4 teaspoons minced garlic
• ▢ 1 teaspoon minced ginger
• ▢ 1 Serrano pepper or green chili minced

Spices

• ▢ 1 tablespoon coriander powder
• ▢ 1 teaspoon paprika
• ▢ 1 teaspoon salt
• ▢ ½ teaspoon black pepper
• ▢ ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• ▢ ½ teaspoon garam masala
• ▢ ½ teaspoon turmeric
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon cayenne
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom

• ▢ 1 pound ground meat of choice
• ▢ 1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes OR ½ cup onion masala*see notes
• ▢ 2 cups fresh or frozen peas
• ▢ Cilantro garnish

Instructions

 

• Press the sauté button, add the ghee and onions and stir-fry for 8-10 minutes, or until the onions begin to brown.
• Add the garlic, ginger, Serrano pepper and spices to the pot. Stir-fry for 30 seconds, then add the ground meat and cook until it is mostly browned.
• Add the diced tomatoes (OR ½ cup onion masala) and peas and mix well
• Secure the lid, close the pressure valve and cook for 10 minutes at high pressure.
• Open the valve to quick release any remaining pressure.
• Press the sauté button to reduce or boil off any extra liquid if needed.
• Garnish with cilantro and serve.

Notes

• If you are following my onion masala series and would like to use it in this recipe, you can use ½ cup onion masala in place of the onions, garlic, ginger, and tomatoes — just toss in the frozen onion masala when you add the peas in step 3. You can also reduce the cook time to 5 minutes if using onion masala.

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