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.
Very tasty. Followed recipe as written except did not have fresh garlic so I used about a half tsp powdered. I added a splash of vinegar at the end to brighten it up a little. Very satisfying recipe.
This is so easy and delicious. I remove the jalapeño seeds so it’s not too spicy for the family. This is definitely a favorite!
I have vegan friends and I made this with ground Beyond Beef. They thought it was superb.
Thank you, Gina!
My first time cooking and made finger licking lamb keema curry thanks to you that my family was so impressed with.
Great!!
Tried many different keema recipes but this is the best!
Thank you chef !!
This was so good! I used spicy Italian sausage in place of lamb. Added extra garlic and ginger. I also added some chicken broth because I cook with cast iron on a gas stove, and usually this requires liquid to be added.
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)!!
This is absolutely delicious and will go into frequent rotation at my house.
I made it with ground turkey. 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. This fit my low carb needs. And I cant get enough! Served it with basamati rice for my 8 year old and he devoured it and asked me to make it again sometime.
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!!
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.
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!
I tried it and it came awesomeee. Thanks for sharing…. Great Work…
Simple to make and excellent taste.
I think it will become a regular in my repertoire.
Thank you.
Made this tonight. I LOVED the flavor, but honestly am not convinced that the ground lamb was worth the cost–the flavor profile overwhelmed the flavor of the meat. I think I could easily substitute ground turkey, chicken, pork, or beef and have a lower $$ meal that is equally as tasty.
I’ve read on a gardening site about Lamb Kheema being a good recipe to use up a glut of runner beans. Especially if they a bit big and tough.
I used ground beef since that was what i had and shredded the runner beans finely. Added an extra splash of water and left it simmering a few minutes longer. I served it with rice as suggested and topped it with a dollop of low fat yoghurt and more chopped coriander.
All the spices worked wonderfully together and it is a good portion size. I might have this as a topping for jacket potato next time.
It was super easy, as long as one had those fairly standard Indian ingredients. It was a littlest bitter, so I tossed in a handful of yellow raisins and that brought out the tase of the “sweeter” spices, like the garam masala and the cinnamon. Would make it again. Must have good quality lean lamb or can be greasy – any lamb dish risks that.
Thank you for such a wonderful recipe! Everyone loved it. Very well balanced. Was looking up ways to use some of the ground lamb we had. Will definitely make again.
It didn’t have enough flavor. Just OK.
So wonderful you put an estimated nutrition up! I am on a low sodium diet and have been cooking low sodium for 3 yrs, and just now have I gotten sick of my cooking and reaching out for new recipes. Yours sounds clean and delicious and since it is already low sodium, I can just follow it and enjoy! Thank you so much.
Used this recipe to make a shepherds pie with a baked sweet potato topping. Added pan roasted rutabaga, carrots and parsnips to the lamb mixture before baking for 30 minutes at 400 degrees. The combination of the seasonings with the sweetness of the root vegetables was phenomenal. I was concerned about the heat from the cayenne but next time will use the full amount.
Love, love, LOVE this simple, easy and delicious recipe!!!
thank you!
I made this with a mix of ground pork and beef. The spices are SPOT ON – this is a wonderful, authentic, flavor-packed dish. I dropped the chili peppers because, sadly, my guests can’t handle heat. I also couldn’t find any fresh cilantro and substituted 1 t. dried. But this recipe is really a winner. Can’t recommend it highly enough!
Awesome
Wellll…. i forgot the tomato sauce and water simmer step but it was still delicious. Served over brown rice with naan and some tzatziki sauce…. i would make this again for sure…maybe with the tomato sauce next time ?
This was a huge hit at our house.
Made this tonight with ground chicken and it was absolutely delicious! Already can’t wait to make it again.
Have just started getting into making Indian inspired foods. Loved this and all the flavors. Just Wonderful. I did use 93% lean ground beef this time. I test recipes as part of the NPR radio broadcast, “That’s a Mouthful” and they featured an Indian cook book this month called Vibrant India. I pared this Kheema dish with a test recipes that was a Yellow lentil and rice risotto , which used similar herbs. I found this Kheema dish nice with a sweet potato too. One of my favorite new dishes. Thank you
You’re welcome Frances!
I bought some extra lean ground lamb and this recipe is simmering on my stove right now. I was surprised it was 6 SP since I'm used to cooking other lean ground meats and they are very low in points. Well, extra lean ground lamb is 11 pts for 4 oz uncooked…eek! So, make sure your lamb is leaner. It smells delicious but I was planning to serve over rice and my meal will be hall of my daily points. If you're following WW, just a heads up.
perfection! I used ground lean turkey and follow the recipe exactly and it was amazing! Fantastic flavor. The spice was right on. This is now a staple in our house. Thank you!
I'm Indian and i LOVED this recipe. It was totally easy to make and tasted exactly like any good keema that I've ever had (this was my first attempt at making it). Thank you!
I serve over lentils for added fiber\fewer carbs.
Help please…..Tomato sauce? ketchup or passata?
Passata. Better late than never!
Made this tonight and it was delicious! Definitely a keeper, thank you 🙂
I make this dish with Turkey..much healthier !!
I used ground buffalo and served it over shirataki noodles…low carb, low fat, and scrumptious!
Prob waaay to late but does anyone think this would work with *stew* lamb? 🙂
It may, but really the best way to go is with ground lamb. Made this over a dozen times now, and it's always a big hit.
Hello, I love love love your sight. Really excited to make this recipe. Question for you. I was trying to figure out how many points the recipe would be if I were to ground chicken breast myself. In doing that I looked up how many points is in a pound of chicken breast compared to how many was in a pound of ground lean lamb. Weight Watchers said there were 33 points in a pound of ground lamb that divided by 4 (servings) is actually 8.25 points, and that is just the lamb alone. Yet the above recipe says it is only 6 points total. Am I doing something wrong? I know it is not your job to teach me how to calculate points, but I just thought who better to ask? I often try to figure out other recipes in this same manner, maybe I am calculating incorrectly??
I made this tonight with ground turkey. My husband declared it the "best ethnic dish" I've ever made. Absolutely wonderful!! We had your chicken & mushrooms earlier this week and I make something from your site almost weekly, if not twice a week. Thank you for all of your hard work!
This RAWKS… the spice combination is simply perfect and the spice was lovely and hot!.. I will admit I added a little more cayenne than requested since I only had a half a Jalopeno on hand. It will become a favorite in our house..
just made it…just as good as the Indian restaurant down the street, only cheaper! i made it with lamb this time as i love the taste; maybe next time i'll try the ground beef route….keep up the good recipes!
Just made it – so yummy!
I doubled this recipe and made it with ground bison instead of lamb (I left the cinnamon the same since I wasn't using lamb). This is a dish that my grandmother has made for me many times (she uses ground beef), so I know the spices well. It was pretty good. It was a tad under spiced for me so I ended up adding a ton of cayenne and a bit of garam masala at the end. I ate it with homemade baingan burtha and store bought garlic naan. I will be making this again.
What kind of chili pepper works best?
Bird's eye (Thai) chili peppers are generally used in Indian cuisine
Awesome, thank you.
Jalapeno worked well for us down south in Texas..
I made this tonight with turkey instead of lamb because I was unable to find lean lamb (same PointsPlus value for 93/7 turkey though, guys!)
Delicious! LOVE Indian food 🙂
I served over basmatti rice.
I bet this would be really good as filler for empanada shells or some other pastry dough, too. Perfect for packing lunch for school/work.
stuff some naan with it ftw
Also, I found the butter not necessary. Next time I will sauté onions in Pam & water and save a couple of points.
If you find lamb too greasy, try browning separately from onions, drain and rinse then add to onions. I haven't tried this but it might help.
My 5yr old just tried a bite and gave it thumbs up!
Try adding juice of half a lemon at the end. Perfect!!
This was a major fail in our household. Our family is majority Indian immigrants, but this was the first time I made kheema using lamb (I have used lean ground beef in the past). None of us liked the smell or the texture of the lamb. Plus it was very greasy. I will go back to my old kheema recipe (which uses fresh tomatoes plus potatoes).
Why would a family of Indian Immigrants utilize a recipe from an American cook? Couldn't you tap into one of your family members for a recipe? Very odd post..
My entire family LOVED this dish!!! Made it with beef as that is what I had on hand. Gina you saved my life with all your delicious recipes!!!!
made this for dinner…yummy…My hubby doesn't like Indian food…so I froze the leftovers in 3/4 cup portions. I had it with Uncle Ben's individual servings of basmati rice..So good..thanks
Made this tonight for dinner. While eating it, my husband says "this is my favorite meal you make". Thanks Gina!
I love Indian! Everytime I go out for it I try something different 🙂
omg this was amazingly easy! and DELISH
The smells in my place..Im surprised the neighbors werent banging on the door for food.
anyhow, I cant believe how "authentic" this tastes, authentic Indian I mean…like restaurant food. So amazing! I have never heard of Kheema either and I eat at Indian restaurants regularly.
For a kick, I added 2 med size serrano peppers …ya it's a bit hot but so tasty!
Gina, thank you again!!
Gina — My family loves keema. I make it with ground turkey and most of the spices you used, and at the end add a bag of spinach to wilt down. Probably not authentic but really, really good. Deborah
I'm making this for dinner tonight, and it smells delicious so far, but I'm a little confused. When was I supposed to add the ginger?
Same time as you add the garlic.
this looks delicious, but do you have the full nutritional info inculding calorie count for it? thanks!
how many points+ is it worth? Thank you…
Yum! I'm always looking for new ways to serve our homegrown lamb, and this is definitely my kind of simple recipe. Thanks! 🙂
Glad you liked it Steph:) Thanks for commenting!
Gina, this recipe is great! I have made it six different times, once with lamb but I have also subbed tofu, ground turkey and beef. I also add diced carrots or any other veggies I have around and put some cilantro in my rice on the side.
@Jessica, excellent! Glad you enjoyed this! I really love Indian food!
This was so yummy! I made it tonight with some okra and it was right on. My husband is from India and he also thought it was so tasty!
I cannot wait to try this…I am east indian and the kheema my mom used to make was high in fat but it's nice to see a version that isn't!!
It's great with turkey. Great with chicken too! Thanks for linking back!
This is so good! I used turkey rather than lamb. We'll be adding this to our regular rotation. I've shared it on my blog, too, with a link to you. Please let me know if that isn't OK with you!
Thanks a lot.Lamb kheema with peas is an interesting recipe. At last I have found something interesting and unique to serve to my guests during the holidays. I am sure that they'll love this lamb kheema with peas dishes. thank you for shearing your post.
I made this over the weekend. I love Indian food and have eaten a version of this. The spices were a wonderful mix. I think I'd try this same recipe with ground turkey breast because there was too much fat in the ground lamb. I purchased the lamb from a butcher but I'm not sure what part they used though it was all fresh. Thanks for the recipes.
The lamb kheema looks tasty!
Wow…this was so good and so easy to prepare. My son and husband who are meat and potatoes people really enjoyed this dish. My 2 year old loved it too! Yet another winner from this wonderful website! Thank you so much for sharing your recipes with us! I'm currently on WW, but hate bland diet food. Your recipes ar so refreshing!
I love this dish, a great way to introduce people to Indian food. I always order this when I go out for Indian and figured it would be very easy to make. My husband really liked it too and he is not as familiar with Indian cuisine.
Your kheema recipe is pretty spot on.
My inlaws cook also makes it with crumbled firm tofu and it's a great way to serve it as well.
Kheema is to Indian kids, what macaroni and cheese is to North America children. Since it's a very mild dish that adapts well to less seasoning, it is given to children as a quick easy meal.
This looks wonderful. My mother in law makes the best kheema ever. She uses potato cubes and red and green bell peppers but not peas. Yours looks great though, and extremely authentic! I have bookmarked it and I intend to try it out on Hubby Dearest. 😀
I give this 2 thumbs up!