An authentic Indian spiced ground (minced) beef recipe known as Qeema (or keema or kheema). This is a gem of a recipe because it tastes incredible but unlike many Indian dishes, there are no hard-to-find spices in the ingredients. And it's super fast - on the table in 20 minutes! Serve over basmati rice. Great with plain yogurt, even better with Mint Yogurt.
Prep Time5 minutesmins
Cook Time15 minutesmins
Total Time20 minutesmins
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: Indian
Keyword: beef mince curry, curried beef, queema
Servings: 4
Calories: 255cal
Author: Nagi | RecipeTin Eats
Ingredients
3tbspvegetable or canola oil, or other neutral oil
4tspginger, finely mince
5large garlic cloves, minced (about 4 tsp)
1large onion, finely diced
500g / 1 lbbeef mince (ground beef)
3/4tspcooking salt / kosher salt
1tspcayenne pepper or chilli powder (pure, not US chili powder spice mix), omit for not spicy
1 1/4tspgaram masala(Note 1)
1 1/4tspcumin powder
1 1/4tspcoriander powder
1/2tspturmeric powder
1cupwater
Garnish
1green cayenne pepper, deseeded, finely sliced
Cilantro/coriander leaves
Plain yogurt or Mint yogurt (below)
Mint yogurt (optional, pictured in post)
3/4cupplain yogurt
1/2cup (lightly packed)mint leaves
1/4tspcooking salt / kosher salt
Instructions
Sauté - Heat oil in a skillet over high heat. Add ginger and garlic and saute for 30 seconds until golden, don't let it burn! Add onion and cook for 1 minute until it is starting to turn translucent.
Add beef and cook, breaking it up as you go, until it changes from pink to light brown. Add remaining ingredients EXCEPT water. Cook for a further 2 minutes to let the spices bloom.
Cook 10 minutes - Add water, give it a stir, then put a lid on (or cover with a baking tray). Turn heat down to medium and let it simmer for 10 minutes or until most of the water has evaporated.
Serve over with basmati rice or plain white rice, garnished with extra chilli and coriander/cilantro, and lots of Mint Yogurt. Naan or flatbreads would make it even better, though if time is not your friend, try frozen roti (pictured in post, Note 3).
Mint yogurt
Blitz then stir - Put just 1/4 cup of the yogurt with the mint leaves and salt in a jug just big enough to fit the head of a stick blender. Blitz until mint is very finely chopped. Then stir in remaining yogurt. (Note 4) Refrigerate until required.
Notes
Recipe credit - very slightly adapted from this Indian Queema Minced Beef by Scrambled Chefs.1. American "Chili Powder" is not pure ground chilli, it contains other spices like paprika and is not very spicy. This recipe calls for pure ground chilli for spiciness, or cayenne pepper.2. Garam Masala - Spice mix used in Indian cooking, a more legit curry powder. Sold at regular grocery stores in Australia -> Coles, Woolworths, Harris Farms.3. Roti – Flaky Indian round flatbread that's sold in the freezer section of large grocery stores these days. Love them because they're so handy - cook from frozen on the stove in just a couple of minutes. Cheap, tasty, if you’ve never tried it, it’s a game changer! 🙂4. Mint yogurt - Blitzing makes yogurt watery. So just blitz the minimum to puree the mint, then stir the rest in which thickens the sauce up again.5. Leftovers keep for 3 - 4 days in the fridge, or freezer for 3 months.Nutrition for beef only, not including rice or yogurt sauce.