Pakistani Aloo Keema (Ground Beef and Potato Curry)
Here’s a recipe for an authentic, homestyle, just-like-grandma’s Aloo Keema – Ground Beef & Potato Curry. This is a traditional, one-pot beef keema curry recipe that’s simple, easy-to make, and gives the most tender, flavorful results!
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“I was looking for something that would taste just like the one my mom makes and this was perfect! I’ve made it a few times already and my little ones enjoy it as well. Thank you for such a perfect recipe!”
Jasra
What is Aloo Keema?
Aloo Keema is a iconic Pakistani & North Indian dish consisting of curried, minced or ground meat (keema) and potatoes (aloo).
Keema curry, or qeema, can be made with any meat, but Pakistani versions typically use beef.
If I had to pick one traditional dish from my childhood, it’d be Aloo Keema. It’s not glamorous, but it’s home.
If you’re new to Tea For Turmeric, rest assured that I test, dissect, and improve each recipe several times before I declare it ‘good enough’ to go on this here blog. We’re talking blood, sweat, and tears y’all (this is a country-style recipe, go with it guys).
And when it’s such a special, close to home, memory-evoking dish like Aloo Keema, the pressure is on! (Speaking of pressure, here’s an Instant Pot version.) Let’s just say I ate way more than my share of red meat to bring you this classic, deeply flavorful, yet simple recipe of Aloo Keema.
A Note on a Few of the Ingredients
- Ground/Minced beef – Both lean or full-fat will work in this recipe.
- Potatoes: I use Russet or red potatoes for their quicker cooking time. The smaller you cube the potatoes, the faster they’ll cook. I generally like to cut them into 1/2″-3/4″ cubes.
- Spices: Whole spices are meant to be discarded before/during eating. If you don’t want to bite into any whole spices, feel free to omit.
How to Make Aloo Keema
Aloo Keema is hard to mess up, and this recipe is particularly forgiving, adaptable, and straightforward:
- First, you sauté the onions along with the whole spices until golden.
- Then add in the garlic, ginger, and ground beef sauté so that the beef changes color and the moisture evaporates.
- Next, add in tomatoes, ground spices, salt, and yogurt while continuing to sauté.
- Lastly, add the potatoes along with a bit of water, cover, and let it cook until the potatoes are tender.
- Garnish with the usual suspects – garam masala, cilantro, and lemon.
Tips for Making Aloo Keema
- After you add in the meat, sauté it until the moisture evaporates from the meat. This technique, called bhunnai (a blend of sautéing and stir-frying), gives ground beef a well browned, deeply flavorful finish.
- I’ve added 1/4 cup water before covering and allowing to cook, but feel free to add more if you’re afraid it’ll stick to the bottom. I grew up eating a ‘dry’ (no curry, but moist) version, but you can always increase the curry by adding more water.
- Since Keema Aloo is all about comfort, you’ll notice I’m generous with the spices, salt, and oil. Feel free to adjust these to taste.
How to Serve Aloo Keema
Sometimes we like to serve it with some crunchy vegetables like red onions or cucumber, but it’s so flavorful that it doesn’t really need much enhancement. In terms of pairing, Aloo Keema pairs well with just about anything:
- Naan
- Roti or Paratha (mmm!)
- Basmati Rice
- Good old’ sandwich bread
If you try this recipe, please let me know in the comments below! I love hearing from you!
More Keema (Ground Beef) Recipes for you to try:
- Keema Matar (Ground Beef & Potato Curry)
- Beef Kofta Curry (Meatball Curry)
- Shami, Chapli Kabab or Seekh Kabab
This is an updated post of a recipe that was originally published in March, 2019.
Aloo Keema (Ground Beef and Potato Curry)
Watch the Video
Ingredients
Whole Spices (Omit any you don't have)
- 1 2-inch cinnamon stick
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 3 whole cloves
- 1/2 tsp coriander seeds, optional
- 1/2 tsp whole black peppercorns
Aloo Keema
- 1/3 cup (73 g) neutral oil (I use grapeseed or avocado)
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 5-6 cloves (~1 tbsp) garlic, crushed
- 1 inch (~1 tbsp) piece ginger, crushed
- 1 lb (454 g) ground beef, lean and full-fat both work, though lean is a bit more dry
- 1 large tomato (or 2 small), finely chopped
- 1-2 Serrano or Thai chili peppers, sliced
- 2 tsp coriander powder
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- 3/4 tsp turmeric powder
- 1/4 tsp red chilli powder, or to taste
- 1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
- 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt, or to taste
- 2 tbsp plain, whole milk yogurt
- 1 medium to large (~250 g) russet potato, peeled and cubed into 1/2" cubes
Garnishing
- 1/8 to 1/4 tsp garam masala, optional
- 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice
- 2 tbsp cilantro leaves, chopped
Instructions
- Heat a heavy-bottomed pan over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the oil, whole spices, and onions and sauté until the onions are golden brown (~8-10 min). Deglaze the pan with 2 tbsp of water.
- Once the water dries up, add the garlic and ginger and sauté for a minute. Add ground beef and cook, stirring often, until it changes color and the moisture dries up (~4-5 min). Use a wooden spatula to break up the beef into small pieces to ensure no lumps.
- Add the tomato, green chili pepper, ground spices, salt, and yogurt and continue to sauté for 4-5 minutes, or until the tomato breaks down and the oil starts to separate from the ground beef. Add the potatoes and 1/4 cup water and stir to combine.
- Lower the heat to low-medium. Cover, and allow it to cook for 23-25 minutes (depending on the thickness of potato cubes), stirring once in between. The potatoes will be very tender.
- If needed, turn the heat to high and sauté out any extra moisture. Turn off the heat and add the garam masala (if using), lemon juice, and cilantro. Give it a quick stir and serve hot with rice, roti, naan, bread, or anything else you'd like.
Notes
- Double all the ingredients including water for cooking. So instead of adding 1/4 cup water along with the potatoes, use 1/2 cup water.
- Increase sauté times by 2-3 minutes.
119 Comments on “Pakistani Aloo Keema (Ground Beef and Potato Curry)”
I made this dish today and it’s absolutley wonderful. I ground the whole spices in my spice grinder, except for the cinnamon which I left whole.
I made homemade naan which I’ve been doing for the last 6 years or so.
Thank you for the recipe.
This will be part of my regular meal rotation going distaste. Forward.
Ooh that looks so good! Love the idea of grinding the spices minus the cinnamon, which I think would have been too overpowering. So happy you enjoyed and thanks for sharing!
Made this today..very very tasty…but… would defintely leave out some of the whole spices, next time……thumbs down from family for the crunchy peppercorns/cloves ….
Thank you Izzy…..
That’s great feedback, Francis. Maybe I can give a range for those measurements. Thanks so much and glad you found it tasty! 🙂
Oh Izzah, yet another FANTASTIC recipe! You leave me no choice but to have to make all your recipes. Your recipes are truly outstanding! Thank you for another family favorite!
What a wonderful comment! Izzah works hard to perfect her recipes. So glad you are having great results 🙂
Her hard work shines through. All recipes I have tried are perfection! I am beyond grateful
Thank you for your kind words, Monique! Truly means so much to me!
Thank YOU for your hard work and generosity
We make this with straight ground venison, excellent every time!
Thanks for sharing Adam! Ground venison sound delicious 🙂
Love your website, Izzah! The taste of your recipes is authentic without the hours long labor traditionally associated with desi food! Can this recipe be frozen after cooking?
Hi Aisha! So kind of you to say that. Thank you so much. You can freeze but the potatoes won’t retain their quality. They’ll release water and adopt a mushier texture. You may want to consider freezing the keema and adding potatoes later.
I’ve made this twice now and it’s so amazing. As a beginner who isn’t very experienced at all with cooking Pakistani dishes, this was so easy to follow and make. I made no adjustments and was super pleased with the results!
Hi Sarah, We are so happy to hear the Aloo Keema turned out well for you! Thank you for sharing 🙂
I struggle with desi dishes and spices being on point but this was perfect! I got compliments from my family this keema tasted amazing and was asking for the recipe. Will be making again!
Thank you for sharing Sania!
Hey I’ve made this before and it’s amazing. I was wondering though, when you say “crushed” garlic and ginger, do you mean with a mortar and pestle like you mention in the keema matar recipe?
Hi Flint, So glad to here you enjoyed the Aloo Keema. To answer you question, yes, you can crush the ginger and garlic in a mortar and pestle.
Love this recipe, easy to follow tastes amazing, I did use ” beyond beef” ( veggie mince )
We are so glad to hear you enjoyed the Aloo Keema and for sharing that it worked well with Beyond Beef!