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)
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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.
117 Comments on “Pakistani Aloo Keema (Ground Beef and Potato Curry)”
Made Aloo Qeema tonight… Turned out amazing! Thanks for sharing so many great recipes.
Very happy to hear that, Talha. Thank you for taking the time to review them! 🙂
I loved making this, my husband used to cook this as he grew up on many different Asian foods as he is from a mixed race family, but didn’t use some of the spices, stumbled on your website whilst looking for saag aloo, which was stunning by the way, it’s now my go to site for all my curry cooking, it’s clear, precise and the addition of the spices which you cook 1st has taken this to another level! Thank you for sharing traditional Asian cooking, for a Welsh girl this is so so helpful and I’m now asked to cook curry every time we entertain and it’s all thanks to you and your wonderful recipes. Bless you and your family.
I’m so delighted to see this comment, Sian. It truly means so much to me to that you’ve come to trust the recipes on this blog. Thank you for sharing this. I hope you try many more. 🙂
Hi thanks for recipe
How much qty in grams would be 495 kcal?
Hello! Since it’s 4 servings, each serving would be 495kcal. So 1/4 portion of the entire curry. Hope that helps!
I made it on a weeknight just the way the recipe called. It was delicious , everyone loved it ( no leftovers unfortunately) and my house still smells yummy.
So delighted to hear that! Thank you, Karen! 🙂
I was actually looking for a recipe for something else when I stumbled across this one. I am SO GLAD I found it. This recipe is completely delicious. The directions are easy to follow. My entire family loves this meal every time I make it (including teenager and two picky pre-schoolers). Thank you for sharing these wonderful Pakistani dishes with everyone!
Thank you so much, Charissa. I’m so happy you chanced upon it. Hope you get to try more!
This was amazing! I’m of Scandinavian decent, and am always looking for the perfect middle easter or Indian recipes… this one was fool proof and easy to source!
Agree that the lemon and a dollop of yogurt make it special.
I’ll be making this many times again in the future!
So glad you think it’s a keeper, Chelsey! Thanks for sharing, Chelsey!
This is an amazing recipe. The lemon at the end just perfectly completed the recipe. Thank you so much for posting!
Thank you, Obie! I’m so glad you tried and thanks for sharing your review! 🙂
If we don’t have the whole spices, do you recommend still sautéing the ground spices together at the beginning, or a different method? Also, do you pick out the spices right before eating or at another point? This recipe looks amazing!
Thank you, Leslie. Yes – still sauté the ground spices in the beginning. Generally we just discard the whole spices while eating. I know it sounds tricky but it just becomes second nature.
I lost my mother recently that made the best Aloo Keema. Although it’s not exactly like hers, it’s truly amazing and comforting for me and my family. Thank you so much for sharing. Question: is the nutrition facts for the entire dish 4 servings? I’m on weight watchers trying to figure out points.
I’m very sorry to hear that, Aaliya. I’m touched that you were able to find comfort through this recipe. Yes, it’s divided into 4 servings, so the nutrition facts are for 1 (of 4) servings.
Fool proof recipe as always!!Husband is an ardent fan of aloo qeema and couldn’t stop licking his fingerss!
How wonderful to hear. Thank you, Izza!