Lamb Keema Recipe - Spiced Mince Curry in 20 Minutes

Why This Recipe Works

Keema is the unsung hero of Indian home cooking. While Butter Chicken and Biryani get the spotlight, it's Keema that Indian families actually eat on busy weeknights — because it takes 20 minutes, uses cheap mince, and is almost impossible to get wrong. "Keema recipe" is one of the highest-volume Indian searches in the UK specifically, because British-Indian households have been making it for generations and the nation's love affair with spiced mince runs deep — from keema naan at the local curry house to keema samosas at every party. Yet most food blogs overcomplicate it with 25-ingredient masala pastes and 90-minute simmer times. This recipe strips it back to what keema actually is in Indian homes: mince, onion, tomato, peas, and a fistful of spices, cooked fast in one pan.

At Pick N Save, we stock everything that transforms plain supermarket mince into proper keema — and the difference comes down to three products. First, Shan Keema Masala or Shan Karahi Mix — pre-blended spice sachets designed specifically for mince curries, containing the exact ratio of coriander, cumin, chilli, garam masala, dried fenugreek, and black pepper that would take 15 minutes to measure individually. Second, Fudco Ginger Garlic Paste — the aromatic base of every Indian meat curry, ready in a jar. Third, frozen peas — they go into the keema in the last 3 minutes and add sweetness, colour, and protein. We've been selling these exact products to our Harrow customers for keema night since 1999. The recipe hasn't changed because it doesn't need to — it's already perfect.

Step-by-Step Method

Step 1: Cook the Onion Base (3 Minutes)

Heat 2 tablespoons of sunflower oil (KTC Pure Sunflower Oil 5 Litres) in a large, wide frying pan or wok over medium-high heat. Add 1 large onion, finely diced (White Onions Prepack 4Kg), and cook for 3 minutes until softened and starting to turn golden at the edges. You don't need deeply caramelised onions for keema — just soft and translucent with a touch of colour. Add 1 tablespoon of ginger garlic paste (Fudco Ginger Garlic Paste 300g) and 2 green chillies, finely chopped (Indian Chilli 400g). Stir for 30 seconds until the raw garlic smell disappears.

Step 2: Brown the Mince (4 Minutes)

Add 500g of lamb mince to the pan. Break it up immediately with a wooden spoon — you want no large clumps, just a fine, even crumble. Cook on high heat for 3–4 minutes, stirring and breaking constantly, until the mince is browned all over and no pink remains. The high heat is important: it browns the meat (Maillard reaction) rather than steaming it, which adds a deep savoury flavour. If the pan looks very wet with released liquid, keep cooking on high until the liquid evaporates and the mince starts to sizzle in its own fat — this is when the flavour intensifies.

Step 3: Add Spices and Tomato (2 Minutes)

Reduce the heat to medium. Add the spice blend: 1 sachet of Shan Keema Masala (or 1 sachet of Shan Karahi Mix 50g for a slightly different flavour profile), OR if using individual spices: 1 teaspoon of garam masala (TFS Garam Masala 100g), 1 teaspoon of ground coriander (TFS Dhana Coriander Powder 100g), 1 teaspoon of ground cumin (TFS Jeera Powder 100g), ½ teaspoon of Kashmiri chilli powder (TFS Kashmiri Mild Chilli Powder 100g), ½ teaspoon of turmeric (TFS Haldi Powder Rajapuri 100g), and salt to taste. Stir the spices into the mince for 1 minute — they should coat every grain of meat and the kitchen should smell incredible.

Add 2 medium tomatoes, finely chopped (Fresh Vine Tomato 500g), or 200g of KTC Chopped Tomatoes (half a tin). Stir and cook for 2 minutes until the tomatoes break down and form a thick, clingy paste around the mince. If using tinned tomatoes, cook until most of the liquid has evaporated — keema should be dry, not soupy.

Step 4: Add Peas and Finish (5 Minutes)

Add 1 cup of frozen peas (no need to thaw — they'll cook in the residual heat). Add 100ml of water, stir everything together, and cover the pan. Cook on medium-low heat for 5 minutes. The peas will steam and turn bright green, the mince will absorb the last of the spice flavour, and a small amount of thick, concentrated gravy will form at the bottom — just enough to coat the mince, not a pool of liquid. Remove the lid, taste, and adjust salt and chilli.

Squeeze the juice of half a lemon (Lemon Loose Yellow Big 3 pcs) over the keema — lemon juice is the finishing touch that brightens the spices and cuts through the richness of the lamb fat. Scatter a generous handful of chopped fresh coriander (Fresh Coriander Bunch) over the top. The keema is done.

Step 5: Serve

Keema is the most versatile curry in Indian cooking — it works with everything:

• Classic: Keema with rice — spoon over fluffy basmati rice (Tilda Basmati Rice 5kg) for the simplest, most satisfying weeknight dinner.
• Keema with roti — scoop with warm chapati (Shana Chapatti Multi Pack 20s) or Garlic Naan for the traditional North Indian way.
• Keema Naan — stuff the keema inside naan dough before cooking for the ultimate filled bread (see our Garlic Naan variations).
• Keema Fries — pile the keema over crispy chips, drizzle with yogurt and mint chutney, and top with sev. The British-Indian fusion dish that's taken over Instagram.
• Keema Pav — serve on toasted pav buns (Quickbury Burger Buns) for a keema version of Pav Bhaji — a Mumbai favourite.

Pro Tips from Our Store

• Lamb mince vs beef mince vs chicken mince: Lamb mince gives the richest, most traditionally Indian flavour — the lamb fat carries spices beautifully. Beef mince works equally well and is cheaper. Chicken or turkey mince works for a lighter version but produces a drier keema — add an extra tablespoon of oil to compensate. All supermarket mince works for this recipe — you don't need anything special from a butcher.
• Break the mince aggressively: The hallmark of good keema is a fine, even crumble — no lumps, no clumps. Use the edge of a wooden spoon to chop and break the mince continuously as it browns. Some cooks use a potato masher for the finest texture. The finer the mince, the better it absorbs the spices and the better it works as a stuffing for naan, samosas, and parathas.
• Shan Keema Masala is the one-sachet solution: This single sachet contains the exact spice blend for keema — coriander, cumin, chilli, garam masala, dried fenugreek, black pepper, cloves, cinnamon, and more. It eliminates measuring 8+ individual spices and produces a result indistinguishable from the individual-spice method. We stock Shan Keema Masala and Shan Karahi Mix — both excellent, slightly different flavour profiles. Karahi Mix gives a more tomato-forward, restaurant-style result.
• Dry keema, not wet: Authentic keema is a dry mince — the spices should coat every grain of meat, with just a thin layer of concentrated gravy at the bottom. If your keema looks like a soup, the heat was too low or you added too much water. Keep the heat high during browning, and add only 100ml of water at the peas stage. If it's too wet at the end, cook uncovered on high for 2–3 minutes to reduce.
• Frozen peas are perfect — don't use fresh: This is one of the rare cases where frozen is genuinely better than fresh. Frozen peas are picked and frozen at peak sweetness, giving consistent flavour and bright green colour. Fresh peas vary wildly in sweetness and take longer to cook. Add them frozen in the last 5 minutes — they thaw and cook perfectly in the residual heat.
• The ultimate meal prep protein: Keema is the ideal meal prep curry — it reheats perfectly (microwave or pan), freezes for up to 3 months, and works in completely different meals throughout the week: with rice on Monday, in a wrap on Tuesday, over chips on Wednesday, stuffed in paratha on Thursday. Make a double batch on Sunday and you've got weeknight dinners sorted.

Variations to Try

• Keema Aloo (Mince with Potatoes): Add 2 medium potatoes (Potato White 2kg) cut into 1cm cubes along with the mince at the browning stage. The potatoes cook alongside the mince, absorb the spices, and add bulk to stretch the dish further — traditional home-cooking economics. This is the version most Indian mothers make.
• Keema Matar Pulao (One-Pot Rice): After the keema is cooked, add 1½ cups of soaked basmati rice (Tilda Basmati Rice) and 2½ cups of water. Cover and cook on low for 12 minutes until the rice is fluffy and has absorbed all the keema juices. A complete one-pot meal — fragrant keema rice with peas. The keema version of biryani but 10x easier.
• Keema Samosa Filling: Make the keema slightly drier than normal (skip the water entirely). Let it cool completely, then use as a filling for samosas — wrap in Switz Samosa Leaves 500g or TYJ Spring Home Pastry 30s. Deep fry or bake. Keema samosas are the star of every party table and can be made a day ahead and refrigerated before frying.
• Keema Paratha (Stuffed Flatbread): Roll chapati dough into a circle, place 2 tablespoons of cooled keema in the centre, fold the edges over to seal, and roll out flat again. Cook on a hot tawa with ghee (KTC Butter Ghee 500g) until golden on both sides. Keema paratha with yogurt and pickle is one of the greatest Indian breakfasts — hearty, savoury, and deeply satisfying. Use Shana Chapatti dough or make your own.
• Keema Fries (British-Indian Fusion): Cook oven chips or fry your own. Pile the hot keema over the chips. Drizzle with beaten yogurt (Desi Natural Yogurt 1kg), tamarind chutney (Rishta Tamarind Date Chutney 400g), and green chutney (Sagar Coriander Chutney 200g). Top with thin sev (Jaimin Thin Sev 200g), sliced red onion, chopped coriander, and a squeeze of lemon. This is the dish that's taken over every Indian street food stall, Instagram feed, and late-night menu in the UK — and it starts with this keema recipe.
• Egg Keema (Budget Stretcher): Make a well in the centre of the cooked keema, crack 2–3 eggs directly into the well, cover the pan, and cook for 3–4 minutes until the whites are set but the yolks are still runny. Scoop keema and egg together with naan — the runny yolk mixes into the spiced mince like a built-in sauce. A dhaba favourite across North India and insanely good.

Shop This Recipe at Pick N Save

Every single ingredient for this recipe is available at picknsave.co.uk with home delivery across London and the UK, or click and collect from our store in Harrow. Here's your shopping list:

• Keema Masala: Shan Karahi Mix 50g | Shan Korma Mix 50g | Shan Niharti Mix 50g | Shan Dal Curry Mix 100g
• Individual Spices: TFS Garam Masala 100g | TFS Dhana Coriander Powder 100g | TFS Jeera Powder 100g | TFS Kashmiri Mild Chilli Powder 100g | TFS Haldi Powder Rajapuri 100g | Fudco Cumin Seeds 300g | TFS Dried Fenugreek Leaves (Kasuri Methi) 100g
• Pastes: Fudco Ginger Garlic Paste 300g | Taj Ginger Garlic Crushed 400g | Shan Ginger Garlic Paste 700g | Fudco Ginger Paste 300g | Fudco Garlic Paste 300g
• Tomatoes: Fresh Vine Tomato 500g | KTC Chopped Tomatoes 400g | KTC Plum Tomatoes 400g
• Fresh Produce: White Onions Prepack 4Kg | Indian Chilli 400g | Fresh Coriander Bunch 1Pc | Lemon Loose Yellow Big 3 pcs | Fresh Ginger Loose 500g
• Curry Pastes (Alternative Base): Patak Mild Curry Paste 283g | Patak Extra Hot Curry Paste 283g | Patak Madras Curry Paste 283g | Patak Rogan Josh Paste Mild 283g | Patak Vindaloo Curry Paste 283g | Patak Bhuna Curry Paste 283g | Patak Jalfrezi Curry Paste 283g | Patak Kashmiri Masala Paste 295g | Patak Garam Masala Paste 283g | Patak Balti Paste Mild 283g | Patak Korma Curry Paste 290g
• Catering Size Pastes: Patak Mild Curry Paste 2.4kg | Patak Balti Paste 2.3Kg | Patak Kashmiri Paste Catering 2.2kg | Patak Vindaloo Curry Paste 2.3kg | Patak Madras Kebab Paste 2.4kg
• Oil: KTC Pure Sunflower Oil 5 Litres
• Rice & Bread: Tilda Basmati Rice 5kg | Tilda Basmati Rice 2kg | Shana Chapatti Multi Pack 20s | Crispy White Chapati 15s | Shana Naan Garlic 300g | Leicester Garlic Naan 2s
• For Keema Fries: Desi Natural Yogurt 1kg | Rishta Tamarind Date Chutney 400g | Sagar Coriander Chutney 200g | Jaimin Thin Sev 200g | Red Onion Loose 500g
• For Keema Samosa: Switz Samosa Leaves 500g | TYJ Spring Home Pastry 30s | Taj Samosa Pads 30s | Taj Plain Samosa Pads 60s
• For Keema Paratha: Shana Paratha Plain Multi Pack 15 pack 1.2kg | KTC Butter Ghee 500g
• For Keema Aloo: Potato White 2kg
• Accompaniments: Desi Natural Yogurt 1kg | Patak Mixed Pickle 283g | Lijjat Plain Papad 200g
• Kebab Products (Related): Lala's Lamb Kababs 18s 1080g | Lala's Lamb Kebabs 600g | Lala's Chicken Kebas 18s 1080g | Lala's Chicken Kebabs 10s 600g | Nisas Seekh Kebab Chicken 18s | Nisas Sheekh Lamb Meat Kebab 16s | Nisas Meat Shami Kebab 16s | Nisas Chicken Shami Kebab 18s