Chicken keema recipe, learn how to make chicken keema recipe using this easy step by step recipe.
Keema or kheema is typically a minced meat dish (usually mutton or lamb keema) that is spiced up and served in a few different ways. I personally love chicken keema with peas because the flavours are absorbed really well into the meat and I am not a fan of lamb or mutton. While you can reduce and adjust the amount of heat and spices in this dish, keema is typically greasy and spicy, a great side dish to mop up with some bread or nan.
Chicken keema is very a lazy-cook friendly recipe. If you are like me and want to spend minimum time in the kitchen with the best results, this recipe may just be the right one for you. Buy minced meat, obviously, and there’s really not much time spent on chopping and preparing to make chicken keema because it’s quite simple and easy going that way. I have served it with breads (made it a tad more moist in that case) and rice too, the latter being my personal favourite although not as common or popular.
I love cooking with chicken and here are some of my favourite recipes:
Chilli chicken
Chicken jalfrezi
Chettinad pepper chicken masala
Chicken 65
Kerala chicken curry
Chicken Keema Recipe
Ingredients
- 300 grams minced chicken meat
- 1 tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder adjust to taste
- 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
- Salt to taste
- 1/4 cup oil adjust to your preference
- 1 tsp cumin seeds jeera
- 1 bay leaf
- 1.5 cups finely chopped onion
- 1 tsp grated ginger
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 1/2 cup peas fresh or frozen
- 2-3 green chillies slit (adjust to taste)
- 1.5 tsp coriander powder
- 1 tbsp canned tomato paste or 1 cup fresh tomatoes, chopped
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- 1/4 cup finely chopped coriander leaves cilantro
Powder Coarsely:
- 2 pods cardamom
- 1 " piece of cinnamon
- 3 cloves
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg powder optional
Instructions
- Place the minced chicken in a bowl and add chilli powder, turmeric powder, and salt
- Mix well and set aside
- Powder together the spices mentioned under "powder coarsely" above and set aside
- Heat the oil and add cumin seeds and bay leaf
- When the cumin seeds brown and sizzle, add the chopped onions
- Saute until the onions turn soft, no need to brown them too much
- Now add the fresh ginger and garlic
- Saute saute saute
- In go the green chillies and peas. I leave the peas out for a few minutes if using frozen but adding them straight from the freezer will work in a pinch too
- Saute again until the peas start to turn soft - about 5-7 minutes
- Time to add the spices. Add 2 teaspoons of the ground powder (I usually chuck it all in without measuring) and coriander powder
- Fry for a minute until nice and fragrant
- Now add the chicken
- Mix everything together until well combined
- Add the tomato paste (or fresh tomatoes) and mix again
- Since I used canned tomato paste (the flavour is more intense and I prefer this in some dishes), I add about 4 tbsp water at this stage. You can omit this if using fresh tomatoes
- Mix well and cook covered for 10-15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked soft.
- Once the chicken is cooked, add sugar and more salt if needed
- Throw in the chopped coriander leaves
- Mix and serve hot
Step by Step Chicken Keema Recipe
Place the minced chicken in a bowl and add chilli powder, turmeric powder, and salt
Mix well and set aside
Powder together the spices mentioned under “powder coarsely” above and set aside
Heat the oil and add cumin seeds and bay leaf (I used two because mine were teeny tiny but one should suffice if they are normal sized)
When the cumin seeds brown and sizzle, add the chopped onions
Saute until the onions turn soft, no need to brown them too much
Now add the fresh ginger and garlic. You can also use bottled ginger garlic paste, no problem
Saute saute saute
In go the green chillies and peas. I leave the peas out for a few minutes if using frozen but adding them straight from the freezer will work in a pinch too
Saute again until the peas start to turn soft – about 5-7 minutes
Time to add the spices. Add 2 teaspoons of the ground powder (I usually chuck it all in without measuring) and coriander powder
Fry for a minute or two until nice and fragrant
Now add the chicken
Mix everything together until well combined
Add the tomato paste (or fresh tomatoes) and mix again
Since I used canned tomato paste (the flavour is more intense and I prefer this in some dishes), I add about 4 tbsp water at this stage. You can omit this if using fresh tomatoes
Mix well and cook covered for 10-15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked soft. Add (more) water as needed by the tablespoon but take care not to add too much
Once the chicken is cooked, add sugar and more salt if needed
Throw in the chopped coriander leaves
Mix and serve hot
Notes:
- The spices and heat (red chilli powder and green chillies) should all be adjusted per your preference. This quantity yields a fairly spicy chicken keema which is perfect for my family
- You can try the same recipe with minced lamb but you may need to increase the spices accordingly since lamb is a stronger flavoured meat
- If your tomatoes are not sour, squeeze half a lemon over the chicken keema once cooked
- Chicken keema tastes fabulous with nan, bread, pav, and rice too
- If you try this recipe, please tag me on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, I’d love to check it out
- For chicken keema recipe in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu, Telugu etc please use the Google translate button in the sidebar.
dee
tried the exact same recipe with minced lamb and loved it. Do share more recipes that are similar.
jigs
Hi,
Your CHICKEN KEEMA RECIPE …. yummy.
thank you.
Anindya Sundar Basu
Keema is my personal favourite and enjoyed reading this.
Amy
Looks wonderful. I can almost smell it. Thank you.
Shanaz Rafiq
I too love cooking with Chicken mince and this recipe is so easy to follow. No doubt that it will make a perfect stuffing for sandwiches too.