Chicken ‘Kheema’ (or Ground/ Minced Chicken Curry) is a flavorful, nutritious & aromatic chicken dish, easy to make and store.
Replace Ground/ Minced Chicken with Ground Turkey, Lamb or other red meat. With the cooling temps, this warm & hearty dish is surely a winner with family & friends 🙂
It best goes with Naan or ‘Rotis’/ ‘parathas’ (Indian flatbread) or plain white steamed rice.
What is ‘Kheema’?
Any minced/ ground meat is called ‘Kheema’ in ‘Hindi’. There are always some wonderful tasty dishes made with ‘kheema’ in every part of the world.
It’s popularly disguised as meatballs, ground meat kebab, hamburgers or chili to name a few.
You May Also Like: Hyderabadi Kheema Pulao, Chicken Seekh Kebab, Chicken Shami Kebab, Turkey Burger
My story
Growing up in Hyderabad (a metropolitan city in the South of India), memories of Sunday luncheons in cooler months was ‘Kheema Aloo Matar’ (or Ground/ Minced Goat meat with tomatoes, potatoes & green peas) with hot ‘parathas’ accompanied with chats, banter and laughter.
It was my Mom’s magical recipe that made her fussy kids eat veggies and meat at the same time 😀
Fast forward, I now make it all the time with Ground lamb or chicken with/ without the veggies 😉
About the Recipe
As with most meat dishes, marination holds the key. Minced/ Ground Chicken is marinated with spices and left overnight or for at least 1 hour. The longer the better.
When you’re ready to cook, marinated meat is added along with whole spices, onions, magical ‘garam masala’ & fresh herbs and cooked.
Traditionally, tomatoes, potatoes & peas are also added. But it tastes equally delicious without them. Go ahead and add them if you’d like.
Food has a strong bond with memories. Every recipe, every ingredient triggers an event in the past. It’s these memories that I cherish with my recipes. Food for thought!
If you like the recipe or make Chicken “Kheema”, please be sure to leave a comment. Above all, I love hearing from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe and decide to post, please be sure to tag me on Instagram or Facebook!
Chicken ‘Kheema’ (or Ground/ Minced Chicken Curry)
Ingredients
- 1 lb Ground Chicken or minced chicken or any meat or 1/2 kg
- 1 Red Onion medium sized
- 1 tsp Ginger garlic paste
- 2 tbsp Fresh Lemon juice
- 1 tbsp Ghee or any cooking oil
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp cardamon pods
- 4 nos cloves
- 1 tsp Red chili powder
- 1/4 tsp Turmeric
- 1/2 tsp Cumin seeds
- 1 tsp coriander
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 4 sprigs Mint chopped
- 2 tbsp Cilantro chopped
- 2 nos Green chili or Jalapeños; slit
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Marinate ground chicken with red chili powder, turmeric & salt overnight or at least 1 hr. 1/2 hr prior to cooking or the last 1/2 hr of marination, add lemon juice.
- Heat ‘ghee’/ oil in a kadai/pan. Add cumin seeds, bay leaves, cinnamon, cloves and cardamoms. Sauté on a low flame for a minute – this way they will release all their flavor in the oil. When they start to sizzle in oil add ginger garlic paste and cook for few seconds.
- Now add chopped onion and sauté until onion becomes pink & translucent. Stir in the remaining spices one at a time. Give it a good stir.
- I like to add garam masala along with the other spices as this way it gets cooked and all the warm flavors are released in the gravy- but you can save it for the last. Cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring continuously. Add ground chicken to the gravy. Keep stirring. Mix well.
- Once keema is added to the masala it will release some liquid.
- Cover the pan and cook for 10-15 minutes on a low flame. Depending on the meat it may release some liquid in the gravy- it’s just fine, we can dry that later. Using a spoon lift up some pieces of chicken to check for doneness and it should feels soft. At this point color of keema will change but no worries, keep sauteing for another 5 minutes and soon you will see the oil separating and the rich red color of keema returns. Adjust your seasonings and serve. But if you like it dry then cook for another 2-3 minutes till all the liquid/juices evaporates.
- If you didn’t add garam masala earlier now is the time to add and stir it well. Next add slit green chilis (or jalapeños), mint & cilantro. Give it one final stir.
- Remove from heat and transfer to a serving dish.
- Serve with hot rotis/ parathas or plain white steamed rice. Enjoy!
Notes
- If you’d like to use tomatoes, add it once onions turn pink. Fresh tomatoes – cook until oil leaves the sides; Tomato Paste – add 2 tsp with water and bring it to a boil.
- You can also add potatoes cubes. Boil or fry them.
- Green peas can be added in the end along with herbs.
- If you’re using ground meat, try & maintain the mince form (of meat) while cooking as ground meat tends to clump.
- Lemon juice is added in the last 1/2 hr of marination.
Nutrition
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