Ingredients
Main Ingredients
- 3 tbsp vegetable or canola oil (or other neutral oil)
- 4 tsp ginger, finely minced
- 5 large garlic cloves, minced (about 4 tsp)
- 1 large onion, finely diced
- 500g / 1 lb beef mince (ground beef)
- 3/4 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper or pure chilli powder (omit for mild version)
- 1 1/4 tsp garam masala
- 1 1/4 tsp cumin powder
- 1 1/4 tsp coriander powder
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 cup water
Garnish
- 1 green cayenne pepper, deseeded and finely sliced
- Cilantro/coriander leaves
- Plain yogurt or Mint Yogurt (recipe below)
Mint Yogurt (Optional)
- 3/4 cup plain yogurt
- 1/2 cup mint leaves, lightly packed
- 1/4 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt
Instructions
- Sauté Aromatics: Heat oil in a skillet over high heat. Add the ginger and garlic and sauté for 30 seconds until golden, being careful not to let it burn. Add the diced onion and cook for 1 minute until starting to turn translucent.
- Brown the Beef & Add Spices: Add the ground beef to the skillet and cook, breaking it up with a spoon, until the beef changes from pink to light brown. Sprinkle in the salt, cayenne or chilli powder, garam masala, cumin powder, coriander powder, and turmeric powder. Cook for a further 2 minutes to bloom the spices and release their full flavors.
- Simmer the Curry: Add the cup of water, stir to combine, then cover the skillet with a lid (or a baking tray if you don’t have a lid). Turn the heat down to medium and let the mixture simmer for 10 minutes, or until most of the water has evaporated and the qeema is saucy but not too watery.
- Prepare Garnishes & Serve: Serve hot over basmati or plain white rice. Garnish with extra sliced green chilli and chopped coriander/cilantro leaves. Spoon on plenty of Mint Yogurt if desired, and enjoy with naan, flatbreads, or quick-fried frozen roti.
- Make the Mint Yogurt: For the mint yogurt, place 1/4 cup of the yogurt, mint leaves, and salt into a jug just big enough to fit a stick blender. Blitz until the mint is finely chopped. Stir in the remaining yogurt. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Notes
- If you prefer less spice, simply omit or reduce the cayenne/chilli powder.
- Garam masala is a key Indian spice blend, available at most supermarkets or spice stores.
- Roti (Indian flatbread) is great with qeema and can be cooked from frozen in minutes.
- Blitzing all the yogurt makes the mint sauce thinner, so only blitz enough to puree the mint, stirring in the rest afterward for thicker consistency.
- Leftovers keep well: store in the fridge for 3-4 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
- Nutrition is for curried beef only, not including rice or yogurt sauce.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Main-course
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Indian
- Diet: Halal
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 172g
- Calories: 255
- Sugar: 1g
- Sodium: 525mg
- Fat: 14g
- Saturated Fat: 3g
- Unsaturated Fat: 9g
- Trans Fat: 0.5g
- Carbohydrates: 4g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 28g
- Cholesterol: 78mg
