Traditional Pakistani Aloo Keema (or Keema Aloo!) with tips and tricks for foolproof flavour! Rich tasting meat, creamy potatoes, and that zing of brightness - this ground beef and potato curry is a must make for good reason!

Whenever I am about to go back to Karachi my mother always asks me what I want to eat when I get home. The answer always is "qeema paratha" which usually prompts my mother to say "you're your fathers' daughter; he also wants qeema all the time". I also do LOVE Keema Chawal (kid friendly too!) and Dum ka Keema so she may be right there.
Ghar ka Keema Flavours
Ghar ka Keema, like ghar ka Aloo Gosht, is a different thing. It is true. I regularly crave a ghar ka keema. I don't mean bihari style keema, or galawat ka keema or any of those other varieties that are commonly found in restaurants: I mean the kind of keema that mama's make.
A really great Qeema should have caramelly spiced notes, the subtle tang of tomatoes, the zest of fresh garnishes.
The perfect Aloo Keema Recipe was elusive for a while. I struggled to get the right aroma, the right flavour, but it's been many years since I cracked the code and shared it on here.
Tips for Awesome Pakistani Aloo Keema
- Keema can smell a little funky sometimes. To mitigate this unwrap the keema and leave it out on a plate to air out
- Use a wok or a nice big pan for your keema (see why right below!)
- Most of the flavour of keema comes from the "bhunn" which is the repeated sauteing of the meat, it is what browns the ground beef and what helps it absorb all the spices. Totally worth it to spend a few minutes doing this!
- Don't skimp on the oil while cooking. Instead once your keema is done tilt your bowl, press with a slotted spoon and drain some out. Or just eat it - I am not judgy.
- Fresh ginger is king. If you don't like the 'bits' as my kids call them use homemade paste, it beats the jarred stuff any day!
- Cooking half the cilantro and chilies with the meat is a bit unorthodox, but it really rounds out the flavor!
Ingredients
Aloo Keema Ingredients are humble and accessible, a powerful reminder of what great cooking can do to simple ingredients.
For the Qeema/ Keema:
- Ground beef (or your preferred meat) - I like to use lean keema here
- Onions - yellow cooking onions or red ones work
- Tomatoes - Roma are my forever favourite, but hothouse will do too!
- Ginger and Garlic Paste - homemade is best!
- Whole Spices: Cumin seeds, cloves, whole black pepper and cinnamon.
- Powdered Spices: Salt, Cayenne/Red Chili Powder, Coriander Powder, Turmeric
Final Touches:
I cannot say this enough: in Pakistani cooking garnishes are not decorative, they are the piece of the puzzle that makes the dish sing.
If you want a well balanced keema then getting your garnishes right is KEY. I attain that balance by using the following ingredients.
- A robust Garam Masala for depth. Homemade is the best ever, just saying.
- Green Chilies - for that fresh bright heat
- Lemon - to balance the rich spices
- Cilantro - for it's herby freshness
- Ginger (optional) for a little extra oomph.
How to Make Aloo Keema: Step by Step Recipe
Okay friends, let's do this.
Step One: Heat your oil on medium high heat and add your spices. When they sizzle then add your onions and cook till the edges darken. You want a golden brown edge, a little darker (like below) is okay, all dark isn't the yummiest.
- Now add your Ginger and Garlic Pastes, give it a quick saute and then add your keema, sauteeing it well to evenly brown it. It requires a little aggressive breaking down of meat but is crucial.
Now add your spices and saute it well - the meat will darken considerably.
Now add your potatoes and tomatoes, a little water, and mix well. Cover the pot, bring the mix to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes.
Once the potatoes are tender then adjust the consistency to your liking. I like eating my keema with roti so I opt for a drier keema. Now add your garam masala, a squeeze of lemon, half the diced chilies, half the cilantro, and a little ginger (adding it now mellows the flavour, if you like the zing, add it at the end). Saute for a minute.
Now taste, adjust seasonings and top with remaining chilies and cilantro. This is also when you add your ginger for the freshest zing.
Can I make it in the Instant Pot?
This is a question I get often and the short answer is yes. However, in this case the flavour comes from the way you sautee the meat and I find that that is optimal stovetop in a wok or wide bottomed pan. If you want to use your IP then where you add your water you put it on Manual for 4 minutes and quick release. This is risky because potatoes vary so you may need to adjust it to your IP and produce.
What to Serve with Aloo Keema
Want more Keema Recipes?
- Keema Chawal - a family favorite and so kid friendly!
- Chicken Karahi Keema
- Dum Ka Keema
- Chicken Keema with Matar
Made my Pakistani Aaloo Keema!? Then do rate the recipe and share your thoughts! Tag me in your recreation on instagram too @flourandspiceblog
Aloo Keema - Tips for the BEST Keema (Pakistani)
Ingredients
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- ¼-1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1 small diced onion
- 1 inch piece cinnamon
- 2-4 whole cloves
- 6-8 whole black peppercorns
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 ½ tbsp ginger (see notes)
- 1 ½ tbsp garlic
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp red chilli powder add more for a spicier qeema
- ¾ tsp coriander powder
- ¼ tsp turmeric powder
- 3 to matoes diced
- 1 large potato or 2 small - approximately 1 cup cut it into slim 2 cm big pieces
- 1 tsp of garam masala
- 3-4 chillies - sliced halved, or left whole
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro
- a few squeezes of lemon juice
- julienned or minced ginger (optional)
Instructions
- Take your Keema out of the fridge and open up any packaging
- Warm a wok on medium heat and add your oil
- When the oil is hot add your whole spices - cumin seeds, black pepper, cloves, cinnamon - cook for about 30 seconds or until you can see the cumin seeds darken
- Add your diced onion and cook until the edges are golden brown
- Now stir in your ginger and garlic paste, saute for a minute
- Turn the heat up and add your keema, stirring it frequently to evenly brown the meat.
- Add all your spices except the garam masala and mix well.
- Saute your Keema on medium high heat until it becomes nicely browned - this takes a good 7-8 minutes.
- Now add your chopped tomatoes and potatoes, and a cup of water and bring to a boil.
- Simmer until your potatoes are almost tender (varies across potatoes but usually 10 minutes is enough here) - I leave a tiny bit of a bite so that they don't overcook and fall apart as I dry mine out.
- Adjust the consistency of the Keema to your liking - adding more water for a more gravy like keema or drying it up.
- Now add your garam masala, a squeeze of lemon, half the diced chilies, half the cilantro, and additional ginger (if using). Give it a quick mix then adjust seasoning.
- Serve topped with remaining chilies and cilantro. I love it with roti/naan/paratha but you can eat it with rice as well.
Video
Notes
- in this dish fresh ginger makes a HUGE difference, if you have the time then mince 2 tbsp of ginger by hand. You can then skip adding it at the end since it retains that nice feisty crunch
Nothing beats mom's cooking, and aloo keema is the epitome of comfort food. I too often miss my mom's aloo keema. She would often keep it a little saucy and serve it alongside spaghetti or mushy khichri 🙂
Yum one of my favorite comfort foods thing I use lamb instead of beef ?
My mom used to make this for us growing up and I always loved it! She actually used to put boiled eggs in it too. I may have to try your recipe 🙂
Oh wow what a cool twist! i love eggs and am totally going to try that! thanks for popping by 🙂
Oh yummmy! Looks really good! 🙂
delicious!
Hi, I made this and it tasted beautiful, thank you. My husband had it with achar and loved it. I want to make this recipe again but with 2lb of keema. Do I double everything? Please advise. Thank you
Hello my fellow Sarah! Lovely to hear that it turned out well! Your achar loving husband sounds a lot like mine 😉 You can double things easily, just watch the salt and maybe hold back one tomato unless you like a tomato-y qeema. Hope you enjoy it as much or more the second time around 🙂
Fellow Sarah! It turned out amazing with 2lb minced meat. I doubled everything asides - cloves (7), black peppercorn (16), 3 medium potatoes and kept garam masala to 1tsp. I used 4 tomatoes. Your recipe is so good that we're not eating it tonight but taking it to father inlaw's tomorrow as husband wants him to try this 'particular' dish. Lol I offered to make it 2mor but no it has to be 'this' one. Thank you 🙂
Sorry 14 pepercorn*
awesome awesome!!! just remember to heat it in a pateeli vs the microwave! am thrilled to bits 🙂
I've always made/came across qeema recipes where its bhunno-fyed with lots of water until completely cooked. I was intrigued when i saw this recipe used only a 'splash' of water and cooked in its own/tomatoes juice. Hence, I tried it today and oh my.. I was blown away! There was so much taste to it. Super fantastic!
Thanks Beenish! Am absolutely thrilled to hear that! I do love the flavor you get from browning and am happy you do too - thanks for taking the time to let me know!
Phenomenal recipe! Tastes just like home. Thank you for this, Sarah!
I think you just said my favorite four words! So glad to be able to help you get that taste!
Thanks for all the tips especially the bhooning... It took my qeema to another level! I made this with chicken qeema and it's delicious 🙂
am SO glad to hear that!!! Yay for good qeema!
Asad made this when I was visiting them this summer and it was so good that I just made it myself. Thank you again for your idiot-proof instructions, this hit all the spots for me!
woah! Thanks Siham!!!! I am SO glad you liked it!
What is that served with the keema? Is it spinach raita? It looks divine.
Hi Karri! You can make just regular raita too (yogurt, cilantro, onions, cucumbers) and have it with naan! Hope you love it!
I’ve always made qeema with basic spices, but your addition of cilantro, green chilies and lemon, really elevates a simple qeema recipe! So, so good!
Made this today for my family and it went down like storm. Thank you for sharing this recipe
That's absolutely amazing to hear!
Hi Sarah,
I recently tried Aloo Keema at a local restaurant with my family. It was really good. I searched for a recipe and found yours. It is wonderful!! I have made it twice and shared it with family. They found your recipe delicious too.
I am looking forward to trying more of your recipes.
Thank you very much for sharing!
That makes me so so very happy to hear! Thank you for sharing that!
I made this Keema recipe for my family the other night and it was amazing.
As a child I had a friend whose family was from Pakistan and I always loved going there because his mother would cook Keema which she stuffed inside Pita breads. Having been brought up in a Scottish household I had never tasted something so flavourful in my life (funny but true).
This recipe tastes exactly as I remember it and I enjoyed it just as much.
Thanks for sharing!
Hey Mike! It is absolutely wonderful to hear that on so so many levels. Thank you so much for sharing that and rating the recipe!
Oh my goodness! Yet another awesome recipe of yours! I made this tonight for my very fussy family, and everyone loved it! My husband even went so far as to say that this was the best keema I’ve ever made (and he was pretty happy with my keema before, so this says a lot!)! I guess I found my new favourite keema recipe! Thank you so much for sharing!
Afsheen, this made me so so happy! I am THRILLED that it was such a hit!
Can you make this in the instant pot?
Hi Nadia! You can - After browning your Keema you can add the potatoes, tomatoes, and water and pressure for 5 minutes and quick release. I would cut the potatoes larger than I have here so they don't become mush. I will say though that I usually make this stove top because I find it easier to saute everything well there than in the IP and it's the browning that develops the flavour.
Hi Sarah!
Tried messaging before but will try again. I simply love this recipe! I've tried a few so far, but this one is BOMB. Thanks so much!
Would love to reconnect sometime.
Love,
Kiran
Hello,
I’m not someone who can cook well but recently have started trying. I made this recipe yesterday and honestly I couldn’t have made a better one! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe and helping! Keep them recipes coming please ❤️🥰
Sarah! I am SO happy to hear that this recipe hit the spot! Thank you for your rating and review!!!
Always a winner! Plus so easy to make with all the hints!
I am so glad they work for you! thank you for your review!