Instant Pot Keema

156 Comments

Keema, a saucy, spiced, ground meat dish with peas, is comfort food that takes minutes to make in an instant pot! Serve hot with aromatic basmati rice.

Instant Pot Keema

What is Keema?

Have you ever had keema before? It’s like an Indian spaghetti sauce, only with fewer tomatoes and way more flavor. Oh, and peas.

Am I crazy for making that comparison? Someone tell me that you agree with me. I mean, it’s essentially an Indian spiced bolognese. You can eat it over pasta if you want, I mean, why not. Normally though, we eat it with plain basmati rice or an Indian flatbread.

I think keema mattar is a good “gateway” dish into Indian cuisine (that and Butter Chicken, of course). It’s a simple, comfort-food dish that you can make with any ground meat, lamb, goat, beef, turkey, chicken, etc.

Instant Pot Keema

It’s economical and can be stretched out with peas or potatoes. I always make it with peas, but I’m sure potatoes would be great too – though you’d have to reduce the cook time to 5 minutes, so the potatoes wouldn’t turn to mush. Hey, look at me, giving those of you who actually read what I write an extra recipe!

I’ve also included directions on how to use my onion masala to make this dish even easier. Just check out the notes in the recipe below. 🙂

Instant Pot Keema

Keema Ingredients

keema ingredients
  • Ghee or Oil
  • Onion
  • Garlic
  • Ginger
  • Serrano pepper or Green Chilli
  • Spices: coriander powder, paprika, salt, pepper, cumin, garam masala, turmeric, cayenne, ground cardamom
  • Ground Meat
  • Canned Diced Tomatoes OR Onion Masala
  • Peas
  • Cilantro
Instant Pot Keema

5 Reasons to Love Keema:

  1. Easy: this dish is so simple to make, especially if you have my Onion Masala on hand (highly recommend). You can get this dinner started in the Instant Pot in minutes if you have that prepared in advance.
  2. Everyone loves it: including kids! This is one dish that my whole family enjoys – as I said above, it’s similar enough to Indian spiced spaghetti and a lot of kids like spaghetti.
  3. Economical: a filling meal made with easy protein: ground meat. Add potatoes to stretch it out even more if you’d like.
  4. Versatile: eat it with basmati rice, serve it with pasta for kiddos (or yourself), use it to stuff samosas (just saute it to dry it out a bit more first).
  5. Freezes Well: I almost always make a double batch and freeze half for a rainy day. It freezes and thaws well and is a great meal to prep in advance.
Instant Pot Keema

Serve keema with plain Basmati Rice or Jeera Rice. You can also use it as a stuffing in samosas or parathas.

More Indian Main Dish Ideas:

Instant Pot Keema

Instant Pot Keema

Instant Pot Keema

Keema has been one of my favorite dishes since childhood. You can make this with any type of ground meat (beef, lamb and goat are my favorite choices). I typically eat this over rice but you can serve this with flatbread or even use it as a stuffing for samosas (Indian pastries) or parathas (Indian flatbread). I feel like this recipe as well as butter chicken are good “gateway” dishes to Indian cuisine because nearly everyone loves them!
5 from 44 reviews
Pin Recipe Print Recipe
Cuisine Indian

Ingredients
 

  • 2 tablespoons ghee or oil
  • 1 onion finely diced
  • 4 teaspoons minced garlic
  • 1 teaspoon minced ginger
  • 1 Serrano pepper or green chili minced

Spices

  • 1 pound ground meat of choice
  • 1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes OR ½ cup onion masala*see notes
  • 2 cups fresh or frozen peas
  • Cilantro garnish

Instructions
 

  • Press the sauté button, add the ghee and onions and stir-fry for 8-10 minutes, or until the onions begin to brown.
  • Add the garlic, ginger, Serrano pepper and spices to the pot. Stir-fry for 30 seconds, then add the ground meat and cook until it is mostly browned.
  • Add the diced tomatoes (OR ½ cup onion masala) and peas and mix well
  • Secure the lid, close the pressure valve and cook for 10 minutes at high pressure.
  • Open the valve to quick release any remaining pressure.
  • Press the sauté button to reduce or boil off any extra liquid if needed.
  • Garnish with cilantro and serve.

Notes

  • If you are following my onion masala series and would like to use it in this recipe, you can use ½ cup onion masala in place of the onions, garlic, ginger, and tomatoes — just toss in the frozen onion masala when you add the peas in step 3. You can also reduce the cook time to 5 minutes if using onion masala.
Did you make this recipe?Tag @myheartbeets on Instagram and hashtag it #myheartbeets!

Pin This Recipe

Like this recipe? Pin it to your favorite Pinterest board now so you will remember to make it later!

Pin Recipe Now0

Related Recipes

Cookbooks

Find out more about my cookbooks Indian Food Under Pressure and South Asian Persuasion.

About Ashley

Hi, I’m Ashley. Thanks for being here! I truly believe that food brings us closer together. Gather around a table with good food and good people, and you’ll have the ingredients you need to create some happy memories. My hope is that you find recipes here that you can’t wait to share with family and friends.

Subscribe

Subscribe to get our latest content by email. We won't send you spam. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Comment & Rating

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Comments

  1. Rosalie Goldberg says

    5 stars
    Hi I have a question if you do not own an insta-pot and make this on the stove top or oven how long would it need to cook?
    Thank you

  2. Claire says

    Made this for dinner tonight and it was awesome! Super easy with the frozen onion masala. My 8, 4 and 1 year olds gobbled it up. My husband says it’s like Indian hamburger helper 😆

Show More Comments

instant pot pour and cook chicken biryani

Ashley's Secrets

INDIAN FOOD

in INSTANT POT

Favorite tips & tricks to

easy Indian Instant Pot cooking

FREE EMAIL BONUS

paneer lababdar

Ashley's Secrets

INDIAN FOOD

MADE EASY

Favorite tips & tricks to

easy & delicious Indian cooking

FREE EMAIL BONUS