Aloo Keema (Spiced Beef and Potato Curry)
Aloo keema — minced beef and cubed potatoes in a deep tomato-onion masala.
Ingredients
- 500 g Ground beef
- 400 g Potatoes
- 2 Onion
- 4 cloves Garlic
- 2 tbsp Ginger
- 400 g Canned tomatoes
- 2 tsp Garam masala
- 1 tsp Ground turmeric
- 1 tsp Ground cumin
- 1 tsp Ground coriander
- 2 tbsp Neutral oil
- 1½ tsp Salt
- 240 g Basmati rice
Method
- Rinse the basmati rice until the water runs clear, then cook it in twice its volume of water, covered, until tender and the water is absorbed, about 15 minutes.
- Chop the onion fine.
- Heat the oil in a heavy pot over medium. Add the onion and fry, stirring occasionally, until deep golden, about 10 minutes.
- While the onion browns, mince the garlic and ginger.
- Add the garlic, ginger, garam masala, turmeric, cumin, and coriander. Stir for 1 minute until fragrant.
- Add the beef and salt. Break it up and brown, about 6 minutes, until no pink remains.
- While the beef browns, peel and cube the potatoes into 2 cm pieces.
- Add the tomatoes, potatoes, and a splash of hot water to loosen. Bring to a simmer, then cover and cook on low for about 22 minutes until the potatoes are soft.
- Taste, adjust the seasoning, and serve with the rice.
Tap “Start cooking” for live timers that flag what to get ahead on while something simmers.
About Aloo Keema (Spiced Beef and Potato Curry)
Aloo keema is a homestyle North Indian and Pakistani curry built on the pairing of minced meat (keema) and potato (aloo), here made with ground beef. It belongs to the everyday repertoire of subcontinental cooking rather than the banquet menu — the kind of dish cooked in one heavy pot on a weeknight, where a little meat is stretched with potatoes to feed a family. What defines it is the masala base: onions fried slowly to a deep golden color, then bloomed with ginger, garlic, and the warm quartet of garam masala, turmeric, cumin, and coriander before the meat and tomatoes ever go in.
The result is rich and savory rather than sharply hot, with the beef browned until it carries a roasted depth and the potato cubes turning soft enough to soak up the tomato-onion gravy around them. Frying the whole spices into the onion before adding liquid gives the dish its layered, almost caramelized backbone, and the covered simmer lets the potatoes cook through in the sauce so they taste of the whole pot. Aloo keema is traditionally scooped up with roti, naan, or paratha, though it is just as at home spooned over plain rice. It reheats well and often tastes better the next day, which makes it a practical dish to cook in one go for lunches through the week.
Aloo Keema (Spiced Beef and Potato Curry): frequently asked questions
How many calories are in Aloo Keema (Spiced Beef and Potato Curry)?
A serving has about 718 calories — 32.9g protein, 83.1g carbs, 27.8g fat, 7.2g fiber. Figures are estimated from the ingredient amounts and will shift with your portions and brands.
Is it high in protein?
Each serving has about 32.9g of protein, roughly 18% of its calories.
Is Aloo Keema (Spiced Beef and Potato Curry) gluten-free?
Based on its ingredients, Aloo Keema (Spiced Beef and Potato Curry) has no gluten-containing components, so it's naturally gluten-free — as always, check that any packaged ingredients you use are certified gluten-free to be safe.
How long does Aloo Keema (Spiced Beef and Potato Curry) take to make?
About 50 minutes start to finish, but only around 26 of those are hands-on — the rest is largely unattended cooking time you can step away from. In the Homecooked app the timers and parallel steps are sequenced for you so the hands-on part feels even shorter.
How many servings does Aloo Keema (Spiced Beef and Potato Curry) make?
This recipe makes 4 servings. In the app you can scale it up or down and the ingredient amounts adjust automatically.