START TO FINISH: 40 minutes
SERVINGS: 4
Keema is often made with ground lamb or mutton and potatoes, but we use ground beef and green peas. The garam masala adds robust spiciness, but not much chili heat. If you’d like the bite of chili in the dish, serve it with hot sauce or minced fresh jalapeños or serranos. Warm naan is the perfect accompaniment to keema, but basmati rice is also good.
Don’t stir in the yogurt without first letting the keema matar cool for about 5 minutes. Adding the yogurt while the mixture is piping hot increases the chances the yogurt will curdle.
14½-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes
2 tablespoons tomato paste
3 tablespoons grapeseed or other neutral oil
1 large red onion, finely chopped
4 medium garlic cloves, finely grated
4 teaspoons finely grated fresh ginger
3 tablespoons garam masala
Kosher salt and ground black pepper
1 pound 90 percent lean ground beef
2 cups frozen peas
¼ cup plain whole-milk yogurt, plus more to serve
⅓ cup chopped fresh cilantro
In a medium bowl, use your hands to crush the tomatoes into small pieces. Stir in ½ cup water and the tomato paste, then set aside. In a 12-inch skillet over medium-high, heat the oil until shimmering. Measure out and reserve ¼ cup of the onion, then add the remainder to the skillet. Cook, stirring, until softened and beginning to brown, about 6 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Reduce to low, add the garam masala and ½ teaspoon pepper, then cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the tomato mixture. Bring to a simmer over medium and cook, stirring and scraping up any spices, until the mixture is slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.
Break the ground beef into 1- to 2-inch pieces and add to the skillet on top of the tomato mixture, but do not stir. Sprinkle 4 teaspoons salt over the beef, then cover, reduce to medium-low and cook without stirring until the beef is no longer pink on the exterior, about 6 minutes.
Stir in the peas and cook, uncovered and breaking up the bits of beef, until the meat is no longer pink, another 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and let stand, covered, for 5 minutes. Stir in the yogurt. Serve topped with the cilantro, the reserved chopped onion and with additional yogurt.