Ground Beef Curry with Peas
(Kheema Mattar Masala)
This beef mince curry is an Indian classic made with peas. Very similar to chili with minced meat and beans but here we use ground beef and frozen peas instead. This simple and easy recipe uses popular curry powder and garam masala available in most supermarkets which means you do not need a fully stocked Indian Pantry.
One of my absolute favorite things as a kid was mincemeat and my mom never failed to create wonderful Indian as well as non-Indian dishes for us such as this beef mince curry.
If you love Indian food and have been to an Indian restaurant you probably saw this dish on the menu often under the name Kheema Mattar Masala. Kheem is mincemeat”, ‘mattar’ means green peas” and masala meaning spice”. So basically this is mincemeat with peas cooked in Indian spices.
About this Ground Beef Curry
To make this recipe authentic would mean to add all spices individually. I want to make this recipe accessible to my friends who love Indian food so instead of using my Indian spice rack I chose to use what is most popularly found to everyone in most supermarkets Curry Powder and Garam Masala.
Now I spoke at length about what I think is the right blend for garam masala, what you should look for when buying garam masala and I have even given you my recipe for homemade garam masala spice mix as well as homemade curry powder spice mix.
The recipe is very simple and very easy. The secret to cooking Indian food is to cook the spices well at every stage. Don’t make haste saute onions until they are translucent, let ginger and garlic go fragrant. Let the tomatoes become soft so they disappear in the sauce. Cook the spices until they are fragrant. If you just add ingredients quickly to the pan and cook you will have a curry with color it will even taste good but you will lack that depth of flavor which gets builds at every stage in the cooking process.
Ingredients and substitutes (Save/Pin)
- Beef mince – Ideally you can use any mincemeat. I have tried it with turkey, lamb, and chicken as well. They all taste delicious but my favorite is still the beef mince, maybe because I grew up eating beef mince curry. If you do use chicken I highly recommend using chicken thigh mincemeat or cooking it for much less time.
- Onion – I use red onion because I like the little sweetness it adds when caramelized. But you can use any onion and it will taste just fine
- Ginger/garlic – I highly recommend mincing or grating these as it really blends well in the sauce plus no one likes to bite into a piece of ginger or garlic.
- Paprika – I love adding sweet paprika when I cannot add cayenne or hot paprika because my kids are small. It really gives the curry a nice rich color. If you love spicy food go ahead and add cayenne or chilly powder and you will love it.
- Fenugreek powder – this is a dried herb with a slightly bitter taste and is not commonly found so don’t worry too much and feel free to avoid it. It’s a lovely herb that complements meat dishes really well.
- Curry powder – Curry powder is readily available in most supermarkets these days. So, if you don’t have the spices below don’t worry too much, just add two heaping tablespoons of curry powder. Make sure you buy the curry powder that is right for you, not-spicy, medium or hot. I make my own so you can find my homemade curry powder as well as garam masala. So, if you like making your spice mixes, you will love to try these.
Useful Tips and Tools
- Use a heavy bottom pot when cooking with spices. This helps prevent the spices from burning. Spices need to be cooked well in a little water and the heavy bottom skillet also works best to maintain even heat.
- A sharp knife and chopping board for cutting the chicken. Always use a separate chopping board just for meat or poultry, and another for vegetables.
- Also, a wooden spoon works best to stir curries. And yet, avoid using your favorite wooden spoon as some spices may lend their natural dye to the wooden spoons. Wooden spoons are porous.
- You can use a food processor or hand blender to chop the veggies.
Today I have served this minced meat curry with peas (kheema Mattar masala) with my Spiced Cilantro Potatoes and homemade fresh chapati. It’s one of our favorite meals.
How to Make Indian Beef Mince Curry with Peas – Kheema Mattar Masala (Save/Pin)
Prepare
- Chop onions fine.
- Grate the ginger and mince the garlic.
- Add one cup water to the minced beef
Saute
- Saute onion in the oil over medium heat for two minutes until translucent.
- Add garlic, ginger and bay leave – Saute another minute or two.
- Add curry powder, paprika, garam masala, fenugreek powder, and tomatoes – saute well for 2 to 3 mins on low until fragrant and the oil separates from the mixture.
- Next, add the beef mince and frozen peas and stir well for 2 to 3 minutes
- Season with salt and pepper
- Add half the fresh herbs and bring to a boil.
- Lower the heat and simmer covered for 15 minutes on medium-low until you see the oil separates from the mince.
- Lastly, add lemon juice.
- Taste and adjust seasoning.
- Check consistency – add water if you need more gravy or cook on medium until excess water is evaporated.
- Enjoy!
What do you serve with this Minced Beef Curry?
This curry goes well with any Indian bread, such as chapati or naan. Our family’s favorite is garlic butter naan or vegetable pilaf. And when I’m looking for a low carb option, I eat cauliflower rice. Since the no-fuss cauliflower rice works great for me in place of steamed rice. My kids also love the turmeric cauliflower rice or my mustard dill cauliflower rice.
Frequently asked question
Minced beef curry can be spicy but this one is not too spicy. I make it less spicy by using more sweet paprika for the color instead of all chilly powder. The sweet smoked paprika gives the lamb that beautiful color.
You can but you will need to cook it for much less time as the ground chicken cooks instantly.
Garam masala is a blend of warm spices similar to pumpkin spice of gingerbread spice using spices like cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, etc. You can omit the garam masala. You will lack a bit of flavor but it will still be very delicious.
Curry powder is a blend of easy to find ingredients such as turmeric, coriander, cumin, etc. You probably already have these spices in your kitchen to make your own homemade curry powder.
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Indian Beef Mince Curry aka Kheema Mattar Masala
Print Pin RateDescription
Ingredients
- 500 grams (1.1 lb) Minced beef
- 1 cup (5.11 oz) Frozen peas
- 2 tbsp (2 tbsp) Cooking oil
- 1 (1 ) Red onion chopped
- 1 tbsp (1 tsp) Garlic minced
- 1 tbsp (1 tsp) Ginger grated
- 1 (1 ) Tomatoes large, chopped
- 2 (2 ) Bay leaves large
- 2 tbsp (2 tbsp) Curry powder
- 1 tsp (1 tsp) Sweet paprika sweet or hot
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) Garam masala (my homemade recipe)
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) Fenugreek powder optional
- 1 tbsp (1 tbsp) Lemon juice
- 1 cup (1 cup) Cilantro or parsley chopped
Instructions
Prepare
- Chop onions fine.
- Grate the ginger and mince the garlic.
- Add one cup water to the minced beef
Saute
- Saute onion in the oil over medium heat for two minutes until translucent.
- Add garlic, ginger and bay leave – Saute another minute or two.
- Add curry powder, paprika, garam masala, fenugreek powder, and tomatoes – saute well for 2 to 3 mins on low until fragrant and the oil separates from the mixture.
- Next, add the beef mince and frozen peas – stir well for 2 to 3 minutes
- Season with salt and pepper
- Add half the fresh herbs and bring to a boil.
- Lower the heat and simmer covered for 15 minutes on medium low until you see the oil separates from the mince.
- Lastly, add lemon juice.
- Taste and adjust seasoning.
- Check consistency – add water if you need more gravy or cook on medium until excess water is evaporated.
- Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
Featured Recipe below – Homemade Chapati
Recipe Video
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Nutrition Information
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Clarinda Yap
Wonderful dish, Veena! 🙂 thank you so much for sharing! 😍🙏
Veena Azmanov
Thank you, Clarinda. Happy you enjoyed it. Appreciate you coming back to write this feedback.
Helen @ Fuss Free Flavours
I love a keema, nicely gently spiced and warming in this weather too! Great not to need an overflowing spice shelf to make it too!
Veena Azmanov
Thank you Helen. Yeah this does not need a full stacked Indian pantry – it’s really simple yet very packed with flavor.
Marisa Franca @ All Our Way
I’d certainly like to become better acquainted with Indian recipes. We love spicy food so curries would be right up our alley. And I love making homemade spice combinations. I’m going to have to try yours. Oh!! And I’d have to have some of our homemade flatbread to go along with this.
Veena Azmanov
You will love Indian Food Marisa. Everybody things Indian food is really spicy but it doesn’t have to be. My kids are 8 and 10 years old and they can eat my Indian food.
Denise Wright
I love that this is so approachable! I have never heard of using mince meat in a curry but I’m so happy to discover that you can. I want to make your homemade garam masala recipe too!
Veena Azmanov
Thanks Denise. Actually mince meat is very common in India and there are tons of good delicious mince meat recipes – I plan to share a few soon. You will love my homemade garam masala.
Tracy Koslicki
Oh this is great! And thank you for sharing your homemade gram masala, too! I have some that’s store bought but I love making my own spice mixtures. Will have to make it to try this dish!
Veena Azmanov
You are very welcome Tracy. I have a soft spot when it comes to spice mixes. I hope you try this one you will never buy store bought again
Lisa | Garlic + Zest
Veena – my mouth is watering over this dish. As a yank, I can imagine it over a bed of rice or noodles, or scooping it up with some warm naan — probably none of those things are actually what you’d serve it with, but that’s immediately where my brain goes.
Veena Azmanov
Thank you Lisa. I do love this with crusty baguette bread.. Nothing beats the sauce all soaked in that bread. But the others work just as well. Steamed rice is one fav and easiest to accomplish for me.
K.C.
Curries are one of my favorites. The accompaniments you chose sound perfect for a satisfying meal.
Veena Azmanov
Oh you can have with any bread or rice.. Indian chapati, roti or naan are my kids favorite and I love it over steamed rice.
Emily
My husband would for sure love this curry dish! Yum!
Veena Azmanov
Thanks Emily! I hope you make it for him.
Gloria @ Homemade & Yummy
Loving the sound of this flavourful dish. After shovelling all the snow today…this would be the perfect dinner for sure. I love Indian food!! Delicious and so comforting.
Veena Azmanov
Thanks Gloria. Oh this sure would be a wonderful bowl of comfort with some crusty bread..
Dana
I love the spices in this dish! I’ve never actually had fenugreek powder — I don’t think I’ve even seen it! Good to know it can be omitted. But now I’m curious to try it.
Veena Azmanov
Fenugreek is dried leaves very similar to how we get dried mint or basil. Can be found mostly in Asian and Indian stores. It can easily be omitted too.
Jolina
This looks delicious Veena! We love Indian food and though we’ve tried cooking it at home before, it’s not the same (i.e. we’re not that good at it LOL!). I think we’ll have tremendous success with your recipe though. Apart from 1 or 2 ingredients I think we have everything else. Can’t wait to try!
Veena Azmanov
Thanks Jolina.. I think you will love my recipes. They are made with my friend’s limited stocked pantry (not my) in mind and I know they have limited Indian spices so this works for them. Let me know if you try it. Would love to know what you think.
Mary
Love these flavors!
Veena Azmanov
Thanks Mary
Jenn
This sounds so flavorful! I love Indian spices and peas are one of my fave veggies!
Veena Azmanov
Thanks Jenn.. It really is packed with flavors.
Karen Dyment
Hi, I am new to your recipe’s and I am enjoying them very much. My favorite Indian Restaraunt closed due to new construction and I lost contact where they went or at least where their marvelous chef went. He used to make me this wounderful spinach dish with potatoes, even when it wasn’t on the menue. He absolutley had me spoiled with his fresh Naan as soon as I sat down and this wounderful spinach dish. Since I can not find where he went, would you have any idea what the dish was called and the recipe’. Thanks in advance, Karen
Veena Azmanov
Hey Karen. I think you probably made using a version of the spinach curry with tofu but with potatoes instead. Usually, you would find it in restaurants as Saag Paneer. Its a green spinach based sauce with fried Indian cottage cheese squares which looks very similar to tofu. I do have a spinach tofu recipe coming up soon. Perhaps that might work.
Deanna
I would so dive into this! It sort of reminds me of Chili, but different! I love to have a bowl of it!
Veena Azmanov
Thanks Deanna. It’s so easy to make too!
Karen @ Se
I absolutely love curry and will eat it anyway I can get it. I love that you made your own spice mix and I”m sure I could use that in all kinds of curry dishes!
Veena Azmanov
Thank you Karen. We love curry too – my kids really enjoy it .
Diana
This reminds me of Keema, a family favourite. But I prefer curries as they’re healthier and tastier. Pinning for later!
Veena Azmanov
Thank you Diana. I do prefer curries and this is definitely much healthier than most curries. NO ghee or butter.