Popular street food in India, Kheema or Keema Pav is a robust, peppery curry dish made with minced chicken or lamb cooked with onion, tomatoes, ginger, garlic, and earthy spices! Served with lightly toasted buns or pav laden with butter or homemade ghee on the griddle makes a blissful meal!
My mom arrived last week from India, she is visiting me after a long time and I am SO excited to have her with us. With her high spirits and energy, she has already tried her hand on the Instant Pot that she has been hearing all about.
Kheema
Also known as Keema or Queema, Kheema is an Urdu word for minced meat such as chicken, lamb, beef, etc. The word Kheema means ground meat and it also means a spicy curry made with ground chicken often served with pav which are similar to hamburger buns/potato rolls.
Variations
- Add ½ cup of green peas to the curry just before pressure cooking
- Add a peeled and diced potato and sauté it with the onions. This will give more thickness to the curry
- Add 1-2 spicy green chilies or one diced jalapeño for spicier kheema
- Substitute ground chicken with ground lamb, turkey, or beef and follow the same recipe
- Serve as a chili topped with diced red onions, jalapeños, corn, cilantro, and a squeeze of lime for a gluten-free option
- Want to add a more complex flavor to the dish, add a tablespoon of my mom's homemade garam masala instead of my easy North Indian garam masala that the recipe calls for
Tip
- When buying the rolls or buns to be served with Kheema, check the Sugar contents on the pack. As long as sugar is 2% or less the bread does not taste overly sweet and works well with Indian curries.
Instructions
Step by step recipe for Kheema Paav in Instant Pot:
Turn Instant Pot to sauté mode and heat oil. Add cumin seeds and toast them for 30 seconds. Add turmeric powder and mix well. Add ginger and garlic, mix well. Add a finely chopped onion and sauté it until it turns soft and translucent (photos 1 - 2)
- Add tomatoes, red chili powder, garam masala, salt and coriander powder. Mix well (photos 3 - 4).
- Add ground chicken and breaking it with a spatula. Add ½ cup of water (You can add 2 tablespoons of water for a thicker curry). Close Instant Pot with the pressure valve to sealing. Cook on Manual(Hi) for 4 mins followed by Natural Pressure Release (photos 5 - 6).
- Garnish with cilantro and serve hot with potato rolls or burger buns lightly toasted with some ghee on a griddle.
I am so excited to post my mom's first recipe, Kheema Pav, on Ministry Of Curry!
I was very impatient and hungry (as usual) as I shot the video and honestly, the Kheema Pav was so full of flavor with heavenly aromas. The gorgeous orange hue from the Kashmiri red chili powder and turmeric, the warmth from the homemade garam masala, and the earthy flavors from roasted coriander powder were spot on!
From the back of the camera as I shot this video it took me back to the fond memories of my childhood. Mom waiting for the oil to heat up and then adding the cumin seeds, listening for the soft sizzle sound and a whiff from gently toasting them. Adding turmeric and roasting the spices at each step, soon filled up my kitchen with wonderful aromas.
Video
I always have a pack of ground chicken in my fridge. It comes in handy for busy weeknights to make one-pot meals like the Kheema Pulao, Spicy Buffalo Chili, Chicken Enchilada, or the EASY chicken burgers.
Kheema Pav is my go-to recipe for a relaxed weekend brunch. I often serve it like sloppy joe's on small buns topped with diced red onions and fresh cilantro. I also love to pair this spicy dish with the make-ahead french toast casserole as a sweet treat when hosting a brunch. Everyone loves it!
Also do check out my newest recipe on the blog, my all-time favorite Mumbai Pav Bhaji which can classify as a vegetarian version of the kheema pav.
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Kheema Pav - Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 tablespoon garlic grated
- 1 tablespoon ginger grated
- 1 large yellow onion diced
- 2 tomatoes diced
- 2 teaspoons Kashmiri red chili powder
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons ground coriander We lightly toasted the coriander seeds and then ground them
- 1 pound ground chicken
- ½ cup cilantro chopped for garnish
Serving
- 1 tablespoon butter or ghee
- 8 potato rolls
Instructions
- Turn Instant Pot to sauté(more) mode and heat oil. Add cumin seeds and toast them for 30 seconds. Add turmeric powder and mix well. Add ginger and garlic, mix well.
- Add onion and sauté for a minute. Cook covered for 2 minutes with a glass lid on.
- Add tomatoes, red chili powder, garam masala, salt and ground coriander . Mix well.
- Add ground chicken and breaking it with a spatula. Add ½cup of water (You can add 2 tablespoons of water for a thicker curry, but I like the extra gravy to dip the bread).
- Close Instant Pot with the pressure valve to sealing. Pressure Cook on for 4 minutes followed by Natural Pressure Release.
- Garnish with cilantro and serve hot with potato rolls or burger buns lightly toasted with some ghee on a griddle.
Video
Notes
- Add ½ cup of green peas to the curry just before pressure cooking.
- Add a peeled and diced potato and sauté it with the onions. This will give more thickness to the curry.
- Add 1-2 spicy green chilies or one diced jalapeño for spicier kheema.
- Substitute ground chicken with ground lamb, turkey, or beef and follow the same recipe.
- Serve as a chili topped with diced red onions, jalapeños, corn, cilantro, and a squeeze of lime for a gluten-free option.
- When buying the rolls or buns to be served with Kheema, check the Sugar contents on the pack. As long as sugar is 2% or less the bread does not taste overly sweet and works well with Indian curries.
Nutrition
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Donna Keen says
I don't have a IP and my pressure cooker won't let me cook anything for less than 10 mins on the manual setting.
Any advice on adjusting pressure for increased cooking time?
Archana says
Hi Donna! I am not sure what brand pressure cooker you have to help you here. As an option this recipe can also be easily adapted to stovetop.
Nila says
We made this and it was a hit.
Ok to freeze the left over? If yes, for how long it stays good in freezer?
Thx
Archana says
Awesome! You can freeze it as long as you like
Maki says
Hi!
I’m still new to IP, and I really really want to try this recipe. But my IP usually takes 20-30min to release pressure naturally and that screw up my schedule often. So, my question is, how is it going to change the texture/flavour in this specific recipe if I release the pressure ‘manually’???
Archana says
It will still be delicious for this recipe. So go ahead and release Release the pressure when you are ready to open the pot
Prity says
This recipe looks so yummy. I’m a vegetarian. Would the recipe work with veggie crumbles (from Morning Star)?
Archana says
Yes absolutely!!
Kavita says
Chicken kheema was the first chicken dish I made today. It was very easy turned out good. I took some non spicy kheema out then spiced it more on sauté mode.
Antony Cruz says
This recipe is for how much keema?
Archana says
1 pound keema
Kshitija says
Hi Archana, if I want to make mutton kheema then how much time I need to pressure cook it?
Archana says
Same pressure cook time, just saute the meat a couple of mins longer in the beginning
Natasha Jivraj says
Hi if I am to double this recipe, how long should I cook it in the IP?
Archana says
same cooktime. It will just take longer for the Instant Pot to come to pressure.
Sanam Patel says
Hey can I use canned diced tomatoes instead of fresh ones ?
Archana says
Yes you can
Dee says
I’ve made this several times and it always comes out fantastic! We love to add the potato and peas as recommended and it’s delicious! Thank you for an easy and delicious recipe!
Archana says
Thank you!
DIYA PATEL says
This is one of my favorite recipes of yours. Has always come out amazing. And even my mom who is an amazing cook and makes really great kheema agrees
Archana says
Thank you Diya! Getting approved by mom is the biggest compliment.
Janet O says
So glad to discover your cooking blog. I just made this dish with ground turkey and the family loved it. I served it over basmati rice, like a chili. Can you suggest a bean or lentil side dish and a veggie or salad side dish that would go well with Keema served in this manner?
Archana says
You can serve it with Kale Salad with Almonds or mango salad. The other option is to serve it with a raita.
silpa says
Would the time/settings change if I use ground lamb? And how about the quantity of water? Should it be increased?
Archana says
Same cook time for ground lamb, just sauté it for a couple extra mins. Same amount of water
Swapna says
Hi Archana,
Do you need to wash the ground chicken? Would the recipe still taste good if I skip adding the tomatoes?
Archana says
In the US the packaged ground chicken does not need to be washed. You may want to add more onions if you skip tomatoes. Add lemon juice in the end for tanginess.
LESLIE DSOUZA says
Hi Archana, I luv all your recipes, but its al cooking l done with a IP which is giving me a BP (Blood Pressure ) , can you give people like us who does stove top cooking mostly I dont even have a PC (Pressure Cooker) please Hoping to hear from you I am a Novice in cooking . Many Thanks to you
Archana says
Hi Leslie, I have slowly started to add stovetop instructions to many of my Instant Pot recipes. Also here are 90+ stove top recipes - https://ministryofcurry.com/category/stove-top/
Sbhatt says
Very easy to make and so yummy! I didn't have time to roast the coriander and grind it and used what I had. I added peas and a small green chili. Was perfect for a cold day Sunday brunch!
Seema p. says
Hi do you recommend ground chicken breast or just ground chicken?
Archana says
Either one will work.
James says
Don’t you get the burn warning with only 1/2 cup water? Surely you would with 2 tablespoons only? I doubled the recipe and used 1 cup water but added another cup after it said burn.
Archana says
If you turn off the saute mode before all the liquids evaporate it does not give BURN.