Lamb Keema with Tadka Yogurt

🔪 Ingredients for Lamb Keema

For the Lamb Keema:

• Ground lamb: look for 80/20 American lamb. The grass flavor is milder than Australian lamb, and the fat content is perfect for carring the flavor without drying out.
• Onion
• Garlic and fresh ginger: both fresh, not from a jar. Grate the ginger on a microplane.
• Tomato paste: the kind in a tube keeps better once opened than a can does.
• Cumin, coriander, turmeric, and garam masala: standard pantry spices, but use them only if you bought them within the last year. Otherwise, it’s time to restock… Stale spice tastes dull and dusty no matter how long you toast it.
• Kashmiri chili powder: brings color and only mild heat. Regular chili powder or cayenne runs hotter and darker, so cut the amount if that’s what’s in your pantry.
• Kosher salt and black pepper
• Frozen peas: added at the very end so they stay bright green instead of going drab and gray.
• Water or chicken stock

For the Tadka Yogurt:

• Whole milk Greek yogurt: full-fat holds up to the hot tadka without breaking. Low-fat can weep and go watery on the plate.
• Butter or ghee: ghee tolerates higher heat and gives a nuttier finish. Butter works fine at a slightly lower flame.
• Garlic: sliced thin, not minced, so it turns golden instead of scorching.
• Cumin seeds: whole seeds, not ground. They need to hit hot fat and sizzle to release their oil.
• Whole dried red chilies: for heat and aroma without turning the tadka spicy-hot. Fish them out before serving if no one at your table wants to bite into one.
• Kashmiri chili powder: stirred in off the heat so it doesn’t scorch and turn bitter.
• Kosher salt

For Garnish:

• Fresh cilantro leaves
• Red onion, thinly sliced
• Jalapeño, thin rings
• Lemon wedges

📝 How to Make Lamb Keema

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the diced onion and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft and translucent at the edges.
2. Stir in the garlic and ginger and cook for 1 minute, just until fragrant.
3. Add the ground lamb and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, until no pink remains and the fat has fully rendered out. Drain off excess fat, leaving about a tablespoon behind to carry the spices.
4. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring constantly, until it darkens a shade and smells sweeter instead of raw.
5. Sprinkle in the cumin, coriander, Kashmiri chili powder, turmeric, garam masala, salt, and black pepper. Stir well to coat the lamb and cook for 30 to 60 seconds, just until the spices smell toasted.
6. Pour in the water or stock and stir to combine. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 5 to 7 minutes, until the mixture thickens enough to hold its shape on a spoon.
7. Stir in the frozen peas and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until heated through and still bright green. Remove from the heat and keep warm.
8. In a small bowl, stir the Greek yogurt with a pinch of salt until smooth. Set aside.
9. Heat the butter or ghee in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the cumin seeds and whole dried chilies and cook for 30 to 60 seconds, until the cumin sizzles and the chilies turn fragrant.
10. Add the sliced garlic and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring often, until lightly golden, not brown. Pull it the second it colors: garlic goes from golden to bitter fast.
11. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the Kashmiri chili powder right away, off the heat so it doesn’t scorch. Let the tadka cool for about 1 minute.
12. Spoon several tablespoons of tadka yogurt onto each plate and swirl it into a wide circle with the back of a spoon, then spoon the hot keema into the center.
13. Top with cilantro, sliced red onion, jalapeño rings, and a lemon wedge. Serve immediately, while the lamb is still hot against the cool yogurt.

🍽️ What to Serve with Lamb Keema

• Warm naan or basmati rice, for scooping through the yogurt once the keema runs out.
• Our biryani rice, if you want the whole plate leaning into the spice instead of playing it neutral.
• A cold cucumber and tomato salad on the side, something crunchy to cut the richness of the lamb fat.
• A cold beer or a glass of lassi. The tadka yogurt already does a lot of the cooling work, but you’ll want a drink on hand once you hit the jalapeño rings.

🧊 Leftovers and Storage

• Refrigerate the keema in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
• Freeze the keema alone, without the yogurt or tadka, for up to 3 months in a freezer-safe container.
• Reheat the keema in a skillet over medium-low heat with a splash of water or stock to loosen it back up. The microwave works too, in 30-second bursts, stirred between each.
• Make the tadka yogurt fresh each time you serve leftovers. It takes five minutes and doesn’t hold up to a second trip through the fridge.

❓ FAQs