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a big bowl full of chicken keema, served with rotis, a few green chillies & lemon wedges on the side
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Chicken Keema Recipe (Indian Style Mince Chicken Recipe)

Chicken Keema is a quick and easy Indian style chicken mince recipe that goes extremely well with rotis as well as pav.
Course Indian Curries, Main Course
Cuisine Indian
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings 6
Calories 361kcal

Ingredients

Chicken

  • 2 pounds chicken mince

Ingredients for keema

  • 4 tablespoon oil
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 inch cinnamon stick
  • 7 cloves
  • 7 black peppercorn
  • 2 tablespoon chopped garlic
  • 1 tablespoon chopped ginger
  • 2 cup chopped onions
  • 2 teaspoon salt divided
  • 2 - 4 chopped green chillies
  • 1 tablespoon garam masala powder
  • 1 tablespoon coriander powder
  • 1 teaspoon cumin powder
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper powder
  • 1 teaspoon red chilli powder
  • ¼ cup yogurt
  • ½ cup chopped coriander leaves

Instructions

  • In a wide bottomed pan, lightly heat up 4 tablespoon oil, and add in whole garam spices (1 bay leaf, 1 inch cinnamon stick, 7 cloves, 7 black peppercorns), and lightly roast for 1-2 minutes, till they start giving off a slight fragrance.
  • Then add in 2 tablespoon chopped garlic & 1 tablespoon chopped ginger, and roast for 1-2 minutes, till they start getting light reddish in color.
  • Now add 2 cups of chopped onions, 1 teaspoon of salt to brown the onions faster, and 2 chopped green chillies. Saute till the onions turn light golden brown. This might take about 10 minutes in a wide pan.
  • When the onions are done, add in the masalas - (1 tablespoon garam masala powder, 1 tablespoon coriander powder, 1 teaspoon cumin powder, 1 teaspoon black pepper powder, 1 teaspoon chilli powder). Mix well, and saute for 1-2 minutes, till the masalas get lightly cooked. Here it's best to sprinkle a few spoons of water if required, to avoid the masalas from burning.
  • Now add in 2 pounds of chicken mince, along with ¼ cup yogurt, the rest of the salt (1 teaspoon), and mix well.
  • Cook covered for 20-25 minutes on medium flame, stirring intermittently, till the chicken is cooked through.
  • Garnish with ½ cup chopped coriander leaves, and serve hot with rotis, chapatis or pav.

Video

Notes

  1. It's best to always choose a wide bottomed pan for making keema, as the chicken that is in the minced form, cooks really fast. Using a wide bottomed pan will ensure it will cook evenly too. And some of the chicken doesn't get overcooked, and turn rubbery and dry, while the rest of the chicken is getting cooked.
  2. If you are using chicken mince that was refrigerated, it's best to thaw it at room temperature for 20-30 minutes before cooking it in the pan. Also best to get refrigerated yogurt to about room temperature too.
  3. I usually pre-mix the spice powders in a bowl before adding them to the cooking pan, so that the spices don't burn as I keep adding the spice powders one at a time. 
Variations
  1. You can add tomatoes if you want to give it a more tangy taste. I prefer this version without tomatoes for spicy chicken keema.
  2. Peas are a common addition to keema masala. You can use fresh or frozen peas, and add it in before the chicken.
  3. You can make a more liquid-y curry by adding water, or cashew milk for a thicker curry. Cashew milk will also give the curry a nutty flavor. 
Notes on making chicken mince at home
  1. If you are looking to make chicken mince at home, use chicken thighs to make the mince, they are more juicier than chicken breasts. 
  2. You can use a meat grinder like this to mince your meat, or mince the meat in regular mixer or food processor.
  3. For making chicken mince in the regular mixer or food processor, just cut thigh meat into bite sized pieces, and pulse it in the mixer till you get the desired consistency of mince meat.
Notes on washing keema / chicken mince
  1. You don't need to wash the raw chicken keema / mince meat, but you can if you want to. 
  2. The best way to wash chicken keema, and not lose any meat is by first putting the chicken mince in a bowl of water to clean it, and then straining it using a strainer, and keeping a cloth above the strainer, so that the mince is collected in the cloth, and not in the strainer. You can then squeeze out all the excess liquid from the cloth. 
  3. That being said, know that washing keema will also result in loss of some flavour.
 

Please note: The nutrition values are best estimates provided as a courtesy. The exact values can vary depending on the exact ingredients or brands used. If you rely on them for your specific diet and/or health issues, please consult a registered dietician or nutritionist.

Nutrition

Calories: 361kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 28g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 131mg | Sodium: 1032mg | Potassium: 965mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 209IU | Vitamin C: 10mg | Calcium: 54mg | Iron: 2mg