Melt-In-Your-Mouth Matar Keema (Ground Chicken with Peas) Recipe, How to make Matar Keema

Matar Keema Recipe with step by step photos and easy to follow instructions:

Matar Keema is a delicious combination of moist ground chicken, tender sweet peas; and aromatic spices and herbs. In Punjabi Cuisine, Matar Keema is generally cooked with ground mutton (goat meat) and peas. Because of ground mutton is not widely available where we live, I mostly use ground chicken to make Matar Keema. Matar Keema dish can be prepared with any other ground meat, such as turkey, beef, lamb or pork.

Matar Keema is a very versatile dish. It can be used as stuffing for parathas to make keema paratha, use as stuffing for samosas, kachori, tacos or even as a topping for pizza. I always keep some Matar Keema in the freezer for those odd times to quickly make some parathas or to use as a pizza topping.

Matar Keema is best enjoyed with Plain Paratha, Tandoori Roti or Naan and crisp onion salad.

How to make Matar Keema:

1. Peel the ginger and garlic. Roughly chop the tomatoes. In a blender, grind the tomatoes, garlic, ginger and green chilies to a fine paste. Keep aside.
   
2. In a large heavy saucepan, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the bay leaf, black cardamoms, green cardamoms, cloves, black peppercorns and cinnamon. Sauté slightly to infuse the oil. Carefully, add the tomato, garlic and ginger mixture to the oil. Mix gently. (Reduce the heat if mixture starts to splatter too much). Add cumin powder, coriander powder, red chili powder, turmeric and salt; and mix well. Cover and cook until oil starts to separate; stir occasionally.
   
3. Add Cooked Onion Purée to the masala mixture and mix well. Cover and cook again until oil starts to separate; stir occasionally.
   
4. Add ground chicken to the masala mixture and mix vigorously with a wooden spoon. Continue to mix until the chicken is heated through and the meat color has changed. This will prevent the lumps from forming. If the chicken is not mixed well, it will have lumps that are difficult to break once the meat is cooked. The proper mixing of chicken is very important at this stage to achieve the moist grainy texture of Matar Keema.   
5. Add the plain yogurt to the keema mixture. Mix well. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover and let it cook; stirring occasionally. Yogurt will keep the chicken very moist and will help to tenderize the chicken as well.
   
6. Once the chicken is cooked, add peas. Mix well; cover and cook for another 5 minutes.
   
7. Add Kasoori methi, nutmeg (jaifal) powder, mace (jaivatri) powder, cumin powder, coriander powder and chopped fresh coriander. Mix well. Cover and cook for another 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
   Enjoy and share your thoughts with me!
   
   
   Melt-In-Your-Mouth Matar Keema (Ground Chicken with Peas)

    

   

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   Prep time

   10

   Cook time

   40

   Total time

   50

    

   Moist, melt-in-your-mouth ground chicken curry with tender peas cooked in creamy yogurt and variety of aromatic spices.

   Author: Raj Brar

   Recipe type: Main - Non-vegetarian

   Cuisine: Indian

   Serves: 4-5 servings

   Ingredients

   • 750 grams (1 ½ lbs)ground chicken
   • 2 medium tomatoes
   • 1 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled
   • 6-7 cloves of garlic
   • 1-2 green chilies
   • 4 tbsp olive oil
   • 1 bay leaf
   • 2 black cardamoms
   • 2 green cardamoms
   • 4 cloves
   • 8-10 black peppercorn
   • 1 inch piece of cinnamon
   • 1 tsp cumin powder
   • 1 tsp coriander powder
   • ½ tsp red chili powder
   • 1 tsp turmeric
   • 1 tsp salt or to taste
   • 1 cup cooked onion purée
   • ½ cup plain yogurt
   • 1 tsp Kasoori methi (dry fenugreek) leaves, crushed
   • 2 pinches nutmeg (jaifal) powder (optional)
   • 2 pinches mace (jaivatri) powder(optional)
   • ½ tsp cumin powder
   • ½ tsp coriander powder
   • 2 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped

   Instructions

   1. In a blender purée tomatoes, ginger, garlic and green chilies.
   2. In a medium heavy saucepan, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add bay leaf, black cardamoms, green cardamoms, cloves, black peppercorns and cinnamon. Sauté slightly to infuse the oil.
   3. Add tomato purée, cumin powder, coriander powder, red chili powder, turmeric and salt. Cover and cook until oil starts to separate; stirring frequently.
   4. Add onion purée and cook again until oil starts to separate; stirring occasionally. Add ground chicken and mix really well to prevent the lumps from forming.
   5. Add yogurt and mix well. Cover and slow cook on medium-low heat for 30 minutes stirring occasionally.
   6. Add peas. Mix well. Cover and cook for another 5 minutes.
   7. Add dry methi leaves, nutmeg powder, mace powder, cumin powder, coriander powder and chopped fresh coriander. Mix and cook for another 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
   8. Transfer into a serving dish. Garnish with more fresh coriander.
   9. Serve hot with Plain Paratha, Tandoori Roti or Naan.

   Notes

   Kasoori methi leaves – Kasoori methi leaves are dried fenugreek leaves, available at some North-American supermarkets and easily available at all Indian grocery stores.

   3.5.3226

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