Super fast and easy Keema Rice recipe made with lamb mince, fluffy basmati rice, peas, and aromatic spices. If you love keema biryani and keema pulao, you will definitely love this recipe. Perfect as a quick lunch or a light dinner. Made with pantry-friendly spices and simple everyday ingredients.
Whenever I need to make a quick dinner and if I have leftover rice, I make Chinese-style fried rice. But today I am making Indian-style keema fried rice that tastes like an authentic pulao. Made with leftover basmati rice and it turns out fluffy, well seasoned fried rice. You may never need to make the keema pulao from scratch again.
If you love quick and easy keema dishes, you will definitely love our Mince Beef Curry and Lamb Mince Curry recipes.
What is Keema Rice?
Authentic Indian home cooking Keema Rice is made with mincemeat, basmati rice, aromatic herbs, and spices cooked together in one pot. It is also called Keema Biryani and keema means ' mincemeat '. Lamb mince and beef mince are popular mincemeat that is used in most recipes, but you can also try with chicken, turkey, mutton, or any of your favorite ground meat. The spices used and the cooking method is very similar to the biryani cooking process and it takes at least 1 hour to cook the biryani from scratch.
But how to make the emergency keema rice in 20 minutes? To make this fast recipe, you will need to use cooked rice and stir fry with the rest of the ingredients like you make the regular fried rice. Use up all the stir fry vegetables left in the fridge and make your own style of keema rice. This recipe is very versatile.
Gather all the ingredients and ready to cook up this satisfying, filling, nutritious meal in less than 20 minutes. With this easy recipe, you can create a delicious dinner and minimum preparation time. I can guarantee that!
Ingredients we need
Rice - A day-old cold basmati rice is perfect to make this recipe.
Which rice is best to make keema rice? To achieve a fluffy texture, basmati rice or long grain rice are perfect for this recipe. They are less starchy and sticky when you stir fry it.
Can I use freshly cooked rice? Spread the freshly cooked rice in a large tray or plate and chill the rice in the fridge for 1 to 2 hours before you add in your stir fry.
Can I use jasmine rice? If you use jasmine rice use a day-old jasmine rice or add less water when you cook it in the rice cooker to prevent it from getting mushy.
Lamb Mince - I chose lamb mince for this recipe, which is more soft and tender than beef mince. But it's totally fine to use ground lamb, chicken, beef, or mutton. You can also use small chopped meat instead of mince/ground meat. Use leaner meat cut or lower fat content, you don't want to make your fried rice greasy.
Vegetables - As this is a fast and easy recipe, I've used onion, tomatoes, and frozen green peas. Use any stir fry vegetables frozen or fresh, cut in small dice. Bell peppers, carrot, sweet corns, long beans, mange tout go well too.
Coriander and green chilli - Highly recommend adding a handful of freshly chopped coriander and green chilli to bring more flavour to the rice.
Spices - You will need a handful of spices that we usually add to our Indian curry recipes and all are pantry staples. Chilli powder, turmeric, cumin seeds, garam masala, cumin seeds, coriander powder, and a dash of salt and fresh ground black pepper for taste.
How to make it
- First stir fry the onion and garlic over medium-high heat for 1-2 minutes until the onion are soft.
- Then add the lamb mince, green chilli and cook until the meat the no longer pink.
- Next add the seasoning spices and salt and pepper to taste.
- Add the chopped tomatoes and cook until the tomatoes are a bit soft.
- Now add the green peas, cooked rice and combine well with other ingredients. Continue cook for another 1-2 minutes. Make a taste test and add more salt and pepper if needed.
- Turn off the heat, and stir in chopped coriander. Serve immediately while hot.
Top tip
- Use large pan or wok to give enough heat to toss the rice, keema and vegetables.
- If you keep your leftover rice in the fridge or freezer, bring it to room temperature before you add in your fried rice. So it takes less time to heat up.
- Break any lumps in the rice before you stir fry it.
- Do not dump all ingredients at one time. If you are making for a crowd, cook with batches if needed.
- Freshly grated ginger garlic is best for lamb keema.
- If you have any leftover keema curry, you can make this fried rice with keema recipe.
FAQ
You can simply serve it on its own with Indian-style onion and tomato salad on the side. You can also pair it with pakora, samosa, bhaji, kebab, dal, or lentil soup and make it a wholesome dinner.
Scramble egg or crispy fried egg can also be added as an extra topping. For vegetarians, simply swap lamb mince with paneer, firm tofu, mushroom, or vegetarian mincemeat.
You can make it one day ahead, once it is cooled down, store it in the air-tight container and keep it in the fridge or freezer for later use.
Simply reheat it in the microwave or over the stovetop until piping hot. Garnish with extra chopped coriander to freshen up.
This dish is medium hot as it contains, green chilli and red chilli powder. If you cannot eat spice, you can adjust the chilli amount by omitting the green chilli and substituting chilli powder with mild paprika powder.
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Keema Rice Recipe
Ingredients
- 200 g Lamb mince About 7oz, lamb/beef/chicken mince
- 3 cup Cooked rice About 200 g, basmati or long grain rice ( see details in note )
- 1 cup Green peas About 100 g, Frozen green peas
- 1 Onion Cut small dices
- 2 Tomatoes Cut small dices
- 3 cloves Garlic Finely chopped
- 2 tsp Ginger Grated or paste
- 2-3 tbsp Oil Vegetable or neutral flavour oil
- 2-3 Green chilli Cut thin slices
- handful Coriander Roughly chopped
Seasonings
- 1 tsp Chilli powder
- ½ tsp Turmeric
- 1 tsp Garam masala
- ½ tsp Coriander powder
- 1 tsp Cumin seeds Jeera/zeera seeds ( see details in note )
- ½ tsp Black pepper
- 2 tsp Salt
Instructions
- Heat the large wok or pan over medium-high heat, drizzle 2-3 tablespoons of oil. Add the chopped garlic, saute for few seconds and follow with the onion dices and cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Next, add the green chilli and lamb mince. Break the mincemeat into small pieces with a spatula and stir fry for 2-3 minutes until the meat is slightly brown.
- Season the keema with chilli powder, turmeric, garam masala, cumin seeds, coriander powder, black pepper, and salt.
- Stir in the chopped tomatoes and cook until the tomatoes are slightly soft.
- Now add the green peas, cooked basmati rice, and combine well with all other ingredients. Continue stir fry with medium-high for another 2-3 minutes, until cooked through.
- Make a taste test and add more salt and pepper if needed.
- Turn off the heat, sprinkle chopped coriander and transfer to serving plate.
Notes
- Cooked rice - A day-old cold leftover rice is best to make this recipe. Use fluffy basmati rice to taste like an Indian-style keema pulao taste. If you don't have basmati rice, you can use any of your favourite long grain rice.
- Lamb mince - We love to use lamb mince as the lamb meat is so moist and juicy. If you don't like lamb mince, simply swap it with beef mince or chicken mince.
- Garam masala - is a powder mixture of roasted ground Indian spices. Usually consist of cumin, coriander, clove, bay leaves, cardamom, pepper, etc. You can add any of your favourite Indian curry powder, instead of garam masala.
- Adjust the spiciness - Add more or reduce the green chilli and chilli powder amount according to your preference.
- Vegetables - You can also add extra vegetables like bell pepper, carrots, sweetcorn, long beans, magetout, etc.
- Other ingredients you can add - Topped with a fried egg, scrambled egg, lime or mango pickles. You can also serve it with Indian style onion and tomato salad on the side.
- Can you make it ahead? You can make it one day ahead, once it is cooled down, store it in the air-tight container and keep it in the fridge. It usually lasts in the fridge for a couple of days.
- Can you reheat it? Simply reheat it in the microwave or over the stovetop until piping hot. Garnish with extra chopped coriander to freshen up.
elly says
Fabulous recipe thank you so much, my family love it and they ask me to make it every week, will try prawns next time, scrambled egg really sets it off, thanks, Elly
Khin says
Sounds so good with prawns! So glad that you enjoyed this recipe, Elly! Thanks for trying it out and sharing your feedback.
Gary kelly says
Made this dish it was absolutely beautiful
Khin says
Thank you for trying out this recipe, Gary. So glad that you enjoyed it.
Shaun says
I love your recipe idea of keema fried rice. Can I use beef or chicken instead of lamb. Lamb is very difficult to find near my home. This recipe will save lots of time for my dinner. Thank you chef.
Khin says
Hi Shaun, you can swap it with chicken mince or beef mince. Hope you enjoy it.