Indian Keema Chicken Recipe

Looking for a delicious and easy chicken keema recipe? This flavorful dish is made with ground chicken, warm Indian spices, and fresh aromatics. So perfect for a quick weeknight dinner or easy meal prep, this easy keema chicken recipe is packed with protein and full of flavor!

“Keema” is dish that is popular in Indian, Pakistani, and Bangladeshi cuisine, and means “ground meat”. You can use any type of ground meat, but most common is lamb, chicken, turkey or goat. Growing up, this was a dish that was on rotation at my house. My mom usually used lamb or turkey, and she added in peas and potatoes. We used our keema as a filling for samosas, wrapped it up in kati rolls, or ate it as a main course over rice.

My lightened-up keema chicken recipes leaves out the potatoes, but don’t worry, you’ll still find ALLLLL the delicious spices!

I like to serve chicken keema over basmati or cauliflower rice. But, my husband loves his chicken keema folded into a taco shell.

Keema Chicken Ingredients

Spices

There are quite a few spices in this dish, and that’s where all the delicious flavor comes from. We’ll be using:

• Bay Leaf
• Ground Coriander
• Cumin
• Garam Masala
• Tumeric
• Salt & Pepper
• Kashmiri Red Chili Powder*
• Optional – cayenne pepper

Please note that Kashmiri red chili is NOT the same as cayenne OR “chili powder”. This bright red chili powder is common in Indian cooking and provides a beautiful red color and flavor to dishes. You can find it online or at your local Indian market. You can also leave it out or substitute a mix of cayenne + paprika as a substitute. Please note that Kashmiri red chili is NOT as spicy as cayenne, so make sure you use half or less of the amount called for or to your personal taste.

Aromatics

We’ll also be building a flavor base for this keema chicken from chopped onion, garlic, green chili, and ginger. Your house will smell SO GOOD when you start sautéing these together.

Ground chicken

Feel free to sub your favorite ground meat of choice. Ground turkey or beef would work well with this recipe. I prefer ground chicken though, because it is a leaner meat and most of the flavor from this dish comes from the spices/sauce anyways.

Vegetables

We’ll round out the flavors in this dish with some canned tomato sauce, frozen peas and fresh cilantro.

How to Make Chicken Keema

We’ll start by placing a large skillet over medium high heat. Add oil, and once hot, add in bay leaf. Cook for about 30 seconds, and then add in chopped onions and chili.

Cook until brown (about 5 minutes) and then add in the ginger and garlic and cook until the “raw” smell goes away – about 2 minutes.

Now you’ll add in the ground chicken and all the spices and cook until the chicken is nicely browned, about 5 minutes.

Then, we’ll add in the tomato sauce + one can of water. Give it a stir, but make sure to scrape up any browned bits stuck to the pan.

Bring the mixture to a simmer, and simmer for about 8-10 minutes until liquid is mostly absorbed. Add in your frozen peas and cilantro and cook for a couple more minutes until peas are hot. Serve with rice, cauliflower rice or your favorite flatbread!

I hope you enjoy this easy keema chicken recipe. It’s a great option for meal-prep and tastes EVER better the next day!

This dish would go great with my air fryer frozen cauliflower. Give it a try and tell me what you think!