I frequently prepare this pasta dish for my kids, and they adore it! It’s an Indian fusion take on pasta with a meat sauce. A warm bowl of keema pasta never fails to delight them and brings joy to this mama’s heart. Another of their favorite is this easy keema pulao. My goat keema masala or chicken keema recipes are a bit elaborate than the keema base I make in this recipe. The reason being that the ingredients are fewer and the keema sauce is much simpler yet flavorful.
Keema Sauce
The keema base is traditional indian kind - a spicy & tangy sauce made with fresh chopped onions, fresh pounded ginger & garlic and fresh tomatoes (or you can use canned tomatoes if you wish). I also add a bit of marinara sauce becasue why not! Then go in the ground cumin, coriander and paprika (or red chilli powder). Make it as spicy as you like. You can add some dried herbs like oregano as well. I like to add fresh herbs like chopped cilantro or mint leaves for freshness and color. Once the minced meat goes in, bhuno (fry) it on low medium heat with the masala till the meat is smoky and nicely browned. Then, use the pasta water to thin out the meat sauce. For this recipe, you can scratch cook the keema or repurpose leftover keema from dinner last night. Leftover keema masala tastes really good!
How To Make Keema Pasta
Bring a large pot of water (3 to 4 times the quantity of pasta)to boil and salt it literally. Once boiling, add the uncooked pasta and stir 1-2 times. Cook fro 6-8 minutes or until the pasts is al-dante. Follow the cooking time on the packaging of pasta. Drain and reserve about ½ cup of pasta water. In a wide pan, heat up the oil on medium heat. Once warm, add the chopped onions. Saute for 4-5 minutes or untill the onions start turning little brown, don’t brown them too much. Next add the pounded ginger and garlic and saute for 10-15 seconds. Add the ground spices next and fry for a minute in oil.
Add the ground meat now (I used ground lamb). Break the meat using a spoon and mix it with the onions. Sprinkle the spice powders and salt and mix with the keema. Brown the meat for good 8-10 minutes to low medium heat . You see will see that the oil is starting to seperate. Add the tomato sauce and marinara sauce next. Add about ¼ cup water at this stage. Reduce the stove to low medium and let the tomatoes cook down. Slowly you will see that the keema and tomatoes become saucy, continue to cook them till you see that they thicken a bit and tiny oil bubbles start appearing. You could cover if needed for a little bit, however, don’t dry out too much. Add chopped mint or cilantro and green chilies along with lemon juice now. Tip in the pasta to the warm sauce and fold gently with the meat. Add more pasta water or stock if you feel its dry. Taste and adjust the salt as well. Let everything cook for 3-4 minutes, don’t stir too much since the pasta is soft and might break. Switch off the stove, add some fresh cracked pepper(optional) or a sprinkle of parmesan cheese. Serve warm.
Tips
If you want you can add some vegetables like carrots, peas or chopped bell peppers depending on how your family will enjoy it. Double up the recipe if you want a larger batch. Substitute with any shape like fuisili, spagetti or penne. Different flavors of pasta like spinach pasta also taste good. You can use ground chicken or ground beef or even plant-based alternatives for a vegetarian version. If you are using chicken keema, use heavy cream at the end for a creamier sauce.
Note - This post was originally published in March 2021 and was updated with additional content and process shots in Septemer 2023. I wasn’t able to find the same pasta shape that’s why it’s different.
