Vegan Green Keema

Vegan Green Keema – a meatless spin on the Indian minced meat curry using a blend of lentils and walnuts simmered in a fragrant herby spicy sauce. Serve with a side of rice or dinner rolls or flatbread! Vegan Mumbai Hara Keema Soy-free, Glutenfree. Nutfree option

Here’s a vegan spin on a restaurant favorite – keema!  Keema means minced meat and keema curries are traditional Indian dishes typically made with mince stewed with peas or potatoes and fragrant spices. It can also sometimes be used as a filling in samosas.

As with all Indian curries, there are several types of spiced mince meat (keema dishes) based on the region. This green keema uses a delicious cilantro dill spinach sauce that is unlike the usual tomato-based or creamy sauces.

This curry is seriously a flavor explosion. It’s a popular street style keema that is especially popular in Mumbai.

This green Keema is usually served with some buttered dinner rolls which are called ladi pav. But you can also serve it with some flatbread or fill it up in a piece of pita bread or make sandwiches with it. Think spicy herby sloppy joes! Don’t let the color throw you off. This keema is ahmazing!

One of the best things our mom taught us was to never judge food by how it looks. Basically to not let any strong thought in your mind based on just the color, presentation, saucy, dry, look. Always use a variety of senses to decide if you like the food or not. Smell, taste, texture and then what you see. Dishes like these are the best test for that. Palak tofu that looks like tofu in a spinach smoothie! These lentils in a vibrant green sauce. All absolutely fragrant and delicious.

More Indian curries:

Vegan Malabar Curry with Veggies and Beans

Cauliflower Spinach and Chickpeas with Mustard Seed Curry Leaf Sauce

Madras Curry Tofu Casserole

Baked Chana Saag (Vegan Spinach Chickpea Curry)

Vegan chicken kondattam

Ingredients:

•  as a vegan meat substitute we use a mix of lentils and chopped walnuts which provides the perfect chew
• we get the flavors going by sauteeing some onion with fenugreek, ginger garlic paste and green chili
• cilantro, spinach and mint give the keema its green keema name
•  for the heat I add green chili, such as serrano or Indian green chili (or use 2 tbsp green bell pepper instead for mild)
• herbs & ground or whole spices: coriander, cumin, cardamom, garam masala, dill, and black pepper add amazing flavor
• Non dairy yogurt makes the gravy creamy and helps with smoothing the heat from the chilies
• sweet green peas are the typical addition to ground meat curries and we also add them here

Tips:

• This green Keema is usually served with some buttered dinner rolls which are called ladi pav. But you can also serve it with some flatbread or fill it up in a piece of pita bread or make sandwiches with it.
• You can top it with cheese and grill it or serve it as sloppy joes.
• I also like to sometimes make a pizza, I use a naan,  top with the Keema, put some cheese and sliced jalapeño or onion and vegan bacon, and makes an excellent pizza.
• nutfree: omit the walnuts. Add 2-3 tablespoons chopped pumpkin seeds or hemp seeds
• No onion garlic: Use zucchini instead of onion. Add 1/2 teaspoon more dried fenugreek leaves instead of garlic
• Oilfree: sauté in broth

How to make Green Keema:

Soak your dried split red lentils, if you haven’t already. They need to soak for at least 30 mins  in hot water. Prep them ahead.

Make the green sauce. Add all the ingredients to a blender and then blend until the seeds have broken down. Set aside.

Make the keema. Heat the oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Once hot, add onion, green chili, and fenugreek leaves and mix well. Add a good pinch of salt and cook until the onion is golden.

Then add the ginger garlic paste, spices- dill, ground coriander, and garam masala and mix in for a 10-15 seconds. Then add in your drained lentils and mix well. (I like to cook the lentils for 2-3 mins here slightly toast the lentils but this is optional)

Then add the walnuts and 1/2 a cup of water and cook. Mix really well and cook for about five minutes.

Add the yogurt, salt, and green sauce paste. Mix well.

Bring to a boil and cook for 5-6 minutes. Then add in the peas and mix in. Taste and adjust salt and flavor.

Continue to cook for another two minutes then take off the heat. You don’t want the lentils to completely cook and break down. You want them to have a bit of a bite. Cook until your preferred texture of lentils.

The lentils and the walnuts are supposed to make a mincemeat kind of texture. But you can also cook them down because the sauce is really delicious any which way.

Garnish with some chopped bell peppers or tomato, red pepper flakes, and a little bit of lemon juice, and serve with flatbread or dinner rolls, or garlic bread.

Storage:

Refrigerate for upto 3 days, freeze for upto a month