Chicken keema pav

Keema pav is a classic dish originated from Irani restaurants of mumbai and then became popular across the country as a street food. Its a spicy mutton mince slow cooked with spices and loaded between buttered pav. There's nothing like a good mumbai style keema pao - a complete and delicious combination of carbs and proteins to start the day. The keema(minced or ground meat) is typically mutton (goat meat) but I have used here chicken mince. It is cooked with tomatoes, onions, coriander, chillies, ginger, garlic and seasoned with bayleaf, cinnamon and other whole spices (khada masala). Scrumptious keema is served with pav or pao, local white bread light and airy also called bun. Soft pav is lightly toasted with loads of butter or ghee on a griddle(tawa) and is opened up and stuffed with keema. It can be served as a meal or a snack. So let's know how to make it.

Preparation time : 30 mins

Cooking time : 40 mins

Servings : 5-6

Ingredients needed :

1.) Chicken mince - 1 kg

2.) Onion - 5 large finely chopped (around 500gm)

3.) Ginger garlic paste - freshly prepared 3 tbsp

4.) Tomatoes - 4 large finely chopped

5.) Green chillies - 5-6 deseeded finely chopped

6.) Fresh coriander leaves - few chopped

7.) Bayleaf /Tejpatta - 1

8.) Cinnamon stick /dalchini - 1 small piece

9.) Black cardamom/ badi elaichi - 2 

10.) Black peppercorns/Kali Mirch - 8-10

11.) Cloves/ laung - 4

12.) Red chilli powder - 1tbsp

13.) Coriander powder - 1 tbsp

14.) Garam masala powder - 2-3 tbsp

15.) Amchur powder - 1 tbsp

16.) Pav /pao - 12 piece

17.) Butter - 5 tbsp for toasting Pao's

18.) Eggs - 4 boiled and sliced (optional)

19.) Salt - as per taste

20.) Oil - 6 tbsp

21.) Lemon wedge - For garnishing

22.) Boiled green peas - 1/2 cup(optional)

23.) Turmeric / haldi powder - 1/2 teaspoon((optional)

Method of Preparation :

1.) Place a Kadhai /pan on a medium high flame. Pour in oil, once oil is hot ( not smoking) add whole spices cinnamon, black cardamon, bayleaf, cloves, peppercorns. Stir fry till aromatic for about 2 minutes, then slide in onions. Saute till golden brown.

2.) Add ginger garlic paste. Stir well for about 2 mins.

3.) Toss in red chilli powder, coriander powder, haldi powder, Garam masala powder, salt and stir well. Then slide in tomatoes, saute, stirring occasionally till the tomatoes soften and is cooked through for 10 mins.

4.) Add boiled peas to the mixture and cook it for 4-5 mins. After the peas become soft, add chicken mince and cook it for 3-4 mins on medium high flame. 

5.) Add 1 cup of water and bring to a boil. Cover the pan with a lid and cook it for 15 mins. Add sliced boiled eggs and garnish it with chopped coriander leaves.

6.) Heat butter in a pan and very lightly brown the pav. Serve chicken keema with hot pao accompanied with onion rings, lemon wedge to garnish. Or slice the pao in half leaving one side attached and fill liberally with keema top with a squeeze of lemon juice. 

Thank you for reading. Enjoy more recipes on my blog and comment below each recipes for more suggestions/feedback. Till then happy cooking.👍😊.