Keema hotpot

- Prepare
- less than 30 mins
- Cook
- 1 to 2 hours
- Serve
- Serves 6
I use veggie mince to make a richly spiced keema, cooked with browned onions and warm spices. This is a great dish for batch cooking and freezing.
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp neutral oil, such as rapeseed
- 2 onions, finely chopped
- 1¼ tsp salt
- 400g/14oz fresh or frozen plant-based mince
- 4 large garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 tbsp grated fresh root ginger
- 1 tbsp dark soy sauce (or tamari for a gluten-free option)
- 2 tsp hot smoked paprika
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tbsp garam masala
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- 400g tin chopped tomatoes
- 2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 2mm/1/16in thick half-moons
- 3 tsp cornflour
- 300ml/½pt full-fat milk or plant-based alternative
- 150g/5½oz frozen peas
- 400ml/14fl oz hot kettle water
- 5 medium potatoes, peeled and sliced into 5mm/¼in rounds (floury potatoes such as Maris Piper work best)
- 2 tbsp cold butter, cut into very small cubes (or plant-based alternative)
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh coriander leaves
Method
Preheat the oven to 220C/200C Fan/Gas 7.
Heat the oil in a 35cm/14in lidded, flameproof casserole dish, on a medium heat. Add the onions and salt and fry until they're light golden brown, around 20 minutes. Adding the salt at this stage will help the onions brown faster.
Add the mince, garlic and ginger to the pan and fry for 4–5 minutes, or until the mince begins to turn a little crispy. Add the soy sauce, spices, chopped tomatoes and carrots. Stir well and bring to a simmer.
Add the cornflour to a jug and stir in the milk a little at a time until no lumps remain.
Slowly stir the milk mixture into the keema, mixing all the time until well incorporated. Continue to stir until the keema thickens slightly. Stir in the peas and hot water. Remove from the heat.
Arrange the sliced potatoes on top of the keema in a neat layer and top with the butter cubes. Cover with the lid of the casserole dish and bake for 30 minutes, or until the potatoes are fork tender.
Remove the lid from the pan and continue to bake for a further 25–30 minutes, until the potatoes are golden brown on top. Scatter with the chopped coriander to serve.
Recipe tips
Lamb, beef or even turkey mince would work equally well in this dish.