We used to eat these really delicious meat pies when we were growing up. I’m not sure exactly what was in them, but I do know that the mix had ground beef seasoned with curry powder, tender cubed potatoes, and sweet peas. It was so simple, hearty, filling, and one of my absolute favorite things to eat. But these days I’m a busy person, so when I got the craving for those tasty meat pies I just whipped up the curried ground beef filling and ate it in a bowl instead of fiddling with dough and stuffing it into hand pies. It was still totally satisfying and way easier. There are a few different ways you can serve this curried ground beef, so keep reading to see some options!
Recipe Inspiration
I ate this delicious ground beef mixture throughout my entire childhood without ever realizing that it’s basically an Americanized version of Keema, a spiced ground meat dish from India. It’s also very similar to the filling often used for Samosas. The recipe below is not going to be nearly as amazing as real keema, since it uses a store-bought curry powder blend of spices and a very simplified list of ingredients, so I don’t want to call it Keema and do the name such an injustice. If you’d like to try an authentic version of Keema, check out Keema Matar from Tea for Turmeric, Pakistani Aloo Keema from Flour and Spice Blog, or Classic Keema Matar from Afelia’s Kitchen. And if you’d like to try a Samosa, try this Samosa Recipe from Swasthi’s Recipes.
What Kind of Beef to Use
Since the spices and aromatics are going in the skillet before the beef, you won’t want to have to drain off any fat after browning the ground beef, or else you’ll lose some of the flavor. For that reason, you’ll want to use a lower fat ground beef, maybe 10-15% max. Having some fat is good for flavor, but you don’t want it pooling in the bottom of the skillet.
What Kind of Curry Powder to Use
Curry powder blends can vary a LOT from brand to brand, so it’s important to choose one that you’re familiar with and that you know you like. The kind I happen to be using today is 365 brand curry powder, but I’ve also enjoyed Sharwood’s brand in the past. You can use a mild curry powder, or spicy if you prefer. If you’d like to try making your own homemade curry powder, here is a great recipe for homemade curry powder from Spice it Up.
How to Serve Curried Ground Beef with Peas and Potatoes
This dish is quite filling on its own since it contains meat, potatoes, and vegetables, but I like to add a little bread on the side. I love serving naan with this curried ground beef so I can scoop up some of the beef mixture with the piece of naan and get everything in one bite (just like those meat pies I used to eat, but open-faced!). You could also serve the curried beef over a bed of rice for a little extra inexpensive filler.
Can I Add More Vegetables?
Yes! This mixture is so flexible. If you want to incorporate a few extra vegetables, consider adding a diced onion, sliced carrots, and maybe even broccoli. If you want to swap out the potatoes for a lower carb option, you can use small cauliflower florets.
Curried Ground Beef with Peas and Potatoes
Servings 6 1 cup eachIngredients
- 4 cloves garlic, minced ($0.32)
- 1 tsp grated fresh ginger ($0.10)
- 2 Tbsp cooking oil ($0.08)
- 1 Tbsp curry powder ($0.30)
- 1 tsp turmeric ($0.10)
- 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper (optional) ($0.02)
- 1 lb. ground beef (15% fat or less) ($5.49)
- 1 russet potato (¾ lb.) ($0.63)
- 1 cup beef broth ($0.13)
- 1 cup frozen peas ($0.50)
- 1/2 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 2 green onions, sliced (optional) ($0.22)
Instructions
- Add the minced garlic, grated ginger, and cooking oil to a large deep skillet. Sauté the garlic and ginger over medium heat for 1-2 minutes. Add the curry powder, turmeric, and crushed red pepper and sauté for one minute more.
- Add the ground beef to the skillet with the spices and sauté until the beef is cooked through.
- While the beef is cooking, peel and cube the potato into ½-inch pieces.
- Add the cubed potato and beef broth to the skillet. Stir to combine with the ground beef. Place a lid on the skillet and turn the heat up to medium-high. Allow the broth to come up to a boil.
- Once the broth reaches a boil, turn the heat down to medium-low and allow it to continue to simmer for 10 minutes with the lid in place (stir occasionally). After ten minutes, the potatoes should be tender. Remove the lid and simmer for a few more minutes, or until most of the broth is evaporated.
- Finally, stir the frozen peas into the beef and potato mixture and heat through. Give the curry beef a taste and add salt to taste (about ½ tsp). Top with sliced green onions and serve hot.
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Nutrition
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How to Make Curried Ground Beef with Peas and Potatoes – Step By Step Photos
Start by mincing four cloves of garlic and grating about 1 teaspoon fresh ginger. Add the garlic and ginger to a skillet with 2 tablespoons of cooking oil. Sauté the garlic and ginger over medium heat for one to two minutes.
Next, add 1 tablespoon curry powder, 1 teaspoon turmeric, and ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional) to the skillet. Continue to sauté over medium heat for about one more minute to toast the spices.
Add one pound of ground beef to the skillet and continue sautéing until it is cooked through.
While the beef is browning, peel and cube one russet potato into ½-inch pieces. My potato was about ¾ lb. total, but it’s flexible so you can add a little more or less if you have it.
Once the beef is browned, add the cubed potato and one cup beef broth. Stir to combine.
Place a lid on the skillet, turn the heat up to medium-high, and bring the broth up to a boil. Once boiling, turn the heat down to medium-low and let the skillet simmer for about 10 minutes, with the lid in place, stirring occasionally. After ten minutes the potatoes should be nice and tender. Remove the lid and let it simmer a few more minutes, or until most of the broth is evaporated.
Add one cup of frozen peas to the skillet and stir to combine, then allow the peas to heat through.
Give the curried beef with peas and potatoes a taste and add salt to your liking (I added about ½ teaspoon).
Top with sliced green onions and enjoy!
Oh Beth ,
You’ve done it again ….
Another yummy recipe !!
Yummy yummy in my tummy !
Sorry …..had to say that
Jules
I just finished this and it’s AMAZING. I subbed turkey for beef, because I always have ground turkey in my freezer and I’m lazy ;-) and added a bit of garam masala because I had more meat than the recipe calls for originally. I served it over cauliflower rice which added a nice sweetness to balance. This is going into my regular rotation and I can’t wait to have the leftovers for lunch!
I haven’t made this yet, but my dad used to make something similar (he was raised in Malaysia, so I think there was a Malaysian flair to it). He used canned tomatoes, curry, turmeric, beef, peas, string beans, corn, apples, raisins. I’m not sure if there was beef broth in it or not.
Overall excited to use this as a base recipe! This seems a little bland/simple to what I’m used to, but versatile and I’m sure very easy to glam up. I really like the idea of including potatoes!
Forgot to mention that we ate it with shredded coconut and sliced bananas on top, just served over white rice.
Okay, but it just wasn’t our jam. Good enough to finish leftovers, but not a repeater in our house.
I ran this through myfitnesspal.com and it clocked the calories at 258/serving with 14g carbs, 13g fat, 18 protein, 245 sodium, and 2 sugar if anyone else is interested.
I made this and it was a huge hit with the carnivores in my house. I served it over plain white rice, but might consider using coconut rice next time. The only thing I had to deal with was that as a leftover it got a little dry, but when I reheated it, I used the other half of the can of beef broth to moisten it up and it was just as good as ever.
I’m making this tonight. It looks and sounds so delicious. I really like the idea of having it with coconut rice, I might do that too if I have time. I can’t wait to have it I my tummy. I will come back and let you know how it turns out.
OMG!!!!! this is delicious. I cannot be more happy with the results. I was going to make the coconut rice but I decided to add raisins to it and, I served it with regular brown rice…. It was divine. Next time, I will make the coconut rice.
Thank you again.
I wanna do something a little more jazzed up than plain white rice so I was wondering if you think the flavors in this would work better with coconut rice or your yellow jasmine rice? I love both, so I’m having trouble deciding!
Tough call! The seasoning is fairly similar to the yellow jasmine rice, so they would go well together. BUT, maybe you want a contrast so everything doesn’t taste the same, and in that case the coconut rice would go great, too! Coconut and curry are great together.
I ended up going with coconut rice and really loved it! It didn’t overpower the curry and I could still taste a little bit of coconut in the background. Thanks for your suggestions!
I’m going to make this tonight, but with sweet potatoes (it’s what I have at home) and I’m going to bake it in puff pastry (like your spinach pie.) I’ll come back to give reviews :-)
Oh man, this was so good in the puff pastry…my new favorite “pot pie”! Thanks Beth :-)
This has become a favorite at my house. I freeze it without the potatoes, bouillon, and peas, and add those when I heat it up. A small handful of raisins is really good in this too, for just a hint of sweetness. Love the idea of putting this into a crust!
I didn’t care much for this but my fussy husband inhaled it. Served over basmati rice.
I made this tonight and it’s good but I’m not sure about the peas…I was thinking of adding baby corn instead and there needs to be some fire-roasted diced tomatoes and coconut milk instead of broth….It was lacking a couple flavors to me. I have a feeling that the potatoes would soak up the milk and the spices and cook better and quicker that way :)
Wow! Wow! Wow! I made this tonight almost the same as the recipe. I always scoop my spices a bit larger than the recipes. I also added onions with the beef. We served this with coconut jasmine rice & Naan bread w/ hummus. This is an excellent recipe! Thank you for the creation. :* :*
This was really yummy! I served it with the cashew rice pilaf and my picky kids loved it! Thank you!
I have never made curry with ground meat, this was fantastic! My whole family loved it, even the kids. And it’s a big plus that I usually have all the ingredients in pantry/freezer. I upped the veg by adding diced onion and carrot. We served over coconut rice, next time we’ll do naan bread. It’s our new favorite curry, thanks Beth!