Kheema Pav
Kheema Pav - A popular street food in India, Kheema Pav is a tantalizing curry dish made with minced chicken or lamb cooked with onion, tomatoes, ginger, garlic and earthy spices
Kheema Pav - A popular street food in India, Kheema Pav is a tantalizing curry dish made with minced chicken or lamb cooked with onion, tomatoes, ginger, garlic and earthy spices
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 2 plum tomatoes (diced)
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 large yellow onion (diced)
- 1 tablespoon garlic (grated)
- 1 tablespoon ginger (grated)
- 2 teaspoon mild red chili powder (we used kashmiri chili pow
- 2 tablespoon coriander powder (we lightly toasted the coriande
- 1/2 cup cilantro (chopped for garnish)
- 1 tablespoon butter or ghee
- 8 potato rolls
- Carbohydrate 0.344115662833272 g
- Cholesterol 97.52235955 mg
- Fat 22.8044121222276 g
- Fiber 0.077192147545794 g
- Protein 19.8796162260501 g
- Saturated Fat 4.36725344528914 g
- Serving Size 1 1 serving (128g)
- Sodium 69.3735638316291 mg
- Sugar 0.266923515287478 g
- Trans Fat 1.43856363284386 g
- Calories 284 calories
Step-by-step
- Turn Instant Pot to saute(more) mode. Once the hot sign displays, add oil. Add cumin seeds and toast them for 30 seconds. Add turmeric powder and mix well. Add ginger and garlic, mix well.
- Add onion and sauté for a minute. Cook covered for 2 minutes with a glass lid on.
- Add tomatoes, red chili powder, garam masala, salt and coriander powder. Mix well.
- Add ground chicken and breaking it with a spatula. Add 1/2 cup of water (You can add 2 tablespoons of water for a thicker curry, but I like the extra gravy to dip the bread).
- Close Instant Pot with the pressure valve to sealing. Cook on Manual(Hi) for 4 mins followed by Natural Pressure Release.
- Garnish with cilantro and serve hot with potato rolls or burger buns lightly toasted with some ghee on a griddle.
Standard ingredient lists omit the chemical transformations that occur when raw minced proteins meet high pressure. Ground chicken contains fragmented muscle fibers that bind tightly if over-manipulated, requiring careful breaking with a spatula before sealing the cooker. Fresh ginger and garlic release volatile sulfur compounds and aromatic oils upon grating, whereas bottled pastes lack these bright, ephemeral top notes due to oxidation during processing. Whole cumin seeds undergo a rapid toast in hot oil for thirty seconds, driving moisture out of the essential oil ducts and unlocking a deep, nutty aroma that pre-ground powders cannot replicate.
Plum tomatoes contribute natural glutamates and malic acid, which break down under high heat to form a savory base that contrasts with the rich fat content of the meat. Kashmiri chili powder provides vibrant carotenoid pigments without overwhelming capsaicin heat, maintaining a balance between color and pungency. Freshly toasted coriander powder adds distinct linalool aromas, whereas pre-ground alternatives lose these floral compounds within weeks of milling.
Substituting lamb for chicken alters the final fat rendering point and requires adjustments to cooking duration to prevent protein toughening. Lamb contains higher levels of saturated fats that solidify quickly at room temperature, necessitating a hot service window on toasted potato rolls.
Natural pressure release over several minutes ensures that internal meat temperatures equilibrate gently, preventing moisture from violently purging out of the ground poultry fibers. Garnish with freshly chopped cilantro leaves just before serving to introduce volatile aldehydes that cut through the rich gravy.
