Deconstructed Samosa (Spiced Keema)

Are you missing meaty Indian hand pies now that you’ve gone Paleo? Never fear! I’ve got a great recipe for Deconstructed Samosa—a.k.a. Spiced Keema!

In early 1996, Henry and I spent part of the blustery winter in London. We’d just graduated from college, and to celebrate, his parents had treated us to a trip. From our little Curzon Street apartment in Mayfair (right in Shepherd Market), we ventured around the city. Besides playing tourist, Henry wanted to catch the world premiere of Trainspotting (and drink beer in the theater) and stock up on Doc Martens in Camden. (It was the mid-90s, after all.) Me? Ever the gastro-tourist, I was there for the food. And you know what they say: when in London, eat Indian food.

Authentic Indian cuisine wasn’t new to me. Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, with its large and vibrant Indian and Pakistani communities, I can’t remember a time I didn’t crave great Indian grub: spicy curries, meat and vegetable stews, and rich, fragrant daal—all served with a variety of breads like brick-oven-baked naan, deep-fried bhatura or pan-cooked chapati flatbread.

But the Indian food in London was revelatory, and we ate copious amounts of it. When we spent a weekend in Paris, I got sick and holed up in the hotel; my only directions to Henry were to bring me back macarons and—of all things to eat in Paris—Indian samosas. I was hooked.

You’re a samosa fan, too, right? These fried pastry pockets can be stuffed with spicy vegetables or meat, though these days, I prefer the latter. After all, the meat filling—keema—is the perfect emergency protein: it’s simple to make with pantry and fridge staples, and it’s great with everything from cauliflower rice and sweet potato hash to hearty omelets and crisp lettuce wraps. I also love to serve it with Tandoori Whole Roasted Cauliflower!

For my deconstructed samosa dish, I adapted a recipe for sookha keema (dry-cooked spicy ground meat) from one of my favorite cookbooks of all time, Julie Sahni’s Classic Indian Cooking. The jacket is torn and tattered (and held together with tape), the text-only pages are dog-eared and splattered with curry sauce, but my first-edition copy of Classic Indian Cooking is still my go-to for authentic Indian recipes.

If you’re on a Whole30, you can serve the spiced meat in lettuce cups. Otherwise, you should buy this recipe from Tara Grant of Primal Girl and fry up some Paleo-friendly flatbread for this recipe. (And no, I wasn’t asked or paid to mention Tara’s recipe—I didn’t even sign up to be an affiliate, because I’m not looking to make money off of it. I bought the recipe myself after reading some rave reviews online, and I think it’s well worth the $3.95 price tag. I mean, we spend more on a big cuppa coffee, right?)

Time to make Deconstructed Samosa!

Makes 6 servings.

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons ghee
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 3 large garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons minced ginger
• 2 jalapeno peppers, finely diced
• 2 pounds ground beef, lamb, goat, or a combination
• ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
•  2 ½ teaspoons Diamond Crystal brand kosher salt
• ½ cup full-fat canned coconut milk or plain coconut yogurt
• 1 tablespoon garam masala
• Juice from half a lemon
• ¼ cup minced cilantro
• butter lettuce leaves or Paleo flatbread

Equipment:

• Measuring spoons
• Measuring cup
• Large skillet
• Chef’s knife
• Cutting board
• Microplane grater
• Garlic press
• Lemon juicer
• Silicone spatula

Method:

Heat a large skillet over medium heat and prep your ingredients as the pan gets hot.

When the pan is hot, swirl in the ghee. Next, throw the onions in the pan, and stir fry until translucent, about 10 minutes. (If you have time to brown the onions, it will taste even better!)

Toss in the garlic, ginger, and peppers and sauté until fragrant.

Crumble in the ground meat…

…and cook until no longer pink, breaking up the pieces with your spatula.

Stir in the turmeric, salt, and coconut milk, and bring to a simmer.

Cover the pan…

…and reduce the heat to medium low. Simmer the meat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

When time’s up, check to see if the liquid has evaporated from the meat. If not, cook the meat uncovered for 5 more minutes or until the moisture is gone.

Remove the pan from the heat and mix in the garam masala, lemon juice, and minced cilantro.

Adjust the seasoning to taste with additional salt, garam masala, or lemon juice. You can serve the spiced meat in fresh lettuce wraps…

…or you can serve it on some crispy flatbread! I fried up a few rounds of crispy flatbread using Tara Grant’s wonderful Magical Multipurpose Paleo Dough recipe.

Lil-O was fascinated by the appearance of fried dough in our kitchen—a rare sight indeed.

When the bread was off the skillet, I broke it into pieces and topped each with keema before shoveling everything in my mouth.

(Trust me: the recipe for this dough is worth your hard-earned $3.95. Go reward Tara for her genius!)

Psst! If you’d prefer to stuff your keema into a hand pie, I’ve got just the thing for you: My recipe for Paleo Curried Meat Pies!

Looking for more recipe ideas? Head on over to my Recipe Index. You’ll also find exclusive recipes on my iPhone and iPad app, and in my cookbooks, Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2013), Ready or Not! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2017), and Nom Nom Paleo: Let’s Go! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2021).

 PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE CARD

Deconstructed Samosa (Spiced Keema)

4.91 from 10 votes

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time30 minutes mins

Total Time45 minutes mins

Servings 6 servings

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If you're missing Indian samosas now that you've gone Paleo, you should make this delicious deconstructed samosa recipe! If you pair this spiced keema with a grain-free flatbread, you'll be in Indian food heaven!

Ingredients 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 2 tablespoons ghee
• ▢ 1 large onion finely chopped
• ▢ 3 large garlic cloves minced
• ▢ 2 tablespoons minced ginger
• ▢ 2 jalapeno peppers finely diced
• ▢ 2 pounds ground beef lamb, goat, or a combination
• ▢ ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
• ▢ 2 ½ teaspoons Diamond Crystal brand kosher salt
• ▢ ½ cup full-fat canned coconut milk or plain coconut yogurt
• ▢ 1 tablespoon garam masala
• ▢ Juice from half a lemon
• ▢ ¼ cup minced cilantro
• ▢ butter lettuce leaves or Paleo flatbread

Instructions 

• Heat a large skillet over medium heat and prep your ingredients as the pan gets hot.
• When the pan is hot, swirl in the ghee. Next, throw the onions in the pan and stir fry until translucent, about 10 minutes. (If you have time to brown the onions, it will taste even better!)
• Toss in the garlic, ginger, and peppers and sauté until fragrant.
• Crumble in the ground meat and cook until no longer pink, breaking up the pieces with your spatula
• Stir in the turmeric, salt, and coconut milk, and bring to a simmer. 
• Cover the pan and reduce the heat to medium low. Simmer the meat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• When time’s up, check to see if the liquid has evaporated from the meat. If not, cook the meat uncovered for 5 more minutes or until the moisture is gone.
• Remove the pan from the heat and mix in the garam masala, lemon juice, and minced cilantro. Adjust the seasoning to taste with additional salt, garam masala, or lemon juice.
• You can serve the spiced meat in fresh lettuce wraps or you can serve it on some crispy flatbread! I fried up a few rounds of crispy flatbread using Tara Grant‘s wonderful Magical Multipurpose Paleo Dough recipe.

Nutrition

Calories: 482kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 27g | Fat: 39g | Fiber: 1g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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