Mar 03, 2023, Updated Sep 11, 2024
Why You’re going to Love This Keema Naan Recipe
Delicious: A spicy meat filling is tucked into a warm, buttery naan. The the spiced keema is packed with complex and satisfying flavors, kind of like a meat samosa filling, but without the fried samosa dough crust. Customizable; go ahead and up the spice and heat level or change the kind of ground meat in the recipe (it typically has minced lamb, but I like to make it with ground beef too). Versatile; keema naan can act as a side dish, snack, full meal, appetizer, or as part of a full meal. This is a snack my Indian husband grew up eating occasionally after school—warm naan bread stuffed with savory spiced minced lamb. I like it with beef, too. Portable: This makes a really nice lunch, and it’s even portable for picnics (like a sandwich or a samosa).
Keema Naan Ingredients
Flour. All-purpose is perfectly fine for this recipe. Yeast. Grab some instant dried yeast for this dough. It’s really an easy yeast to work with for beginners. Salt. I like using kosher salt in my dough, but regular salt works fine. Baking soda. Ensure your batch is fresh so that it will rise to the occasion. Baking powder. Doubles up with the baking soda to ensure the naan are lovely and light. Plain yogurt. You can use either plain yogurt or buttermilk in this recipe. Go for full fat for the tastiest keema naan. Oil. Use your favorite vegetable oil; avocado works well as it doesn’t have a strong taste. Onion. I choose nice juicy-looking white onion for this recipe. Green chillies. You can either leave the seeds in or take them out if you don’t want them to be too spicy. Ginger. Choose a lovely fresh piece of ginger. You can also use the pre-chopped kind if that’s what you have. Garlic. Pairs with ginger to bring a rich flavor to this recipe. Fresh is best, but pre-chopped is perfectly fine too. Lamb. Ground lamb or beef (I also really love making this with beef) for this recipe. Ground meat carries spices really well. Garam masala. A core flavor in this dish, so ensure you have lovely fresh garam masala. Cumin. It brings brightness to the flavor profile; choose ground cumin. Coriander. Ground cilantro or coriander is a distinctive flavor in this dish and stands out among other spices. Cayenne powder. You can leave this out if you prefer or add a little extra if you like heat. Black pepper. Optional, but I love the taste of black pepper cracked over ground meat. Cilantro. It lifts and brightens this snack. I like using coriander leaves and stalks. Melted butter. Plant-based or regular butter is fine for this recipe, don’t skip it, as it pairs so well with naan.
How To Make Keema Naan
You’ll start off by making up the dough, rolling it into dough balls to rest in the fridge before rolling them out into little pads. Next is making up the stuffing. You’ll just need to ensure the center of the keema naan reaches 165ºF before you take it off the skillet for food safety reasons. Lastly, you’ll cook off the naan and assemble them before guzzling them down.
Other Yummy Indian Bites to Serve With This At A Party
Keema Naan is such a great snack to serve for a group. If you’re hosting a gathering, why not whip up a batch of my golden, crispy Potato Samosas or Chicken samosas?
I love the idea of serving this Creamy Indian chickpea salad as well with plain homemade naan as a protein-packed vegetarian option that’s bursting with flavor.
Make Ahead Instructions
The dough can be made in advance and refrigerated as dough balls before rolling. You can also make the filling up in advance and refrigerate for up to 3 days before using. You can stuff the keema naan and roll them out and refrigerate at that point. Simply cook them when ready to eat. Layer them between sheets of parchment paper to prevent sticking and wrap tightly with plastic wrap. Reheat leftovers in the oven, wrapped in foil to keep them soft.
Storage Instructions
To store keema naan, first allow it to cool completely. Next, wrap it in plastic wrap or in a resealable plastic bag. Keema naan can be stored in the fridge for 3 days or frozen for up to 3 months. The fridge stales all bread (including naan) faster than the freezer, so if you’re not going to eat it the next day, just freeze them.
Keema Naan Variations
Cheesy keema naan. Add a sprinkling of grated cheddar or mozzarella on top of the meat while assembling. Vegetarian keema naan. Swap the meat for a plant-based ground meat alternative. Chicken keema naan. Use ground chicken in place of beef or lamb. Add chopped fresh tomatoes to the fresh cilantro at the end.
Don’t miss these other delicious flatbread recipes:
Turkish Bread (pillowy-soft flatbreads) Paratha (flaky kerala-style flatbread) Butter naan (the wildly-viral Instagram recipe) Aloo naan (with a spiced potato filling) Roti (a super-soft recipe I’ve been testing for 20 years!) Fresh Flour Tortillas (an easy recipe to make delicious flour tortillas from scratch)
More Indian Recipes You Don’t Want To Miss
I love to serve keema naan with my father-in-law’s yogurt and cucumber salad (but a dish of plain yogurt with some salt and a drizzle of oil for dipping is also delish, if untraditional). If you love cozy Indian food, you’re going to swoon for some of my other favorite Indian recipes! This comforting creamy Shrimp Korma and almost-famous Butter Paneer or Butter Chicken recipes are great places to start. Or for lentil lovers, you can’t miss these Creamy Madras Lentils. The sauce is to die for! A pot of steaming Authentic Indian Chai is traditional if serving Keema Naan as an afternoon snack. Here are a few other favs not to miss:
Vindaloo Lamb or Pork curry Saag Paneer Adarsh’s Chicken 65 Curry Saag Paneer
(Read next: Roti vs Naan and Paratha vs Naan to learn the main differences between most popular Indian flatbreads!)
