Name: Lamb keema Shimla Mirch
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients: 3 tbsp rapeseed oil; 2 medium onions - roughly chopped; 2 large green bell peppers - roughly chopped; 1 - 2 green chillies - finely chopped; 2 tbsp garlic and ginger paste; 1 - 2 tablespoons Madras curry powder; 1 tsp cumin powder; 1 tsp coriander powder; 1 tsp red chilli powder; 1/2 ttsp turmeric; 3 tbsp tomato puree; 400ml (1 1/2 cups) coconut milk; 600g cooked lamb keema; 5 small tomatoes - quartered; Salt to taste; 1 x 2 inch piece of peeled ginger - julienned; 4 spring onions - roughly chopped; Green chillies - sliced and to taste; 5 tablespoons fresh chopped coriander

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This lamb keema shimla mirch recipe can be prepared in 20 to 30 minutes.

Shimla mirch means bell pepper and you get a lot of that in this quick lamb keema shimla mirch curry. With this recipe you add the lamb keema already cooked. So if you like, you could just fry up some minced (ground) lamb or you could opt for this lamb keema recipe or even add a curry house style lamb keema.

This time around, I made it easy on myself and just fried up some ground lamb and the result was still amazing. This quick shimla mirch curry is great served with plain Basmati or flavoured rice, naans or chapatis, a good dal and of course, don't forget the samosas! You can make them with the same lamb keema. You might also like to try making Bombay potatoes.

Does shimla mirch need to have lamb keema in it?

Absolutely not. You could just add more veggies and make this a vegetarian shimla mirch or even add cubes of paneer. You could add the paneer raw or try this fried paneer recipe.

If you would like to add keema, you could follow one of my keema recipes or just fry up some ground lamb, chicken or beef. All are good in this curry.

About the keema in this shimla mirch recipe

At Indian restaurants, the keema is usually prepared before adding it to curries as it takes some time for the flavours to develop. If you are short on time, you could just fry up some ground lamb, chicken or beef and then follow the shimla mirch recipe as is. That's exactly what I did this time around.

What bell peppers should you add to a shimla mirch?

That's up to you. They all taste quite similar so go for a variety of colours if you like. Yellow, orange, red and green bell peppers are all fine.

I just used green this time as it's what I had on hand.

Can you work ahead?

Yes! Go ahead and fry up some keema up to three days before adding it to the curry. Just keep it in the fridge until needed.

If you really want to get the job done, you can cook the whole curry a few days before serving. The flavours will develop and your shimla mirch will be even better.

Can you freeze shimla mirch curry?

Yes but it's best if not frozen. If you have some left over or you just want to have some on hand for another day, go ahead and freeze it. Shimla mirch can be frozen for up to 6 months with little loss of flavour but the veggies won't look as nice.

Be sure to defrost completely before reheating.

How do you reheat shimla mirch curry?

Usually, I just do this in my microwave. You could also heat it in a pan over a medium heat and slowly cook it until hot.

PRO TIPS

Use the freshest ingredients you can get your hands on.
Take some time to make a keema using this recipe. You can get away with just frying up some lamb, beef or chicken but your shimla mirch will be better if you cook a proper keema.
Be sure to serve it topped with julienned ginger and coriander! It's part of what makes a shimla mirch the delicious curry it is.

Step by step photographs

Ingredients for shimla mirch — Get all of your ingredients together before starting. It's a lot easier that way.

Frying the bell peppers, onions and chillies. — Heat the oil in a pan and fry the bell peppers, onions and chillies for about 5 minutes to soften some. The onions should be soft and translucent.

Adding garlic and ginger paste to the curry. — Once these veggies have cooked through, stir in the garlic and ginger paste and fry for about a minute.

Adding ground spices to the shimla mirch. — With the garlic and ginger paste stirred in, now stir in the ground spices.

Curry masala ready for adding main ingredients. — It will all look like this.

Adding coconut milk, half of the tomatoes and the keema to the curry. — Stir in the coconut milk and half of the tomatoes, retaining the rest for later. Bring to a simmer and then stir in the keema.

Adding the remaining tomatoes to the shimla mirch curry. — To finish, add the remaining tomatoes and season with salt to taste.

You might like to try some of these alamb curries too. All with step by step photographs.

See more lamb Curry Recipes →

Yield: 4

Lamb keema Shimla Mirch

This shimla mirch curry is prepared with lamb keema but any keema can be used or you could just make it vegetarian. Really easy to prepare.

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

Ingredients

3 tbsp rapeseed oil
2 medium onions - roughly chopped
2 large green bell peppers - roughly chopped
1 - 2 green chillies - finely chopped
2 tbsp garlic and ginger paste
1 - 2 tablespoons Madras curry powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 ttsp turmeric
3 tbsp tomato puree
400ml (1 1/2 cups) coconut milk
600g cooked lamb keema
5 small tomatoes - quartered
Salt to taste
1 x 2 inch piece of peeled ginger - julienned
4 spring onions - roughly chopped
Green chillies - sliced and to taste
5 tablespoons fresh chopped coriander

Instructions

Heat the oil over medium high heat. When it begins to bubble, add the chopped onions, green capsicums and green chillies and fry until the onion is translucent but still quite crisp.
Add the garlic and ginger paste and stir it all in for about a minute.
Now add the ground spices and stir them into the vegetables. Stir in the tomato puree and the coconut milk. Then stir in half of the tomatoes.
Add the cooked keema and stir it into the sauce. Let this simmer for about ten minutes and then top with the remaining tomatoes.
Season with salt to taste and add more of the ground spices if you want.
Serve at the table with the ginger, spring onions, coriander and chillies on the side. You may need to prepare more as these are a delicious topping. People can add them to the curry to their own tastes.