Us Pakistani people just make our own version of every darn dish. That’s just what we do. Keema macaroni or “Minced meat macaroni” is our very own fusion pasta recipe. And i mean of course, sure, you can eat this with spaghetti too. But elbow pasta just callssss to us cz that’s how ours Moms made it!
It’s usually made with mixing some left over Keema (minced beef), boiled macaroni and some sauces together. Basically our way of re-purposing leftovers. But the cravings are real! And when you need a big batch of Keema macaroni, you gotta make it from scratch. Its so frikkin simple, and quick, and kid friendly, and yum and comforting…..that I….lost my train of thought…ok so ..here goes
How to make Keema Macaroni
Preparing the Keema base
So you can of course make this with any kinda minced meat you have at hand. Lamb, beef, mutton, chicken. Chicken will take less time to cook and the other 3 will take longer. That’s the only difference, all other ingredients stay the same. I’m making my version with beef.
Start by browning some onions in oil. It doesn’t have to be a perfect brown. Just brown enough.
Add in your beef, and garlic ginger paste. Saute the mince at high flame till all the water from the beef evaporates. This step is IMPORTANT!
Note: Always dry out water from beef at high heat in the beginning. This ensure that all bacteria etc are killed. Secondly, beef can have a certain smell that will not linger if you make sure all the water evaporates before adding spices.
When all the water from the beef evaporates, it’ll look the picture above. And you will see oil separated on the sides.
Add in your spices and chopped tomatoes. You can also add canned tomatoes instead. Saute the spices, tomatoes, and beef for about 2 to 3 mins at medium flame. Then add water and cover the lid. This meat will cook roughly for 30 mins in a normal pot. You can also use a pressure cooker or instant pot instead.
After 30 mins of cooking at medium flame, the water will have reduced and you will see oil separating on the sides again. If you don’t, increase the flame and saute till you see a mild oil separation. Your beef base is ready.
Adding Vegetables
If you already have some left over Keema, this is where you can start to follow the recipe.
Disclaimer: IF you are using some of your own left over Mince for this recipe, make sure it was made WITHOUT yogurt. The yogurt based mince doesn’t sit well with the flavors of this recipe.
I’ve also followed the following steps with some left-over Chicken tikka, so that’s always an option too!
I add about 2 cups of any veggies that I have at hand for this recipe. Just make sure your veggies are finely chopped/shredded. I used chopped bell peppers and shredded carrots for my recipe.
Saute for another 2 to 3 mins.
Making the sauce.
So the sauce is pretty basic with tomato paste, soy sauce etc. No vinegar because the tomatoes are acidic enough. I add half of the sauces in my veggie meat mix and reserve half for later. Then I add in all of my par-boiled pasta.
TIP: For any kind of minced meat pasta, chose pasta that has a small size, like macaroni or Conchiglie (sea shell pasta) or rigatoni. Even spaghetti because its thin. Chunkier larger pasta varieties don’t work well with meat. So I’d definitely recommend to avoid Fettuccine or Penne pasta with this recipe.
Once all the pasta is added and mixed well. I cover the pot and let it rest for 10 mins. THEN I add the remaining half of my sauce. This just ensures my pasta is saucy and not dried out. You can of course add more sauce if you want, or a whole bottle of ketchup. (ya know…whatever works for you)
Serve this hot, with some coriander for garnish, or maybe not. And dig right in.
Can we freeze it?
You can definitely freeze the meat mix. Bring it out whenever you are ready to make more macaroni. Thaw it in a microwave and add to macaroni directly. The fully assembled dish however, can only be refrigerated. Lasts for 5 days easy in the fridge.
Alternates, Fixes, and Remixes
Substitutions and Remixes
- Like I said earlier, you can make this recipe with any mince meat or poultry available to you. Use half quantity of water for chicken/turkey mince.
- You can use canned tomatoes instead of fresh ones.
- Use Chicken tikka instead of the meat.
How to make this dish more Nutritious for your health.
- Use whole wheat organic pasta.
- Utilize fresh tomatoes and tomato paste.
- Use organic meat.
- For sauces, go for the low sodium Soy sauce.
- Use olive oil/ coconut oil or ghee for cooking the meat.
- Increase the levels of veggies in there.
- For a vegetarian version, substitute with meat with finely chopped cauliflower.
Fixes.
Dried out pasta.
- The pasta tends to dry out in the fridge and as it cools down. You can add a splash of water or sauce to bring it back.
- If reheating the pasta in the microwave the next day, keep a small cup of water in the microwave WITH the pasta. This will keep pasta moist and fresh.
Desi qeema pasta
Ingredients
- 1 kg packed of elbow macaroni or any small sized pasta par-boiled
- 1 lb minced beef 1/2 kg
- 1 large red onion sliced
- 1 tbsp garlic ginger paste
- 3 large tomatoes chopped or 1 cup canned tomatoes
- 2 tsp salt or to taste
- 2 tsp red chili powder lal mirch
- 1/2 tsp red chili flakes or to taste kooti lal mirch
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder haldi
- 2 tsp coriander powder dhania powder
- 1 tbsp roasted and grounded cumin seeds bhuna wa pisa zeera
- 1 tsp garam masala powder
- 2 cups of your favorite veggies finely chopped I used carrot and bellpepper
- 1/2 cup of oil
- Finely chopped Coriander for garnish optional
Sauces
- 1 1/4 cup of Tomato paste or ketchup or pasta sauce
- 1/4 cup of Sriracha sauce
- 4 tbsp of Soy Sauce
- 4 tbsp of Hot sauce
Instructions
- In a pot, add oil and sliced onions. Saute at medium heat until the onion turn golden brown.
- Add in minced meat and garlic ginger paste and saute the beef at high flame until all the water from the beef evaporates.
- Now add all the spices and tomatoes to the meat. Saute for 2 mins. Add 4 cups of water and cover the meat to cook at medium flame for about 30 mins or until all the water dries up.
- When the water in the meat dries up, add your chopped vegetables and saute for another 3 mins.
- Add in half of the sauce mix in the meat and mix well.
- Add in your boiled pasta and stir the pasta for another 3 mins.
- Cover the pot and let the pasta rest for 5 mins.
- Add in the rest of the sauce mix in the pasta and adjust your seasoning accordingly.
- Serve immediately garnished with coriander.
Salwa says
Qeema machine ka len ya hath ka ????
Wajiha says
Hey Salwa. Koi sa bhi use kersakte hein jo aap chahein
A.J says
I was craving the Desi macaroni from pak and came across this recipe. I can confirm that it tasted exactly like home! Thank you for this
Wajiha says
THIS! This makes everything worth it! Thankyou for leaving this here!
Jasson Smith says
Very good recipes. I find that the dishes turn out very well with your instructions!! Thank you very much
Wajiha says
thankyou so much!
SANA AHMED says
Finally a desi pasta recipe with enough sauce and flavor! Made it recently and husband absolutely loved it! Your recipes have truly allowed me to step out of my comfort zone and become more confident about cooking desi food. Thank you!
Wajiha says
Thankyou so much Sana for taking out the time to make my day! im so glad you are enjoying cooking now!
mJ says
This was really good! I would recommend instead of using 4 cups of water using 2 instead. The tomatoes add a lot of water content.
Wajiha says
yay! I added the water in the beginning for the mince to cook. If you are using a pressure cooker or an instant pot you will definitely need less than 4 cups of water. You definitely have to let all the water dry up before adding the tomatoes 🙂
Aqsa says
Made this from scratch
It was so good yumy recipe to satisfy desi taste buds
Even it triggered a memory of ami how she used to make this
Loads of prayers for the chef????
Wajiha says
awwww that is so sweet Aqsa! lots of love to aunty
ittrat says
I tried this recipe today. it turned out to be perfect. Thankyou so much for amazing recipes. Looking forward for more recipes. There are still alot of recipes from your blog that i have yet to try. insha’Allah i will be doing it and reviewing them ????❤️????????
Wajiha says
Thankyou so much ittrat! you are a darlinggg!!!
Azka Kazmi says
This is my second time making it! I decided to make this for a small potluck and everyone loved it ???????? Thank you and keep posting new and yummy recipes. ????
Wajiha says
i love that you found this recipe to be good enough to share with your friends. thankyou so much for your feedback! much love
Sumaiyya says
I made this and came out soooo good! I omitted the hot sauce and added a bit more pasta sauce. I also used half the amount of pasta since we love to have a greater ratio of sauce to pasta. Will definitely be making this again!
Wajiha says
that’s the beauty of such recipes right? you can customize it the way you like it! im so glad you liked it!
Anonymous says
This was the first time my beef mince macroni turned out delicious, otherwise it was hard mince with that particular beef smell. Your tips help alot. Keep it up ????.
Wajiha says
hey there! so glad to hear this! Yeah i know the beef smell can be such a bummer right? lemme know if you need help with anything 🙂 have a good day
Nida says
Made this last night and it was so delicious!
Wajiha says
wohoo!! 🙂 OMg yay!
Ayesha C says
This turned out ‘oh so good’! Thank you for the wonderful recipe! ????
Wajiha says
oh yayyy!!!!! 🙂 so happpppy!
Fatima says
Turned out so good!!
Wajiha says
yay!!!! heart doubling!
Samra says
Tried this with garden rotini pasta and tastes just as amazing! Reminds me of my mother’s cooking! ❤️
Thanks for all the help =)
Areej says
Superrr delicious! Loved it????❤️ Thankyou for the recipeee????
Wajiha says
this is one of my fav recipes! yay!!
Rabia says
I tried this recipe today. Turned out amazing ma Sha Allah. Looking forward to more recipes. More power to you ????
Wajiha says
woohoooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Anonymous says
I tried this recipe today. Turned out amazing ma Sha Allah. Looking forward to more recipes. More power to you ????