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Dinner recipe

Beef Lentil Keema Rice with Peas and Cucumber

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Meat-led keema-style rice bowls with beef mince, red lentils, peas, tomatoes, ginger, mild spices, cucumber, lime, and coriander.

Start planningStart cookingIngredients
85 min815 kcal4 base servingsDinnerBeefRice BowlFamily Friendly
ContainsGluten
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Recipe and nutrition estimates

Recipe times, servings, calories and nutrition notes are estimates for planning. They are not medical or dietary advice. Check food is cooked safely and adjust recipes for your household's needs.

Focus ingredients: beef mince, red lentils, basmati rice, peas

Dietary fit: Dairy-free

Serving tip: Cool rice and curry promptly in shallow portions, ideally within 1 hour, and refrigerate at 0–5°C. Keep the cucumber accompaniment separately chilled. Use within 24 hours; reheat rice and curry once only until steaming hot throughout.

Beef Lentil Keema Rice with Peas and Cucumber plated and ready to serve.

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Ingredients

What you need

  • 500g beef mince
  • 180g red lentils
  • 300g basmati rice
  • 250g frozen peas
  • 1 × 400 g tin chopped tomatoes
  • 300g cucumber
  • 150g onion
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 30g fresh ginger
  • 1 lime
  • 30g fresh coriander
  • 15ml vegetable oil
  • 2 tsp mild curry powder
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 2800ml water
  • 2g salt

You'll also need

30cm 5l deep saute pan, 3l lentil saucepan and fine sieve (reuse for peas), 2l rice saucepan with lid, three hob rings, scales, measuring jug, mixing bowl, knife, board, grater and clean probe thermometer

Method

Step by step

Up to 8 clear steps
  1. Beef Lentil Keema Rice with Peas and Cucumber cooking step 1: Prepare the bowls.
    Step 1

    Prepare ingredients

    For more than four servings, repeat batches of no more than four. Divide displayed ingredients and measured method totals between batches; keep meat thickness, batch limits, pan capacities and per-batch times fixed. Allow extra elapsed time for further batches. Finely dice onion, crush garlic and grate ginger. Rinse dry lentils. Cut cucumber into 5mm dice. Measure 2g lime zest and 30ml juice. Chop all coriander and keep raw mince chilled. Keep prepared cucumber covered in the fridge.

  2. Beef Lentil Keema Rice with Peas and Cucumber cooking step 2: Cook the rice.
    Step 2

    Cook lentils and rice separately

    Put all dry lentils in a 3l saucepan with 900ml water. Bring to the boil, boil 10 minutes then simmer 15 minutes until tender, or follow the packet if longer. Drain through a fine sieve; do not put dry lentils into the tomato sauce. When the sauce starts its 20-minute simmer in step 4, rinse all rice and put in a separate 2l saucepan with 600ml water. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer gently 10–12 minutes or according to the packet. Keep 100ml extra boiling water measured separately; add only if the pan dries before rice is tender. Drain any excess and discard unused contingency water.

    25 min
  3. Beef Lentil Keema Rice with Peas and Cucumber cooking step 3: Brown the beef.
    Step 3

    Cook meat in batches

    Measure 7.5ml oil for the meat. Divide it between two equal batches. Heat each share in a 30cm 5l pan over medium-high heat. Cook mince, no more than 250g per batch, for 8–10 minutes, breaking into small crumbs. Check the thickest clumps reach 75°C for 30 seconds with a clean probe; continue and recheck if needed. Transfer each cooked batch to a clean bowl.

    20 min
  4. Beef Lentil Keema Rice with Peas and Cucumber cooking step 4: Build the spice base.
    Step 4

    Simmer sauce

    Reduce heat to medium. Add remaining 7.5ml oil and all onion and cook 10 minutes, stirring, until softened. Add all garlic, ginger, curry powder, cumin and all the black pepper for 1 minute. Add all chopped tomatoes with their juices, all 2g salt and 200ml water. Simmer 20 minutes, stirring, until the sauce thickens.

    31 min
  5. Beef Lentil Keema Rice with Peas and Cucumber cooking step 5: Simmer the lentils.
    Step 5

    Cook peas and dress cucumber

    While the sauce simmers, wash the emptied lentil saucepan and boil 1000ml water in it. Add all frozen peas, return to the boil and simmer 3 minutes or according to the packet. Drain and discard the water. Mix all chilled cucumber with all 2g measured lime zest, all 30ml juice and half the coriander; keep chilled until serving.

    3 min
  6. Beef Lentil Keema Rice with Peas and Cucumber cooking step 6: Add the peas.
    Step 6

    Combine

    Return all cooked mince and its juices to the sauce with all drained lentils and peas. Heat gently 5 minutes, stirring, until steaming hot throughout.

    5 min
  7. Beef Lentil Keema Rice with Peas and Cucumber cooking step 7: Serve with cucumber.
    Step 7

    Serve

    Divide all rice and curry equally between the intended servings. Serve with all cucumber salad and scatter over remaining coriander.