Like most every dish I grew up eating at home there was always a Pakistani influence. Even when we made traditional American food like burgers or pizza my mom would add her own spices to make it her taste and that’s pretty much what happened whenever we had pasta. If we wanted meat in the pasta it was gonna be cooked her way and honestly I couldn’t have it any other way. It’s definitely not traditionally American or traditionally Pakistani, just a nice in between.
I’m excited to share my take on her take of Keema Pasta (wow, what a generational dish). This spicy, marinated ground beef cooked in a fresh tomato sauce goes great with any pasta and is sure to become a staple in your home once you try it! Let’s get started with the recipe, shall we?
Ingredients:
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1.5 teaspoon red chili powder
- 1 tablespoon cumin powder
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 2 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1.5 teaspoon salt, to taste
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 16 oz. box fettuccine
- 28 oz. can whole or crushed peeled plum tomatoes
- sprinkle of dried oregano
- parsley, to garnish
Directions:
When it comes to making Keema I always spice the meat first just to give it a head start to Flavor town. Where is Flavor town, you ask? It’s wherever you want it to be and that’s the beauty of it!
In a mixing bowl add your ground beef along with all the spices, salt, and minced garlic. Give it a thorough mix and set it aside while you heat up your oil in a large pot or wok on medium heat. The sauce will also be cooked in this so it needs to be large enough to accommodate. Once the oil is shiny you can add the mixed meat in.
Ground beef cooks fairly quickly so don’t go making spontaneous plans. After about 5 minutes it will be mostly browned but there will be excess moisture. To get rid of this turn the heat to high and sauté the meat, while constantly mixing to prevent burning. The excess moisture will cook out and really just concentrate the meaty flavor. This should take about 5 minutes.
Once the Keema is cooked you can add in all the tomatoes. If it’s tomato season where you are, you can definitely add fresh peeled tomatoes and it would be so delicious. Nothing like a fresh, in season tomato. Also, if you so choose, you can use crushed tomatoes instead, it won’t be as chunky if that’s what you prefer. The whole tomatoes do cook down significantly, but it just takes a little more time. Whatever you choose add the tomatoes now and give each tomato a crush with your spoon and cover and cook on low to medium low. Let it cook down for 35-40 minutes or until tomatoes are soft and cooked down. At this point you can taste and adjust the flavor to your liking. I added a touch of salt to just lift the tomatoes. You can add more salt and spice, if you so choose. At this point add a sprinkling of dried oregano.
When the sauce is just about done you can start cooking your fettuccine in a big pot of salted, boiling water. Cook according to your box’s directions. After the pasta cooks you can pull it out with some tongs and place in the cooked sauce. Give it a thorough mix to fully coat the fettuccine, then plate it up!
After plating add a sprig of parsley to garnish and just enjoy! Pasta is such a simple dish to make at home but sometimes if you’re looking to elevate your standard box of pasta there’s not better way then making your own sauce. I hope you can try this out and let me know how it goes!
Spicy Keema Fettucine
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1½ teaspoons red chili powder
- 1 tablespoon cumin powder
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- 2 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1½ teaspoon salt, to taste
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 16 oz. box fettuccine
- 28 oz. can whole or crushed peeled plum tomatoes
- sprinkle of dried oregano
- parsley, to garnish
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl add in the ground beef, spices, salt, and minced garlic. Mix thoroughly and set aside while you heat the vegetable oil in large pot or wok on medium heat.
- Once oil is shiny on surface add in the meat and cook on medium heat while mixing occasionally. After about 5 minutes when meat is mostly cooked raise the heat to high and sauté to remove excess moisture. Sauté for about 5 minutes until meat is thoroughly cooked and flavor is concentrated.
- Add in 28 oz. can of peeled tomatoes to cooked meat. Crush each whole tomato with spoon then cover pot with lid. Allow to cook on low to medium low heat for about 35-40 minutes or until tomatoes are soft and cooked down.
- At this point taste the sauce for seasoning, add salt or spice to your liking. Add in sprinkling of oregano.
- Once sauce is done, cook fettucine in salted, boiling water according to box directions.
- When pasta is cooked use tongs to remove from water and add into finished sauce.
- Mix thoroughly in sauce making sure to coat all pasta.
- Plate up the pasta and garnish with a sprig of parsley.
- Enjoy!
If you want to stay up-to-date on all Mostly Masala recipes then sign up for the newsletters below! Recipes will be sent straight to your inbox 📩
If you tried out a recipe and enjoyed feel free to leave a review and comment down below. I would love to hear what you thought ✨
August 17, 2020 at 2:55 amIt looks delicious I loved it Thanks for sharing I will try it at home
August 17, 2020 at 4:33 pmThank you! Hope you enjoy it!