Keema Paratha: Pakistani Minced Meat Stuffed Flatbread

Keema Paratha is minced meat stuffed flatbread that is delicious to enjoy with a dollop of plain yoghurt. The meat has well-balanced spices and the bread is between crispy and moist.

Keema Paratha piled up on a white plate.

Keema Paratha

Keema Paratha is roti/ chapati stuffed with spicy minced meat filling and cooked with oil/ ghee.

With crispy but moist flatbread on the outside and spicy minced meat on the inside, this keema paratha is a one-for-all dish on your plate. You have enough carbs with plenty of protein from it. 

The word keema refers to minced meat. Technically, it can be any type of meat such as beef, lamb, or chicken. However, for this recipe, you can use either lamb or beef minced meat.

Four pieces of Keema Paratha on a white plate.

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As for the word paratha, it is basically an unleavened flatbread that is cooked in fat. This Pakistani spicy minced meat stuffed flatbread is similar to Lebanese Arayes. The difference lies in the bread and the spices. 

Arayes often use thick flatbread, such as pitta bread. And just like any other Lebanese food, the meat in Arayes does not use a lot of spices. Particularly chilies. So it’s rather bland compared to Keema Paratha.

The recipe I’m sharing with you here is based on the one that I’ve learned from my sister-in-law. It’s a Pakistani way of making paratha. 

Before I tried her paratha, I had eaten Keema Parathas from many restaurants. And I find the bread is so thick that I can hardly taste the meat.

Pakistani keema paratha cut in pieces on white plate.

On the contrary, my sister-in-law makes her paratha in such a way that the bread bit is not so thick that you can taste the minced meat. 

And it is nothing like most keema paratha you might ever taste because this one uses raw minced meat as stuffing before the flatbread is cooked and fried. Other recipes mostly use cooked minced meat for the fillings.

How to enjoy your Paratha

You can eat Keema Paratha with plain yogurt and some fresh salad. 

Because it is quite rich in flavor, you don’t really need anything else.

Minced meat stuffed flatbread with overlay text of Keema Paratha

Traditionally, this fried flatbread stuffed with spice minced meat is often enjoyed for breakfast on the weekend. 

However, I often make it for either lunches or dinners. Simply because we find the dish is a bit too heavy for breakfast. And for the same reasons, I don’t really make it very often. 

Because of how it is cooked, I don’t think Keema Paratha is an ideal choice for a healthy diet. It’s okay to have it once in a while, but not too often as it can be fatty. And I don’t think eating paratha daily is ideal either.

Having said that, I make them in bulk and freeze them quite frequently. So that I can serve them whenever I don’t have time to cook. 

When I need them, I just take them out of the freezer, sprinkle a little water on each side of the paratha, and reheat them on a Tawa/ frying pan. 

Key ingredients you need

Essentially you need ingredients for two things, one is for the flatbread, and the other one is for the filling. 

So you will need wholewheat/ chapati flour, minced meat, onions, ginger, garlic, ground cumin, ground coriander, ground black pepper, chili powder, and butter/ ghee to cook. 

Ingredients for keema paratha.

Chapati flour, which is also called chapati atta, has three types according to its content mixture. They are white atta, medium atta, and wholemeal atta. 

I always use medium atta as I find it easier to work with, and it has a lighter taste compared to brown atta/ wholemeal atta. But of course, you can use whichever atta you like. 

In theory, you can use any type of minced meat, such as beef, lamb, mutton, chicken, or goat. However, in my household, Keema Paratha is always associated with lamb minced meat. As that’s what my kids love. Hence, for this recipe, I use lamb meat.

Feel free to use whichever meat you personally prefer. It’s your choice.

As for the chili powder, I almost always Kashmiri red chili powder. But you can use any red chili powder or even cayenne pepper powder. And if you want your paratha to be less spicy, or not spicy at all, you can mix the chili powder with paprika powder. Or, omit the chili powder and use paprika powder instead.  

As for the cooking fat, you can use ghee, butter, or ordinary cooking oil such as sunflower or rapeseed. Traditionally, people use ghee. But I leave the option to your preference.

Equipment you need

How to make Keema Paratha

Firstly, make the dough for the paratha by mixing the chapati atta with water little by little. Knead it well. You would aim to get the dough that is soft enough to touch, pliable, and not sticky. It is more like a kids’ playing dough kind of texture. 

Divide and shape the dough into 8 balls. The balls will be a little smaller than a tennis ball, but a bit bigger than a ping pong ball. Cover them with a tea towel while you get on with the meat stuffing.

chapati dough balls
1. Divide and shape the dough into balls
Flattened roti dough
2. Roll out the dough

Secondly, you get the filling ready by mixing the minced meat with onions, ginger garlic paste, and all the spices. You mix and knead it well until all is thoroughly mixed. Divide the meat into 8 equal portions and shape them into balls. 

Then, heat the Tawa/ flat frying pan at medium heat. 

Now, you roll a dough ball into an approximately 20 cm round circle. Put one meatball in the middle and flatten it around to cover the dough. Leave a space of about 1-inch/ 1.5cm at the edge of the flattened dough. 

chapati dough with minced meat on the top
3. Put the keema on a rolled-out roti dough
minced meat spread on a rolled out chapati dough
4. Spread and flatten the minced meat
Keema paratha dough with minced meat on the top
5. Make a cut from the center
chapati dough with minced meat is being rolled
6. Roll the dough
roti dough with minced meat filling
7. Roll the dough to cover the meat
flatten roti with minced meat for keema paratha
8. Roll out the dough with meat into a 9-inches round circle

After that, make a cut from the center to the edge. And roll the bread to the side until you get a snail-like shape of a meat dough. Try to cover the meat with the dough at best you can. And carefully shape and roll it into a nice big ball. Flatten it with your palms before you roll it again with a rolling pin. 

Rolling the dough with meat filling can be a bit messy. But it’s okay. When the minced meat is pushed out and leaks out from the dough, I usually just dust it and cover it with a sprinkle of chapati flour. 

Your paratha will be about 8-inches/ 20 cm in diameter. 

Once you finish rolling out the dough filled with meat, carefully lay it out on the preheated Tawa. Let it cook on both sides. It takes about 2 minutes on each side for me. 

cooking the keema paratha on a flat pan
9. Cook the paratha on a Tawa/ flat frying pan
putting a butter on the cooked paratha
10. When both sides are cooked, add the butter on each side
cooking the paratha with the butter
11. Spread the butter and continue cooking
ready cooked keema paratha
12. Keep the cooked paratha in aluminum foil as you keep making

When the minced meat on both sides of the paratha looks cooked, spread a little butter/ ghee/ oil on each side. Let it cook further for another 1-2 minutes on each side until you can see that the paratha absorbed the fat and the meat is fully cooked.

Top Tips

  • Make sure your minced meat is fresh.
  • Chop the onions as finely as possible.
  • Once your paratha is cooked, place it on a plate and fully cover it with aluminum foil so it doesn’t go dry and hard.
  • When you want to reheat the paratha on the Tawa, sprinkle a little oil on each side so it doesn’t go too hard and crispy.
A stack of minced meat stuffed flatbread.

More Pakistani Keema Recipes

Thank you for checking this Keema Paratha recipe. I hope you are now thinking of trying it out. When you do, it will be great if you can share what you think about the recipe in the comments below.

Feel free to share this recipe with your loved ones. And before you go, don’t forget to check my other Pakistani keema recipes that you may like.

Last but not least, please follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and/or Pinterest. To sneak a peek at what’s cooking in my kitchen. 

Take care and all the best.


Keema Paratha piled up on a white plate.
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5 from 5 votes

Keema Paratha

Keema Paratha is minced meat stuffed flatbread that is delicious to enjoy with a dollop of plain yoghurt. The meat has well-balanced spices and the bread is between crispy and moist.
Author: Devy Dar
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time56 minutes
Total Time1 hour 11 minutes
Course: Lunch
Cuisine: Pakistani
Servings: 8

Equipment

  • Chopping board
  • Kitchen knife
  • Rolling Pin
  • Mixing bowls.
  • Tawa or
  • Frying pan

Ingredients

For the paratha:

  • 3 cups chapati flour and extra for rolling.
  • 1 cup + 1 tablespoon water and/or add an extra 1-2 tablespoons as needed.
  • ½ cup butter diced (see the note).

For the filling:

  • 1.1 pounds minced meat lamb, mutton, or beef.
  • 1 medium brown/ yellow onion finely chopped.
  • ½ – inch ginger minced.
  • 3 cloves of garlic minced.
  • 1 teaspoon cumin powder.
  • 1 teaspoon coriander powder.
  • 1 teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder see the note.
  • 1 teaspoon ground black pepper.
  • 1 teaspoon salt.

Instructions

  • Mix the flour, oil, and water. Add the water little by little as you mix. When all comes together, knead it well until you get a pliable and soft dough. If your dough is a bit dry, you can add another teaspoon of water each time. Make sure you mix well every time you add more water. Take care not to put too much water. 
  • Divide the dough into equal-sized 8 balls and cover with a tea towel. Set aside.
  • Mix the minced meat with chopped onions, ginger-garlic, all spices, and salt. Divide it into 8 balls. Set aside.
  • Heat up your Tawa and cook the paratha on it at medium heat.
  • Then, roll a dough ball out with a rolling pin into a 6-inches/ 15 cm round circle. 
  • Put the meat in the center of the dough and flatten it over. Leave about ½ inch/ 1.5 cm edges of the dough.
  • Make a cut from the center of the dough to the side, and roll the dough around the circle. You will get a snail-like dough.
  • Carefully flatten the dough and roll it out again until you get an approximately 8-inches/ 20 cm in diameter size of a round circle. Your paratha will be about 3-5 mm/ 0.2 inch. 
  • Now, carefully lay your paratha on the preheated Tawa/ frying pan and cook at medium heat.
  • It takes about 2-3 minutes for the meat and the roti to cook on each side. Using a wooden spoon, make cuts/ holes randomly around the paratha. This is to prevent the flour from rising. And to make sure the steam goes to the meat and cook it. 
  • When the meat and the roti look cooked, turn them over and cook again for another 2-3 minutes. 
  • Then turn the paratha once again. And spread the butter (oil or ghee) over the paratha. And continue to cook for another 1-2 minutes, before you turn it once again and spread the fat on the other side.
  • You can keep turning the flatbread to ensure it absorbs the fat and the meat is thoroughly cooked. 
  • Once the paratha is cooked, place it on a plate and cover it with aluminum foil.

Notes

  • You can use ghee or ordinary cooking oil, such as sunflower or rapeseed. Spread about one teaspoon of fat on each side of the paratha in step 8.
  • If Kashmiri red chili powder is not available, you can use ordinary red chili powder or cayenne pepper powder. And if you want the paratha to be less spicy and mild, you can use paprika powder instead. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 373kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 22g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 56mg | Sodium: 496mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 2g

Disclaimer

Nutritional info in this recipe is only estimate using online calculator. You should refer to it as a guide only. Please verify with your own data if you seek an accurate info.

Author: Devy Dar

Title: Food Writer, Recipe Developer, and Digital Content Creator.

Bio:

Devy Dar founded So Yummy Recipes and Drizzling Flavor to share her love of food after exploring various cultures and cuisines for more than two decades. Her mission is to help others easily recreate traditional and non-traditional food with readily available ingredients. Her works have been featured in Reader’s Digest, Al Jazeera, MSN, Yahoo, Bon Appetit, and more. 

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