Tempeh keema with peas
Crumbled tempeh simmered with onion, ginger, tomato and garam masala until thick and deeply savory, with sweet peas stirred through, the Indian mince dish made plant-based.
- 45 min total
- 30 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 4
- About $3.05 a serving
- 610 calories
- Good the next day
- Vegan
- Gluten-free
- Dairy-free
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 1½ cups basmati rice
- 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
- 2 packages tempeh, crumbled
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
- 1 jalapeño, minced
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 2 tsp garam masala
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 can diced tomatoes
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 2 tbsp cilantro, chopped (optional)
- 1 lemon, cut into wedges (optional)
From your pantry
- 3 cups water, divided
- 1½ tsp salt, divided
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tsp paprika
Each serving has about 610 calories, 32 g protein, 79 g carbs and 20 g fat, and costs about $3.05 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No basmati rice? Jasmine rice or long-grain white rice works.
- No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
- No diced tomatoes? Crushed tomatoes work.
- No frozen peas? Frozen mixed vegetables work.
- No cilantro? Fresh parsley works.
- No lemons? Limes work.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the rice and bring it in a with 2¼ cups water and ½ teaspoon salt over high heat.
Rinse. Rinsing means running cold water over rice or canned beans in a strainer while you swish them around. It washes off loose starch and can liquid, so rice cooks up fluffy and beans taste clean.
How you’ll know: The water running out goes from cloudy to mostly clear; it doesn’t have to be perfect.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
Saucepan. A saucepan is a pot with tall, straight sides and one long handle. It’s for things that need depth, like rice, sauces or a few boiled eggs.
How you’ll know: The food fills it about halfway, leaving room to bubble without spilling over.
High heat
Stir once, cover, and cook on low for 15 minutes. Take it off the heat and leave the lid on until you serve.
Low heatTimer: 15 min
Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring now and then, 6 to 8 minutes, until .
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Medium heatTimer: 7 min
Add the tempeh and 1 teaspoon salt and cook about 5 minutes, stirring, until lightly .
Brown. Browning means cooking until the outside turns brown, which is where a lot of savory flavor comes from. Give food room and time without stirring, or it steams and stays gray.
How you’ll know: The food looks brown rather than gray, and the kitchen smells toasty and savory.
Medium heatTimer: 5 min
Dolly’s tip: Crumble it small, about the size of cooked ground meat. Small pieces soak up more sauce.Stir in the garlic, ginger, jalapeño, cumin, coriander, garam masala, turmeric, paprika and tomato paste and cook 1 minute, and the paste darkens.
Fragrant. Fragrant means cooking until you can clearly smell it, usually garlic or spices, often in about 30 seconds. That’s the moment the flavor is ready, just before it can burn.
How you’ll know: You can smell it from a step back, and garlic is pale gold, not brown.
Medium heatTimer: 1 min
Add the tomatoes and ¾ cup water and about 10 minutes, stirring now and then, until thick.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Medium heatTimer: 10 min
Stir in the peas and cook 3 minutes, until hot.
Medium heatTimer: 3 min
Taste for salt and serve over the rice with cilantro and lemon wedges.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
More dinners like this
Instant Pot saag tofu
55 min
Slow cooker tofu tikka masala
290 min
Instant Pot tempeh jambalaya
55 min
Instant Pot tofu and potato curry
55 min
High-protein dinners ›Vegetarian dinners ›What to make with canned tomatoes and rice ›What to make with rice and frozen peas ›What to make with canned tomatoes and frozen peas ›