Oven baked raw Keema Naan

Keema naan with homemade yeasted dough stuffed with a spicy raw minced meat filling, toasted on a tawa, brushed with yoghurt, sprinkled with nigella seeds and then lastly, baked in a hot oven. This recipe makes 5 hearty keema naan that 2 hungry humans can eat for lunch or dinner. You may serve it with yoghurt, mint chutney or any curry but we prefer to eat it as is like a pizza while watching Netflix. Reel video included. 

The highlight of this Keema Naan recipe that I first saw on Sanober's Instagram is the usage of raw keema filling. The fact that I don't have to cook the keema and wait for it to cool to stuff the naan made me want to try her recipe immediately. I have been making her Keema naan since September 2021 and have made the filling in a few different ways until I found what we love.

The beauty of this recipe is, that you can make your own trusted naan dough with or without egg and use any minced meat - beef, lamb, goat, mutton etc. Btw, you should follow her on Insta for her delicious recipes and gardening tips. 

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• Do I wash the minced meat?
• atta or plain flour
• foil or baking paper
• tawa or oven 
• Shape and bake
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Comments

Ingredients

• Flour: I have always used a mix of whole wheat (atta) and all-purpose or plain (maida) flour. I have tried 50/50 or more whole wheat. You may use all whole wheat or all plain flour and adjust the water to prepare the dough. 
• Instant yeast: Used to help leaven the dough. I always use instant yeast that I store in the freezer or fridge. If you are using active dry yeast, just use the same quantity and prepare as per the pack instructions. A little sugar and lukewarm water is needed to activate the yeast.
• Oil: This is again for the dough and you can use any cooking oil or even ghee. I have tried it with olive oil, ghee, and sheep's ghee. 
• Egg: Though not a traditional ingredient in a naan dough, adding an egg makes the bread thicker,  adds colour and texture and has better flavour. There is no reason not to add an egg unless you don't have it in hand, you can replace the egg with 2 to 3 tablespoons of more yoghurt or milk. 
• Yoghurt: An authentic ingredient in a traditional naan aids in the fermentation of the dough as it contains good bacteria. You may replace yoghurt with milk if you run out of yoghurt. Used in the dough and also for brushing the naan before they go into the oven. 
• Keema: aka minced meat or ground meat. For this recipe, you can use beef or lamb or goat or mutton minced meat. I have tried them all and they all taste great. 
• Veggies: red onion, green chillies, fresh coriander leaves and mint leaves
• Ginger garlic paste: cannot skip this! never. 
• Dry roasted coriander and cumin seeds: I believe this is the highlight of the filling recipe. The flavour this duo brings to the meat mixture is another level. I highly recommend not skipping this step. 
• Ground spices: turmeric powder, red chilli flakes and garam masala. (Please use my recipe) 
• Kalonji: Nigella seeds
• Butter to brush after baking

Do I wash the minced meat?

The question I often get asked in Instagram dm is - do I wash keema or do I rinse the minced meat? The answer is NO. I don't unless they come with a lot of blood, in which case I place it in a colander and let the excess blood drain off. (USDA article)

This was not the case when I started cooking. I used to wash them by placing the ground meat in a colander and rinsing it under a running water tap until the water is clear. This was okay to use in cooking curries or soups but it never helped when shaping meatballs or patties were involved. In my experience dishes made with washed minced meat lack flavour and colour. 

Don't wash minced meat

I read dozens of articles on google and also asked a few of my favourite food bloggers and they all claim it is not a good idea to wash any meat! So I switched to not washing minced meat ever since. But, I still wash my whole chicken and bone-in meat. I guess coming from India where folks still prefer the local butcher, washing the meat is given. So, if you must, make sure you drain them well - maybe inside the fridge and then pat them dry before using them in this recipe. 

atta or plain flour

The reason I mix atta (whole wheat) and plain (maida) to prepare the naan dough is a purely personal choice. Traditionally naan is made with only plain flour but now you can find recipes with all kinds of flour. I find dough with a mix of wheat and plain flour is easier to hand knead. 

foil or baking paper

Both options work great. Lining the baking tray will help keep the tray clean and prevent the keema naan from sticking to it. While using foil, you may come across one or two naans stuck to the foil but that can be easily removed without any damage to the naan. 

tawa or oven 

I know the recipe is called oven-baked keema naan, but we start the cooking on a tawa and then finish off in the oven. The tawa step makes sure that the keema naan is sealed from the bottom and the hot oven bakes it to finish. If you don't have an oven or don't want to switch it on, you may continue the cooking on tawa. Skip the yoghurt brushing step and just flip and roast on high flame until cooked through.  This method does take much less time than the oven but may not look neat and dry like the oven version. 

Shape and bake

If you enjoyed making this keema naan recipe, you should check out my Turkish Gozleme recipe, Gozleme recipe which also uses raw meat mixture but is stuffed in an unleavened dough and cooked on the stove-top. 

📖 Recipe