Lentil Keema Pav Casserole: One Pan Meal!

Name: Lentil Keema Pav Casserole (Vegan Mince Curry bread bake)
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients: 2 teaspoons oil; 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds; 2 bay leaves; 1 cinnamon stick; 1 black cardamom pod (partly open (or use 2 green cardamom pods partly open)); 1 medium red onion (chopped); 6 garlic cloves; 1 inch ginger; 1 green chili; 1/4 cup cilantro stems; 1/4 teaspoon turmeric; 1 tablespoon coriander powder; 1 teaspoon ground cumin; 1/2 teaspoon black pepper; 1 teaspoon paprika; 1 teaspoon dried fenugreek leaves, (Kasuri methi); 1/2 – 1 teaspoon garam masala; 1/4 teaspoon dried dill; 1/4 teaspoon dried sage; 1 tablespoon tomato paste; 3 cup veggie stock (or more if needed); 3/4 cup dried lentils (washed and soaked for 15 minutes); 1/4 cup frozen peas and carrots mix; 1/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts; 3 tablespoons non-dairy yogurt (or cashew cream); 3/4 teaspoon salt, (divided); 4 vegan hot dog buns or 8 dinner rolls; melted vegan butter or oil as needed; 1/2 teaspoon paprika; Cilantro and lemon juice (for garnish)

Lentil Keema Pav Casserole! 1 Pan Handsfree! A time consuming mince meat curry with dinner rolls, made into an easy-to-make, one-pot meal! It all comes together in a single pan. Think spiced and super flavorful Indian Sloppy joes. Gluten-free option

close-up of keema lentil casserole in the baking pan after baking

Keema is an Indian minced meat curry. There are many variations depending on the region, like this Madras Keema, Green Keema,North Indian Keema naan. This version is adapted from the famous Mumbai keema Pav, which is a super flavorful street style keema served with fresh toasted and buttered dinner rolls. Think super flavorful and spicy Sloppy joes style sandwich. I often use lentils as a meat substitute for the ground meat in keema. Walnuts add great texture as well.

Making This Indian Street style sloppy joes – Mumbai Keema Pav, from scratch can be a task. BUT I Bake it all up in 1 PAN!
Bake whole spices and aromatics until golden, then add lentils walnuts and sauces and bake, then top with the dinner rolls and broil. Done!

There are a bunch of spices for the traditional flavor, use whatever you have, it will turn our flavorful and delicious!. Also for ease of using, think all spices as one ingredient, and it will be just 8 ingredients for the whole dish!

Normally, you’d simmer lentils from dry on the stovetop, but in this recipe, we are cooking them in the oven. You will still start with dry lentils, but you’ll bake them with liquid and flavorful keema spices right in the baking pan.

They come out tasty and tender! With no need to stand around the kitchen to sauté the spices and to keep an eye on the lentils!

serving of keema lentil casserole on a plate with sliced onion

Then, instead of making the pav — a soft, Indian bread — from scratch, we are using hot dog buns or pillowy dinner rolls. The buns have a similar texture, and we will brush them with melted vegan butter and spices to give them an amazing flavor.

You can make just the Aleena lentils and serve with bread, naan or rice. It is delicious every which way!

overhead view of a serving of keema lentil casserole on a plate with sliced onion

Why You’ll Love Keema Pav Casserole

One-pan meal made in 1 Casserole dish
Soyfree, easily made nutfree glutenfree
Easy to make.
Packed with flavor.
Topped with pillowy, buttery bread.

More Vegan Lentil Recipes

lentils, spices, aromatics, and non-dairy yogurt in bowls on a kitchen counter

Ingredients:

keema spices – Indian Keema has an aromatic blend of spices including cumin and cardamom that lends and incredible flavor to lentils! Here, you’re using individual spices to make the keema mix, so no worries about having to buy a special spice mix.
aromatics – Onion, garlic, ginger, chilis, and cilantro depend the seasoning of this vegan lentil casserole.
lentils – We are using dried lentils here and baking them in veggie stock and tomato paste until tender as a substitute for the meat
non-dairy yogurt – This makes the sauce creamy. You can use cashew cream instead, if needed.
walnuts – You bake the walnuts with the lentils for added meaty texture, flavor, and protein. Use sunflower seeds for nutfree
hot dog buns or dinner rolls – This is your cheater pav! Use gluten-free buns for a gf variation.

Tips:

To make this ahead, make the lentil mixture and keep the dinner rolls separately until ready to serve and then place the dinner rolls on top of the lentil casserole, brush with the oil, and bake as needed. You can also just make the lentil mixture and keep the dinner rolls separately to serve individually as needed.
To make this nut-free, omit the walnuts.
To make this recipe gluten-free, use gluten-free dinner rolls or some gluten-free tortillas or flatbread to serve it.

How to Make Keema Pav Casserole:

Preheat the oven to 400º F, and place a 9×12” baking dish in the oven to heat up while the oven is preheating. Once the oven is hot, carefully remove the baking dish, add the oil and whole spices. Mix well, and set it aside.

Add the onion, garlic, ginger, green chili, and cilantro stems to a food processor, and process until everything is finely chopped.

onions, garlic, ginger, and chili in a food processor before blending

If you have a smaller food processor, like I do, process the onion, garlic, ginger, and chili first, then add the cilantro stems.

adding cilantro stems to chopped onions, garlic, ginger, and chili in a food processor

aromatics in the food processor after chopping

Then, add this mixture to the whole spices mixture in the baking pan.

chopped aromatics added to the baking pan

Add the ground spices and 1/2 teaspoon of salt, mix really well, and even everything out.

ground spices added to the chopped aromatics in the pan before baking

Bake for 15-18 minutes in the preheated oven, stirring once in between.

Once the mixture is somewhat golden, remove the baking dish from the oven and add the tomato paste, yogurt, and veggie stock, and mix really well.

ground spices added to the chopped aromatics in the pan after baking

adding non-dairy yogurt and tomato paste to the cooked aromatics

baking pan after adding the liquids and stirring in the other ingredients

Add the drained lentils, peas, carrots, walnuts, and remaining salt and mix in. Even it out and cover it with parchment paper. Bake in the oven for one hour.

lentils added to the baking pan before baking

Check at the 50-minute mark to see if the lentils are cooked to your preference and also if you need more liquid. Add more warm water or stock (1/2 to one cup).