Vegan keema tacos: a delightful union between Indian cuisine and Mexican cuisine. Corn tortillas get stuffed with the vegan keema, avocado, cilantro, and cashew cream!
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I’ve always felt like Indian cuisine and Mexican cuisine have a lot of parallels. There are tortillas, there are rotis. Salsas and chutneys. Chilis, warm spices like cumin, and lots of legumes. A fusion recipe was bound to happen so these are vegan keema tacos! To mimic the texture of keema, I used textured vegetable protein (TVP) made of soy. You can find it at most grocery stores and I used Bob’s Red Mill! The cool thing about it is it easily soaks any flavor you add to it. Keema is very versatile and can be used for a variety of purposes, but I came across keema tacos on Bon Appetit and really wanted to make my own plant-based version.
What is keema?
Keema is usually minced mutton or beef cooked with a bunch of spices, so TVP made a great substitute that mimicked the texture wonderfully. You simply soak it in boiling water for 15 minutes and it’s ready to use. Then just cook it with aromatics and a handful of warm spices like coriander, turmeric, garam masala, chili powder, nutmeg, and cinnamon. You can use keema for keema curries, eaten dry with rotis, and pretty much however you please.
How to Make Vegan Keema Tacos
Prep the TVP.
Follow package instructions, but for the TVP I used, I had to bring water to a boil and soak the TVP in it for 15 minutes. After that, it’s ready to use!
Cook with aromatics and spices.
Just the usual here. Onion, garlic, ginger, green chilis, and ground spices! I used coriander, turmeric, red chili powder, garam masala, Indian red chili powder, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Nutmeg and cinnamon added a lovely subtle flavor that complemented the heat of this dish well!
Prepare the other taco components.
I love making cashew cream for the sauce, but anything works here. I think a sauce made with vegan mayo would also be great! I also added cabbage, avocado, and cilantro.
Vegan Keema Tacos
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups textured vegetable protein (TVP)
- 1.5 cups water
- 1 tbsp avocado oil or another neutral oil
- 1 red onion, finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 inch ginger, minced
- 2 green chilis, minced
- ½ green bell pepper, finely chopped
- 2 tsp ground coriander
- ½ tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp garam masala
- ½ tsp red chili powder
- pinch of nutmeg
- pinch of cinnamon
- ¾ cup tomato paste (from ~ 1-2 tomatoes)
- cabbage, chopped
- 1 avocado, sliced
cashew cream
- ¼ cup raw cashews, soaked overnight or in boiling water for 15-30 minutes
- ½ tbsp lime juice
- ¼ cup water and more if needed
- pinch of salt and more to taste
Instructions
- Prepare the TVP. Bring 1.5 cups of water to a boil. Remove from heat and add the TVP. Let it soak for 15 minutes.
- Heat a pan over medium heat with oil. Add the chopped onion and stir until it is translucent, which should take about 4 minutes. Add garlic, ginger, and green chilis. Stir frequently for a few minutes.
- Add all the ground spices: coriander, turmeric, garam masala, red chili powder, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Stir frequently for 30 seconds to a minute and make sure the spices don't stick to the pan.
- Add the TVP. After stirring for a few minutes, add the bell pepper and cook for about 5 minutes. Then add tomato paste and salt. Bring to medium high heat. Once it starts to simmer, lower the heat, cover, and continue to simmer for 10 minutes.
- For the cashew cream, simply process all the ingredients in a small food processor.
- To assemble the tacos, start with a bed of cabbage or another green. Add the keema, avocado, cilantro, and cashew cream.
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