Cheesy pull-apart keema pav is a no-brainer! Its like an Indian spiced sloppy joe with a lot of cheese! Not to mention super soft and sweet Hawaiian buns + spiced ground meat + ooey gooey cheese!!! (Like garlicky cheese sauce plus slices of melty cheese!) How is that not a perfect easy game night dinner?? You know kids are not going to be complaining about this one!
Keema (Indian spiced ground chicken)
Keema pav is a minced meat dish served with butter bread! Yes it is as delicious as it sounds! The keema in this recipe has a lot of the typical seasoning that you would find in a traditional keema but then there's also a few ingredients that are kind of unusual. Such as: soy sauce and ketchup. These two ingredients add that sloppy joe-ness to the dish. If that makes any sense. But they help to bring another level of sweet, savory, tart, zest that is not regularly found in keema. Plus it helps to build a nice sauce!
Another difference from traditional keema is that addition of onions and peppers. They also help to add a nice sweetness more typical of a sloppy joe. I like to keep the onions and peppers in larger slices because I feel like the texture is better that way. But you can chop them finer or even omit altogether.
Lots of Cheese
So first off there's this Garlicky Cheese Sauce! I mean if you're making a cheesy sloppy joe, how can you not have a nice gooey cheese sauce right!?? It is actually a pretty basic roux (butter + flour ) based cheese sauce and I used a mild provolone so you get that nice cheesiness without too much additional funk from a strong cheese like cheddar.
Just to make sure there's not shortage of cheese on these cheesy pull-apart keema pav sliders, I had to also add in sliced provolone.
Now I completely understand if you choose 1 cheese option, rather than both. But I'm warning you, it may be a little less fun! So choose wisely! lol Just kidding! You can totally take the easy way and just use any of single cheese option. Any melty cheese sliced cheese you prefer or just use the cheese sauce by itself. Somedays it's a time thing, somedays it's an ingredients thing. Do whatever works for you!
How to have even more fun with these sliders?
- Serve them with some Tandoori Tater Tots or Crispy Baked Curry Potato!
- Add some more toppings like pickles, pickled jalapenos or even Quick Pickled Red Onions
- Make this vegetarian by using tofu or paneer
You might also be interested in Spiced Chicken Keema Curry , Chilli Chicken Lettuce Wraps, Baked Chipotle Chicken Samosas
Cheesy Pull-Apart Keema Pav
Ingredients
Keema
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 onion sliced thinly
- 1 bell pepper sliced thinly
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- ¼ cup ketchup
- 2 teaspoon garlic freshly grated
- 2 teaspoon ginger freshly grated
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
- ¼ teaspoon red chili powder
Garlicky Cheese Sauce
- 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon butter
- ¾ cup milk
- ½ teaspoon mustard powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1½ cups shredded provolone cheese
- 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese
Slider items
- 6 slices of provolone cheese
- 1 pack of hawaiian buns
Instructions
Keema
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat add the oil, brown the ground chicken, about 6 to 8 minutes. Add the onion and green pepper, cook another 5-10 minutes. Stir in the remaining seasoning for the keema and cook for another 5-7 minutes.
Garlicky Cheese Sauce
- In a saucepan, melt butter on medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook for 1-2 minutes until the mixture is slightly golden. Whisk in milk, mustard powder and garlic powder. Mix for about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and mix in the cheeses until melted.
Assemble the Keema Sliders
- Preheat oven to 350°F
- Arrange a baking sheet with a large piece of foil (large enough to wrap around the entire block of slider buns)
- Without pulling apart the sliders, cut the entire length of the buns so you have a tops section and a bottoms sections. Lay the bottoms section on the foiled baking sheet.
- Arrange the provolone slices on the buns. Top with the keema mixture. Add the cheese sauce over the top of the keema. Close the sliders by laying the tops section over the buns.
- Cover with the foil, bake for 10 minutes. Serve warm.
nem
This is looks delicious! perfect for spice lovers.
Jill Patel
Thanks! Yes its a mild spice that gets mellowed down with the cheese and sauce but its definitely complex!
Linda
Oh my....I'm dying to try this Indian version of sloppy joes. Love the combination of flavors you have here, especially that garlicky sauce
Jill Patel
Thanks Linda! I'm glad you like it!
Angela
Oh my god, looking at this recipe made me hungry, saved it
Jill Patel
Thanks! The flavors are really unbelievable!!
Michelle / Taste As You Go
This sounds amazing! I love how you've added Indan spices to make this sandwich truly unique. My husband and I love Indian food, so we can't wait to try these!
Jill Patel
Thanks Michelle, hope you guys enjoyed it!
Michelle / Taste As You Go
I love how you've used Indian spices to make this sandwich truly unique. My husband and I love Indian food, so we're dying to give these a try!
Julia
Yum! This was such an interesting and delicious fusion recipe. Swapped for dairy-free cheese and so good!
Jill Patel
Thanks Julia! So glad you liked it!