Heat Instant pot on 'Sauté' mode and pour in the oil. Add the onions and cook till they turn translucent, about 2 minutes. Add ginger+garlic paste and cook for another 1 minute. Stir in the tomato puree, red chili powder, ground coriander, cumin, garam masala and salt. Cook for 2~3 minutes. Add mixed vegetables, plant based meat crumbles and water. Stir to combine and make sure to scrape the bottom to loosen any browned bits.
Place the lid on, lock it, and close the steam valve. Set the timer for 3 minutes on high pressure.When the timer sounds, natural release the steam for 10 minutes, then quick release the remainder. Open the pressure cooker and stir in chopped cilantro. If the mixture looks to watery, then press "Sauté" and cook for couple of minutes to evaporate it.
Stove Top Method:
Heat oil in a large pan on medium heat. Add the onions, ginger+garlic paste and cook till onions soften, about 3~5 minutes. Add mixed vegetables, plant based meat crumbles and cook for 6~8 minutes or until the crumbles are cooked through.Stir in tomato puree, red chili powder, ground coriander, cumin, garam masala, salt and ½ cup of water. Cook covered for the flavors mingle, about 8~10 minutes. Sprinkle chopped cilantro and mix well.
To Serve Keema Pav:
Toast pav/ buns with butter. Then serve the prepared kheema topped with onions over toasted buns. Serve right away!!
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Notes
To make these plant based sloppy joes, I love using frozen meatless meat from Beyond meat or Morning Star or Gardein. But textured vegetable protein or TVP or soy granules are great alternate. Make sure to rehydrate them as per package instructions before using.
Here are a few more protein choices to make vegan keema:
crumbled tofu
coarsely ground beans like chickpeas or white beans
crumbled tempeh
cauliflower rice is also a great option since it has the texture similar to ground meat. I usually add either tofu or beans to make this combo wholesome.
Make sure that the keema mixture is not too liquidy because it will make serving it with pav a little difficult. It should be just right to be served over the bread as a sandwich. So cook the extra water off before serving.
To make this dish street style aka Bombay sloppy joe style, then top the kheema with green chutney, sweetened yogurt and homemade pickled onions for crunch.
Leftover vegan keema mixture can be stored for up to 3 days in the fridge.