Kerala Style Beef Masala...

Wednesday 20 August 2008

A special request from Sharon J at Finding Simplicity... 
(and Anonymous Jane!)

Serves at least 2 plus a bit more...

Ingredients...

500g Beef (stewing type)
2 large Onions (finely chopped)
5 large Cloves Garlic (chopped)
Thumb size Ginger (Chopped)
10 Curry Leaves
1/2 tsp Coriander powder
1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
1 tsp Garam Masala (See below note)
2 Green Chillies and 1/2 tsp Red Chili powder (if you like it hot)
Tomatoes (half the amount of chopped onions)
1 cup Coconut Milk (optional) or vinegar
2 tbsp Oil 

(You can cook the Beef, Turmeric and a little Salt in water, in a pressure cooker if you have one, for 20 minutes for more tender beef. It reduces the final cooking time and saves energy too! I just use a saucepan with a lid and bring it to the boil for 5 minutes)


Note: I use electric, so when I mention turning off the heat, I leave the pan on the stove as the element cools down. If you use gas you would have to leave the gas on low for a few minutes before turning off the flame to get the same result. (Does that mean electric ovens are more energy efficient? Does anyone have a gas versus electric argument? I'd like to know...)

In a large pan or wok, fry the onions, garlic, ginger, curry leaves and green chili in 2 tbsp of oil (preferably coconut for an authentic South Indian taste, it really makes a big difference)

When the onions are golden,  add the coriander powder, garam masala, turmeric and chili powder.


When the oil separates from the spices its time to add the tomatoes and the beef. 


Give it a good stir to mix all the fried spices, onions and beef evenly. Add 1/2 cup of water if needed, cover with a lid or large plate, then turn down the heat to simmer for 1 hour or more until reduced by half. Finally, when beef is tender add the coconut milk if desired OR a dash of vinegar (DO NOT MIX BOTH)


Garnish with homegrown :) Coriander and serve with rice, chapattis (or parathas for a yummy leftovers breakfast)

(For Perfect Rice, see 'Note on Rice...' in this post)

Note on Garam Masala...


We use packets of masala (literally means 'mix') They come pre-mixed for chicken, meat, fish, chick peas, tandoori and a million other things. You can buy them in any Indian store and recently some of the larger supermarkets have an Asian aisle. We use 'Everest' or 'Eastern' brands. Choose one that says 'meat masala', or 'mutton masala' (mutton is a generic word for beef)

If you want to make your own Garam Masala, the ingredients are listed on the Everest website but they don't give quantities. This blog has a nice recipe to make your own.

Note on Coconut Oil...This one is 95p from Tesco... but I encourage you to shop locally and buy it at your nearest Indian shop.  It usually comes in a jar that looks like mayo and it's thick like lard. You'll sometimes find it in the beauty section, as it's also great for your hair! Just make sure it's 100% pure Coconut Oil.

This site has some great info on the benefits of Coconut oil.

Note on Turmeric... It stains everything, therefore I do not hold any responsibility for yellow wooden spoons and yellow splashed walls!

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

magralMmmm...that looks sooo delicious, I can't wait to give it a try!!
Enjoyed the tips on the ingredients to use, except I've not heard of curry leaves, can I get those from Tesco?
Oh! Emma you are so funny, I liked your disclaimer for yellowing wooden spoons/splattered walls...HeHe sounds like I'm going to have some fun!!
A big thank you for the recipe, I hope my curry turns out as good as yours looked!

Jane

PS I don't know what I'm doing wrong, but I just can't sign in using my Google account, it comes back eventually saying incorrect password...but that's nonsense!!

Anonymous said...

Ooops, I don't know how that magral got there, it was part of the word verification...I'm not doing well am I?!!

Jane

Jade of the Jungle said...

Gosh your little one is utterly adorable!!! What a beautiful little face!

Also love the recipes. I don't suppose you have one for brinjal (sp?) bhaji? I love the stuff but can't seem to re-create it at home with much luck!

J x

emmani said...

Jane - Curry leaves we get from the local indian shops, but i've definitely picked up a bag in Tesco, then again it is Leicester! Good luck cooking and wear an apron!

Thanks Jade, I'll do my best to get the recipe for you, but I hate aubergines, so I couldn't tell you if it was good! Angel picked one up at the shop on monday and left teeth marks in it, so I had to buy it!

Sharon J said...

Thanks for posting the recipe Emma, and for being so thorough in explaining how it's done. 10/10 for your effort :)

I don't know of any Indian grocers in our town. We don't have much of an Asian population although there are some take-aways and restaurants so I guess they get their supplies from somewhere. One of the chippies I use is run by an Indian couple so I'll ask next time I go in there - maybe there's a store hidden away somewhere that I just don't know of.

emmani said...

Jade... whilst I am plucking up the courage to spend time cooking the small aubergine angel took a bite out of, I will leave you with this link I found through Hills, Plains and Seedsavers...

http://lucullian.blogspot.com/2008/08/ovenbaked-eggplant-slices-with-caper.html

At least they don't look like sauted slugs in this recipe!!

Jade of the Jungle said...

Thanks for the link - will definitely give it a go this week! So funny about the aubergine incident! Oops!

J x