Beef curry with dry-roasted masala
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Serves: 6
An amalgam of various half-remembered recipes. It’s a little time-consuming both in preparation (making the masala) and cooking (slow-cooking makes the meat tender) but well worth it.
Ingredients
1 tbsp coriander seeds
½ tbsp cumin seeds
½ tsp fenugreek seeds
½ tsp fennel seeds
1 stick cinnamon
4 whole cloves
6 green cardamom pods
12 curry leaves (preferably fresh, dried will do)
3 black cardamom pods (optional)
1 stick cassia bark
½ tsp ground turmeric
2 medium-sized brown onions
2 cloves garlic
1-inch piece ginger
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1kg beef cheeks or brisket (for brisket, trim off the excess fat)
270ml can coconut cream
½ tsp salt
½ sprig fresh coriander leaves
Directions
To make the masala, first prepare the cardamon pods with a sharp knife: twist the pods firmly between your finger-tips so that the seeds come out. Discard the green husks.
Now heat a cast-iron frying pan until a drop of water fizzes and boils away in seconds, but not so hot it starts smoking. Do not add any oil or butter; you’re going to ‘dry-fry’ the spices using only the heat of the pan.
Separately, in turn, dry-fry the following whole spices: coriander seeds, cumin seeds, curry leaves, fenugreek seeds, fennel seeds, cinnamon stick, cloves, cardamon seeds (that you have hulled) and six of the curry leaves (set the remaining six aside for later). As the spices dry-fry, you will be able to smell their fragrance, and in most cases they will change colour (unless they are already black, like the cloves). Gently turn them with a spoon so the heat is applied evenly - with the cinnamon stick, you might need to flatten it against the pan with the flat of the spoon - and then brush them off the pan with the spoon into a bowl. (Be careful not to scrape the pan as that will damage its surface.) The curry leaves will dry-fry pretty quickly, take each one off as soon as it changes colour.
Grind the spices in a pestle and mortar until they are become a fragrant powder.
Using a large sharp knife or meat cleaver, cut the meat into 1-inch dice. Set aside.
Peel the onions, garlic and ginger. Finely slice the onions and garlic; chop the ginger into fine dice.
Put the vegetable oil in a large cooking pot over medium heat, and add the sliced onions, curry leaves, cassia bark and black cardamom. Stirring frequently, wait until the onions begin to turn translucent, then add the garlic and ginger and fry, stirring, for thirty seconds more. Add the diced beef, and stir to coat.
Let the meat cook on medium heat, stirring frequently, for about five minutes, or until all the meat has changed colour. If you notice any sticking to the bottom of the pot, reduce the heat slightly, and add a couple of tablespoons of water.
Once the meat has changed colour, add the salt, turmeric and spice mix. Stir to coat. Cook for another couple of minutes, stirring frequently, then add the coconut milk, stir again, reduce the heat to very low (you might need to shift the pot to one of the smaller rings on the stove to get a sufficiently low heat) cover the pot and leave to cook for about an hour or so, stirring occasionally and checking to make sure the curry is not sticking to the bottom of the pot (if it is, stir in a small dash of water, just a couple of tablespoons or so at a time).
After an hour of cooking at a low heat, the meat should be tender. Turn off the heat, chop the coriander leaf and stir though. Adjust the seasoning to taste.
Serve with plain white rice and a dal or a vegetable curry or bhaji.