Sweet Beef and Coconut Curry

I recently published my Beef Kofta Curry,https://eatingforireland.com/recipe/beef-kofta-curry/  and because I liked it so much I’ve adapted it for beef pieces using exactly the same spices.. This recipe takes about 2- 2.5 hours to cook.

EQUIPMENT:

• Frying pan
• Pestle and Mortar
• Oven-proof Casserole dish.

INGREDIENTS: Feeds about 4-6 people

• 2 tblsp sunflower oil
• 2 large onions, roughly chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
• 2 teaspoons of ground coriander
•  2 teaspoons of ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon of ground turmeric
• 1 teaspoon of garam masala
• Pinch of cayenne pepper
• A finger of fresh ginger, peeled and grated
• 1 large, fat green chilli, washed, deseeded and finely chopped
• 500-700g lean Beef pieces
• A handful of  fresh coriander, chopped
• 400g  can of coconut milk
• 1 dessertspoon of tomato puree – I always use Sundried Tomato paste.
• 250ml of hot beef stock
• 6 cloves – lightly crushed
• 1 cinnamon stick, broken in two
• 8 green cardamom pods, toasted, crushed and shells removed
• 1 tablespoon of soft brown sugar.

METHOD:                                                            

• Heat the oven to 140 degrees Fan
• Measure out all the spices onto a medium-sized plate, ready to add to the pan
• Dry-fry the cardamom seeds until fragrant, then crush them in the pestle and mortar. Remove the seed skins, then add the seeds to the rest of the spices
• Grate the Ginger, and crush the Garlic, de-seed and chop the Green chilli.
• Fry off the beef pieces until nicely browned, remove them to the casserole.
• Add a little more oil and fry the onions until softened but not browned.
• Add the Garlic, Ginger and Chilli to the onions and stir in.
• Add all the spices, and stir in.
• Add the hot stock and the Coconut milk

• Add the sugar.
• Mix everything, and have a quick taste – it sometimes needs a little salt.
• Pour the contents of the pan into the Casserole to join the Beef pieces
• Give it one final stir,  break the Cinnamon stick in two, pop the pieces into the pot, cover and cook for 1 hour in the oven.

• After the hour is up, take it out and have  a look – it will smell delicious, but the Beef pieces will need more cooking. So stir it up, re-cover, and give it another hour
• Take the lid off the casserole for the last 30 minutes so that the sauce thickens up beautifully.
• Fish out the Cinnamon sticks, and the cloves – if you can find them!
• Serve with fluffy Basmati Rice and some Naan bread.

NOTES:

• Like all casseroles, this will taste even better if it’s left to itself in the fridge for a day or two.
• It’s a great recipe for doubling or trebling up for a crowd.
• If you want a Vegetarian edition of this, just leave out the meat (duh!) and replace the beef stock with a Vegetable one. Make the sauce as above, and cook it gently in the oven or on a stove-top for about an hour – take the lid off for the last 30 minutes so that the sauce has the correct consistency. 30 minutes before serving, add thick slices of Cauliflower, Fresh Sugar snap peas, Carrot batons, or really, whatever you like (except uncooked Mushrooms which will add too much liquid to the mix – if you want mushrooms, cook and drain them before adding to the sauce)
• I’ve made this twice, and only remembered as I was serving it up that I’d thought before that I’d really like some steamed tender-stem Broccoli as a side with this dish.  I think it would benefit from a vegetable served separately  -just a thought!